Lets see what's in your stand! mechanical photo's

gerryd

Gambusia
MFK Member
May 20, 2010
225
2
18
fl
Had to think about this for a second because I did not understand the excessive plumbing.
Hm... OK 1 return pump and 2 canisters.

I have heard of people being tattoo happy and trigger happy but...
There is a third parallel leg for c02 injection that is also merged....

I couldn't come up with a more elegant way to DOUBLE the # of 1" intakes from 2-4, NOT clog the intake, and to feed in and out of a SINGLE pump.

Plus, each COMPONENT can be either shut off OR removed for maintenance, and the system could still be run. Well, as long as the component was not the pump itself :)

The 5 way cone distributors allowed me to merge the 4x1" inputs to a 2" pvc pipe that matched the pump connection directly to allow for optimal flow TO the pump. It also allowed me to split the pump OUTPUT for the 3 legs, a relief leg for unused flow and to reduce back pressure, as well as a capped off port to drain water quickly via the pump if need be. At least as far as the standpipes in the wiers.

The wiers themselves hid the extra over the wall 1" intakes.

Other outlets were over the wall in the back. This allowed me plenty of flow as well as control, since ball valves existed on ALL outputs. So, I could control how much flow went to each outlet as well.
 

gerryd

Gambusia
MFK Member
May 20, 2010
225
2
18
fl
That makes me dizzy just looking at it.
It's funny that since I had it for so long, that the schematic is forever in my brain. I look at it now, 6 months after I gave the tank and plumbing away (for the price of pickup at my house), I can easily know which line did what and where it went LOL
 

gerryd

Gambusia
MFK Member
May 20, 2010
225
2
18
fl
Words don't describe what is going through my mind looking at that plumbing.. Did you do that yourself? How long did it take and how much invested in pvc, unions and flexy pvc??? :clap:
Hi,

Yes I did it all myself...I had planned it on paper for weeks and had word documents detailing each step, flowcharts for the connecting pieces, and spreadsheets for parts :)

Once I had all the parts laid out to ensure I had all I needed, it took between 8-10 hours from start to finish. That involved removing ALL of the old configuration and installing the new.

The flex pvc was REQUIRED to allow for fit and also allows a bit of movement for maintenance and such..

I bought lots of extra pvc so I spent easily $300-500 on it all.

Totally worth it as I never had to change another thing and never wished I had done something else or another way.

With the size of the canisters and pump alone, that took a lot of room. Getting the 3 parallel legs wasn't easy either. It JUST fit in many places as you can see things nipping the walls :)
 

Norwood

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 17, 2012
60
0
0
Louisiana
Under my stand when I started my most recent brackish project with a horrible DIY wet/dry design (worked for cycling at least):View attachment 326296 Then I decided to put a growout in the stand for the never ending plecos...View attachment 326295 Now I am in the process of building a cabinet next to the stand for the wet/dry and 2 Eheim classics. (love em') :headbang2View attachment 326294 Rear view of the equipment mess... There is a sliding door going into the bathroom so I put the stand there for easy access to the sink:View attachment 326300 Ugly for now but it works!
So I'm building a 55 gallon sump ATM and looking for the bioballreplacements. Are those just plain little sponges from like Walmart?
 

Norwood

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 17, 2012
60
0
0
Louisiana
Here is an update to the filtration for my 300. Not the prettiest but it works.
Still need to get some driftwood and rocks but here is the tank.
We are building a 55 gallon sump ATM. 2 questions from your pics. Are those just regular sponges like from Walmart? And where do you get the plastic egg crate/ mesh stuff?? I can't find it. Lol.
 

JK47

Retired MFK Admin
MFK Member
Aug 4, 2008
11,112
3,479
2,555
Washington
Norwood they are nylon pot scrubbers. They have a lot of surface area and are great for bio media.
 

Egon

Bronze Tier VIP
MFK Member
Jul 4, 2007
6,324
1,311
853
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Tempe AZ
"plastic egg crate/mesh stuff" is at home depot and is called "light diffusers" I usually find it near the plastic sheets closer to the lumber/door/window area and not near the lighting where it should be. It comes in 2X4 foot sheets and is about $10 a sheet I think?
 

Inglorious

Piranha
MFK Member
Oct 27, 2010
2,214
29
81
Stuck inside my own head
Im Norwood's girlfriend. Where can we buy these nylon pot scrubbers and can we buy them in bulk...?
I've always bought my pot scrubbies at Dollar General where you can get a pack of 6 for a buck. I've never had to buy them in bulk though but I have heard of people clearing out all the dollar stores in their area of all of them.
 
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