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Re: NFC: Tank Filtration Question
(Odd, I see replies to this, but didn't receive Ty Hall's original.)
Ty_Hall at eFunds_Com wrote:
>
> Simple drawing of proposed inlet/outlet arrangement:
>
> Breakfast Area
> |---------------------------------------------|
> | O <-- Water in |
> Wall | Tank | Passageway
> | O -->Water out |
> |---------------------------------------------|
> Family Room
>
> Ty "Suffering from large tank envy" Hall
Excuse me, YOU'RE the one suffering from large-tank-envy ???? I don't think so. Anyway....
My immediate thought was to put a "spill-over" box (you see 'em on some s/w tanks these days, check your LFSs) for intake all the way across the wall end (where you have the OO's), pump stuff out and down to your canisters and what not, and pump if back up to the same end. Then, rather than put that water back into the tank there, run one or two black PVC pipes to the other end of the tank along or just above the water-line, and put the water back in either in the corners (would probably leave a low-current area front and center that might cause some fish to set up camp in that perfect viewing location) or along the centerline. Depending on what you're planning to do for a hood/light cover, it's possible that this water return line could actually run invisibly along the lower inside edge of the hood. The (a?) problem with this plan is that it might be tricky or impossible to get an even water flow top to bottom, although I find that if I have fast water areas and slow areas in the tank, the various fishes will find their own happy places, and I don't have to do too much thinking about picking fish that all like the same kind of conditions.
Then I thought, if it was me, I'm not sure I'd have undercabinet (sump style?) filtration at all, I'd probably try to keep it on the same level at the wall end, either in-tank (via a spill-over section) or via an opaque add-on box that would hide all that necessary stuff.
And then I thought, you could actually put a big centerline divider in that tank, extending to within maybe a foot of either short-end, that could actually force the water (and fish) to go on a circular path. Depending on tank decorations and front-to-back depth, and the kind/s of fishes, that might be nice.
And then I thought, with a tank that big, you could hide a lot of plumbing in the rocks etc in the tank, almost a zoo-style permanent rockitecture. (I confess to a certain prejudice in not wanting to drill the tank.) Build 'em a secret cold-water Jacuzzi, with water jets hidden all over the place.
And THEN I thought, GEE, where could I put one of those things in MY house ???? Mmmm, mmmm, mmm.
Regards
Doug Dame
Interlachen FL
* by weird and strange coincidence, a tiny town
where Ty from Wisconsin's parents just happen
to spend their winters