I am looking to start a new aquarium, I am open to all suggestions, I currently have a 10 Gallon tank that I am willing to recycle into a filter tank or req tank to help the main tank.
I am considering making my own tank to increase its size, and am also considering buying a tank, max size I can get for under 300. I want to make as much of the kit as I can, not to save money but to learn and start right from the get go.
I have some ideas in my head but am not sure where to start as my sums could be wrong.
Can I use an overflow setup in the main tank to gravity drive water to the lower tank/sump/overflow with a return pump to return the water back to the main tank? I understand that the overflow will need to be designed well to ensure the tank does not drain completely during a power loss. Was thinking a seperate 5 in by 5 in chamber with a drain at the bottom and a pipe running up to the top at the desired min water level in that chamber, with the walls of the chamer being at the desired min water level of the actual aquarium.
What kind of filters will I need in place to make the aquarium as self efficient as possible? Can I use a loop to increase the water flow to lighten the load on my sump/filter box? Can I put a filter inline on the loop to increase filtration? Ie, having 2 or 3 closed loops, plus the req/filter lower tank. Whats the minimum reconmended size for the lower tank in relation to the upper tank, ie a fifth, or 20% or 50% of the main tank size.
Can I place the heater equipment in a loop to minimize the amount of equipment placed directly in my main tank? I am really hoping to attempt to hide all of the equipment either in the lower tank or in loops.
I know the minimum I want the main tank to be is 50 gallons, no max, just a price limit.
As for the req/filter, I plan on splitting up the tank into 4 sections, one section, roughly a third of the tank will be at the front of the tank running its full length, this will be a req section with an aerator, sand, rocks and some live plants. the back two thirds of the tank will be seperated into 3 chambers, the first an inlet, with an overflow into the 2nd which houses a physical filter, the 2nd either a refuge or chemical treatment area, the 3rd a wet/dry area with the outlet pump below. I dont have any sketches right now but will make some up after work.
I plan on only about a quarter of the hourly waterflow going through this filter, with another quarter going through an inline carbon filter and another quarter going through a scimmer. Each on their own seperate loop. Is this possible or will I need to channel all water through each in turn and then return it to the tank?
Im hoping to do it that way to increase the overall waterflow in and out of the tank without paying for huge volume motors, and having it all pretty well spread out minimizing dead circulation spots without the user of powerheads.
Are there formulas to help decide the min filter area needed, min waterflow, max fish, max/min rock, sand etc. I also saw an aquarium once with a layer of water underneath the sand, created by a filter material and blocks, is this needed? is it beneficial?
Once the equipment is set up and running, how long will the aquarium need to run and cure before it can be fish ready?
Any and all advice is appreciated, I am completely new to this, having only kept land hermit crabs up until now.
I am considering making my own tank to increase its size, and am also considering buying a tank, max size I can get for under 300. I want to make as much of the kit as I can, not to save money but to learn and start right from the get go.
I have some ideas in my head but am not sure where to start as my sums could be wrong.
Can I use an overflow setup in the main tank to gravity drive water to the lower tank/sump/overflow with a return pump to return the water back to the main tank? I understand that the overflow will need to be designed well to ensure the tank does not drain completely during a power loss. Was thinking a seperate 5 in by 5 in chamber with a drain at the bottom and a pipe running up to the top at the desired min water level in that chamber, with the walls of the chamer being at the desired min water level of the actual aquarium.
What kind of filters will I need in place to make the aquarium as self efficient as possible? Can I use a loop to increase the water flow to lighten the load on my sump/filter box? Can I put a filter inline on the loop to increase filtration? Ie, having 2 or 3 closed loops, plus the req/filter lower tank. Whats the minimum reconmended size for the lower tank in relation to the upper tank, ie a fifth, or 20% or 50% of the main tank size.
Can I place the heater equipment in a loop to minimize the amount of equipment placed directly in my main tank? I am really hoping to attempt to hide all of the equipment either in the lower tank or in loops.
I know the minimum I want the main tank to be is 50 gallons, no max, just a price limit.
As for the req/filter, I plan on splitting up the tank into 4 sections, one section, roughly a third of the tank will be at the front of the tank running its full length, this will be a req section with an aerator, sand, rocks and some live plants. the back two thirds of the tank will be seperated into 3 chambers, the first an inlet, with an overflow into the 2nd which houses a physical filter, the 2nd either a refuge or chemical treatment area, the 3rd a wet/dry area with the outlet pump below. I dont have any sketches right now but will make some up after work.
I plan on only about a quarter of the hourly waterflow going through this filter, with another quarter going through an inline carbon filter and another quarter going through a scimmer. Each on their own seperate loop. Is this possible or will I need to channel all water through each in turn and then return it to the tank?
Im hoping to do it that way to increase the overall waterflow in and out of the tank without paying for huge volume motors, and having it all pretty well spread out minimizing dead circulation spots without the user of powerheads.
Are there formulas to help decide the min filter area needed, min waterflow, max fish, max/min rock, sand etc. I also saw an aquarium once with a layer of water underneath the sand, created by a filter material and blocks, is this needed? is it beneficial?
Once the equipment is set up and running, how long will the aquarium need to run and cure before it can be fish ready?
Any and all advice is appreciated, I am completely new to this, having only kept land hermit crabs up until now.
