I agree that the tank looks fine and shouldn't give you any problems. The weight of a glasscages tank is distributed across the entire bottom panel, and not along the edges like most of the other brands (all-glass, perfecto, etc.)
300 Gallon stand and canopy
- Thread starter DaveB
- Start date
Can someone spot any flaws in my reasoning here?
If the power goes out, roughly 2 inches worth of water will fall into the drains before it stops and is below the lip of the overflow. 96x30x2 is 25 gallons of water. (Ish.) So I really only need to leave that much space free in the sump for an emergency.
If, using some rubbermaid garbage cans and ingenuity (like NolaGT's sumps), I'm able to elevate a bunch of my bio media another foot above the sump's top, I should be able to keep 1/2 to 2/3 of my media "dry" and still keep 80-90 gallons worth of the sump full of water, right? Most sumps usually operate closer to 1/3 full but I figure as long as the tank can overflow into it with some extra space why not have more water?
I'm trying to come up with a way to really put that 72x18 footprint to optimal use for media capacity as well as upping the total water volume closer to the 400 I originally intended to buy until I got such a deal on this tank. What would be really cool would be if I could figure out a way to evenly distribute the water over about 4 feet worth of drip plate. I guess since I've got that massive intake hole I could split it over two garbage cans. So basically I'd have a tower on either end and the pump(s) in the center, collecting filtered water from each overflow, almost as if it was two separate sumps. And I'd have 380 gallons of water working through my 300 gallon tank, which makes the fish that much happier.
If the power goes out, roughly 2 inches worth of water will fall into the drains before it stops and is below the lip of the overflow. 96x30x2 is 25 gallons of water. (Ish.) So I really only need to leave that much space free in the sump for an emergency.
If, using some rubbermaid garbage cans and ingenuity (like NolaGT's sumps), I'm able to elevate a bunch of my bio media another foot above the sump's top, I should be able to keep 1/2 to 2/3 of my media "dry" and still keep 80-90 gallons worth of the sump full of water, right? Most sumps usually operate closer to 1/3 full but I figure as long as the tank can overflow into it with some extra space why not have more water?
I'm trying to come up with a way to really put that 72x18 footprint to optimal use for media capacity as well as upping the total water volume closer to the 400 I originally intended to buy until I got such a deal on this tank. What would be really cool would be if I could figure out a way to evenly distribute the water over about 4 feet worth of drip plate. I guess since I've got that massive intake hole I could split it over two garbage cans. So basically I'd have a tower on either end and the pump(s) in the center, collecting filtered water from each overflow, almost as if it was two separate sumps. And I'd have 380 gallons of water working through my 300 gallon tank, which makes the fish that much happier.
Everything sounds OK, but to me a picture is worth 1000 words. Time to showcase those MS Paint skills! LOL
Nothing too complicated - just this basic look, with two big bins of bio media. Then I could put heaters down below them and the pump in the middle. The only drawback I can think of is that since garbage cans typically get wider at the top, it'd be tough to be 100% leak-proof if there was a clog in the foam or sock or whatever I use for mech above the drip plates, since if it clogged it'd spill over the edge and past the lip of the 125.
It just seems like I always see the pre-made sumps that say the water level can only be about 1/3 or 1/4... I see no reason not to have it higher.
After running around all over Chicago for literally the entire day, I finally found four suction cups from Grainger (purchased for $500! I'll obviously return them once I'm done) and the tank move indoors will happen tomorrow. Then I'll have to go through this whole suction acquisition ordeal again when I finish the stand and it's time to lift it up onto that without nicking the trim.
It just seems like I always see the pre-made sumps that say the water level can only be about 1/3 or 1/4... I see no reason not to have it higher.
After running around all over Chicago for literally the entire day, I finally found four suction cups from Grainger (purchased for $500! I'll obviously return them once I'm done) and the tank move indoors will happen tomorrow. Then I'll have to go through this whole suction acquisition ordeal again when I finish the stand and it's time to lift it up onto that without nicking the trim.
I agree with your reasoning. The more water you get in your sump the better.I have a drain at the top of my sump (it's an acrylic 55, easy to drill holes). I put a 1.5" drain right at the upper side of the sump and this drains into the back yard, if there's ever a power outage. Then while the pumps are running I fill the main tank until the sump overflows into the back yard, then I have my sump filled to the max. One day while doing water changes and forgetting to turn of the water supply I noticed no water on the floor! The system is even full proof for me! No pun intended. I went the next step and put a drip system into my main tank and set it to 1 gallon an hour (24 gallons a day). I never do water changes anymore.DaveB;3181206; said:
That sounds like a perfect setup. And way simpler than most too. How do you treat the water dripping in? That's the one part of the automatic setups I never really understood.
That's definitely a goal of mine for when I own my house. For now I'm still renting, so I can't really run a bunch of pipe all over the place.
That's definitely a goal of mine for when I own my house. For now I'm still renting, so I can't really run a bunch of pipe all over the place.
On my drip system, I filter the chlorine and chloramines out before the water ever hits the tank. That's basically how mine is setup.
Like this
There's no reason your sump level can't be higher, most people just keep it low for the wet/dry effect or to give extra space for overflows if they happen.
Like this
There's no reason your sump level can't be higher, most people just keep it low for the wet/dry effect or to give extra space for overflows if they happen.
Annoying update:
The tank is broken. We finally had all the men and tools in place this morning to move it in and as we were about to pick it up to load it on to the dolly, I noticed a giant crack in the bottom pane. Obviously this is related to the chipping.
Tough to see in the cell phone pics but it's a nice thick C shaped crack from the center to the corner.
It's still a flat surface underneath another entire 1/2" pane of glass, but I assume the entire tank is garbage. Anyone want some free giant panes of glass? If you can come get it tomorrow or monday it's yours. Otherwise I might release some frustration by taking a sledgehammer to the damn thing. Of course with my luck I'd do that and take a stray piece of glass in the neck.
The tank is broken. We finally had all the men and tools in place this morning to move it in and as we were about to pick it up to load it on to the dolly, I noticed a giant crack in the bottom pane. Obviously this is related to the chipping.
Tough to see in the cell phone pics but it's a nice thick C shaped crack from the center to the corner.
It's still a flat surface underneath another entire 1/2" pane of glass, but I assume the entire tank is garbage. Anyone want some free giant panes of glass? If you can come get it tomorrow or monday it's yours. Otherwise I might release some frustration by taking a sledgehammer to the damn thing. Of course with my luck I'd do that and take a stray piece of glass in the neck.
I wouldn't demolish it just yet. If it has double paned glass, you could probably patch it with another piece of glass and still use the tank.
I wish I could come up and get the glass.
I wish I could come up and get the glass.
It's double paned on the bottom. Do you mean replace the entire bottom pane? Actually that is kind of my only hope. The glass company nearby may be able to do that for me. Depends on if they can easily remove the pane that's there now. And if I can get it over to them.
I'm sure they'd charge me more than I already paid for the damn thing though.
I'm sure they'd charge me more than I already paid for the damn thing though.
