I might WILL be asking advice for this setup in the future.
For now, here are a few teasers.
6 20gallon tanks (from DPA)
1 40gallon tank
1 rubbermaid sump
Guessing total volume will be roughly 300gallons to start off with.
1 40gallon QT tank for starters
For starters I’m thinking about having a pump run to a manifold that feeds each tank individualy (with valves). Feeding from the center of the manifold for as even of a distribution as one could hope. Drains will tie into a common drain. The DPA tanks are plumbed for 1" PVC, so that is what I will be using.
Skimmer and Water Pump are up next. Its an 8’ run horizontally from the sump to the 40 gallon tank in the front, and a 40" rise to where I expect the manifold to be.
The nice part about plumbing in a manifold is you can use whatever kind of pump you want. With valves on each line you can dial in the exact flow for each tank - stronger flow for the SPS tank, slower flow for the Softie tank.
I don’t know ifI like not supporting a tank across the whole length of it’s frame though, even a 20g. If it gets a stress fracture and all the tanks are plumbed together you’re looking at about 300g of water being dumped on the floor.
You might want to consider cutting some plywood to size and creating a table top between the cinder blocks.
Perhaps a mag 9.5 or Quiet one 3000, about five times tank volume flow. like Craig said, if you valve all the tank supply lines you can adjust down the flow to each tank for the little guys you might be raising.
I don’t like the tanks sitting directly on the blocks either. Plus actually the way you have the blocks stacked is not right. I would turn the blocks the right way so they are stronger then do away with the 4 inch block and construct a table top of 2x4 and 3/4" plywood to support the complete tank units. Plus it will give you somewhere to lay tools,supplies, while doing maintanence.
I have an old mag9.5 if you want to try it… the impeller is beat to hell from using it do drain my pool… but maybe it’ll give you a flow idea… Are you starting a mini LFS? ::
If your sump is drilled and you’re not looking for a ton of flow, I have a nice little giant external pump that will turn over a little more than 500g an hour.
Hey all, thanks for the comments, especially the orientation of the cinder block. Now I’m researching ASTM Standards and cinder block crush strength! Currently they are sideways for their increased footprint. I was worried that they might be too narrow stacked vertically but with the weight of the tanks filled…might be a non issue. We will reconfigure and I’ll update.
So what is this? Its the beginning of a coral aquaculture venture. My wife has become very interested in the hobby. Right now she is a stay at home mom, with a seasonal part time job managing the tasting room of a local winery. (where I also work part-time as Vineyard Manager and Assistant Winemaker aside from the day job) She is looking to replace her time at the winery with this business. As you can see, we are going small and segmented so it can change and grow as we learn and adapt to the business. We do officially have an LLC, a Maryland business license, and zoning approval for a home business (Online, no in-home sales). We are pretty far from being to the point where we can sell corals but its a start. I’m aware that at some point I’ll have to split my postings here from member and vendor, but right now we’re not trying to sell anything…we’re designing.
You’ll notice (that his cinder blocks are vertical) that his tanks are resting on the concrete w/o support underneath some decently sized tanks. In the back he does have some wood frames under the tanks. We will support the contact surfaces of the tanks with thick foam to allow for some leveling.
I’ll startup a “Members Tanks” thread for the next progress update. I may lurk on other fish forums but this is the only forum that I post on, so YOU ALL, with a little bit of me an Robyn…we’re building an online coral business. ::
you don’t want to use foam on a framed glass tank, and no mater how they have it setup you really should have support flush and in contact with the whole bottom frame.
Good luck on the venture, how are you planning to stock, wholesale, hire divers, grow your own broad stock ?
The plan in the beginning will be to use wholesalers. We would love to get to the point where we have mother colonies to frag from for sustainability (of the business and the oceans).
Moliken, I’m blaming most of this addiction on you, since it was your LiveRock that kickstarted me back into this hobby! ::
[quote=“Faralon, post:16, topic:6358”]
The plan in the beginning will be to use wholesalers. We would love to get to the point where we have mother colonies to frag from for sustainability (of the business and the oceans).
Moliken, I’m blaming most of this addiction on you, since it was your LiveRock that kickstarted me back into this hobby! ::[/quote]
Rob, please type in larger font when addressing Paul… he’s already holding an ear horn in one hand, don’t make him reach for the magnifying glass with the other !
#@$^
damn whipper-snappers… i’m trying to teach them a lil’ senior respect Paul verdict_in
Now look what i did… oops! hold on a second… let me go into “paul stealth mode”…
OK, now we’re safe… anyway, bet i got him all worked up now. I’m sure he’ll start belting out words like, wheelchair, toe- smasher, hippy or something about viagra or wearing depends…
and then, after his daily out-burst, maybe he’ll think of a witty comeback for me
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