How would you filter a 10’x4’x30” ray tank that will be directly on the ground

[OnlyFinsCT]

I'm assuming this will be on a slab with no basement or other lower space to house a sump.
Could you go the other way? Is there a room above that could house an overhead sump?
I'm assuming these aren't options...

Consider... Building the full 13' space as a tank... build a wall 1.5' from each end... use the 10' center as the aquarium... leaving you a 1.5' long x 4' wide @ 2.5' deep chamber on each end to arrange as filters... This would eliminate the doors on the front from being functional, but they can still be there for ascetics. You'd have to create top opening doors... You could have a gap at the bottom, allowing water/debris to flow in...

View attachment 1555668

Something like this.

On the right... debris flows in along the top of the sand... Use light defuser or similar to keep Rays/Fish out... solid waste flows in, heavy stuff rolls around at the bottom, smaller lighter stuff goes up into the sponges... Stage progressively tighter sponges... During maintenance, remove the sponges and siphon out the heavier waste that collected at the bottom... This still leaves a 1' x 4' @ 2.5' chamber for other media such as MBBR (Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor) or whatever else you want. Make a basket to go around the pump lined with quilt batting or some other "polishing" media...

On the left... Same basic approach, but this side acts as a skimmer.

Also, the sponge filter doesn't have to run the full 4'. Though the longer you make it the less resistance it will cause.
As drawn, if the sponge media got clogged it would create an overflow situation. To protect yourself from that, lower the wall between the rear chamber and the aquarium. lower than the rim, higher than the aquarium water level. This will allow water to by pass clogged sponges.
I'm sure you'll catch other details that need to be modified. It's just something I mocked up real quick using Paint

I think making the 13’ tank is going to be cost prohibitive, tanks beyond 120” seem to drastically jump in cost.

 

[wednesday13]

I think making the 13’ tank is going to be cost prohibitive, tanks beyond 120” seem to drastically jump in cost.

Just be smart about material sizes… you can have an 8’ window in whatever size length u want. You can do 16’ with the same lengths of wood ud cut down for 13’. 2 windows instead of 1 may be cheaper also. My first larger build was 9’x4’x29”… during the build i realised i could have made a larger tank with the same materials if i had used standard lenghts. I ended up cutting the window down to 8’ to atleast save a bit there.

As for filtration… doesnt matter much as long as u have an autodrip or auto change system. Rays needs autodrip imo… theres no way around it.

 

[Backfromthedead]

Not much to add but I will say plan for some way to efficiently access the tank. I did something similar to this years ago, kind of a prototype design and the tank leaked eventually but I was kinda proud of the lifting brackets I installed to access the tank without having to move anything.

 

[Flaring Afro]

Not much to add but I will say plan for some way to efficiently access the tank. I did something similar to this years ago, kind of a prototype design and the tank leaked eventually but I was kinda proud of the lifting brackets I installed to access the tank without having to move anything.
View attachment 1555681
View attachment 1555682

Looks like lift top coffee table brackets? Were you able to reach the glass well to clean it easily?

 

[Backfromthedead]

Looks like lift top coffee table brackets? Were you able to reach the glass well to clean it easily?

Meh, not easily, i always used mag float for that. The picture doesn't show it well but the brackets traversed about a foot so it really just gave access to the powerhead filter in back and some decent clearance to scape and net fish if needed. If I did it over I would consider some kind of sliding/telescoping brackets I think.

 

[Midwater]

How big would the filter need to be for this tank?

Three foot on a ten foot tank would be good.

 

[phreeflow]

No. You have an overflow on the top at the side with the filter. You can even have a combined overflow and underflow.

Not all of the side compartment has the filter. Part is partitioned off, except with a gap from the bottom. And that is where the return pump is.

I like this idea. Seems simple and you see this design everywhere in those all-in-one tanks that have a wet dry behind a false wall. One overflow and one return…easy. But like @wednesday13 stated, don’t forget an auto drip or auto water change system

 

[Backfromthedead]

I am a proponent of a similar idea to @Toby_H

Make the tank the 13' full length of the room. The window can be 10'. Then you can have two large corner matten filters in the front two corners of the tank right beside the window. This will obscure them from view as they taper off to the sides of the tank and allow easy access to all your equipment/filtration from the front. This maximizes the use of your floor space in my mind and is a much more simple design, much easier install than a side sump, no bulkheads or holes in the tank besides maybe an auto drip. I think it will look much better to have the long window centered in the room as well, instead of offset to one side for a side dump filter.

Only question mark is that I don't know how rays will behave with a matten filter, I suppose it would need to be fairly secure/rigid to keep them from messing with it.

 

[Toby_H]

I am a proponent of a similar idea to @Toby_H

Make the tank the 13' full length of the room. The window can be 10'. Then you can have two large corner matten filters in the front two corners of the tank right beside the window. This will obscure them from view as they taper off to the sides of the tank and allow easy access to all your equipment/filtration from the front. This maximizes the use of your floor space in my mind and is a much more simple design, much easier install than a side sump, no bulkheads or holes in the tank besides maybe an auto drip. I think it will look much better to have the long window centered in the room as well, instead of offset to one side for a side dump filter.

If I understand correctly... The issue is, he is buying a manufactured aquarium. And beyond 120" the price increases are quite high.

If this were a DIY tank, extending the wooden box would be a nominal cost, probably less than whatever other filtration system is going to add.

The same option is still available with a manufactured aquarium, though it would be costly, less efficient and (imo) a pain in the rear to install. The space on each end is roughly 12"x48"@30" deep, the same as a 110 Gal Aquarium. slide one in each end slot, drill as necessary and plumb them in as filters. Instead of 110 Gal aquariums you could consider some other container of roughly similar dimensions. Since it doesn't need to be see through your options really open up. Some of the suggestions above are in the same ballpark as this.

 

[Backfromthedead]

Misunderstood....for tanks this size I would definitely opt for DIY build in place though.

A 110 tall is 48x18x30 though...sorry, can't resist a good tank size correction think you're still correct on the space though