125g Closed Loop Setup help

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Need some help setting up my 125

I'm going to use 3 nu-clear modular filters 1 with pads and carbon, 2 for bio material.

How to setup the plumbing?
The tank has THREE 1 1/2" holes drilled in it, 2 of them are on the side of the tank halfway down, and the third hole is in the back, 3 quarters of the way to the bottom...

Option 1
build internal overflow/surface skimmer for the 2 drain holes on the side, through filters and return back into tank from hole in back.

Option 2
Use all 3 holes as a drain and pump water back into tank through a DIY spray bar.

Option 3
Split the return line to return half the water through the back hole and the other half through the spray bar.

Any better Ideas??

Any idea for a pump that is quiet and pumps a lot of water? was thinking "Quiet One 6000" Can anyone recommend this?

And any cheap ideas to keep the heaters and Co2 parts out of the tank too.

Please help

[Star_Rider]

I have a quiet 1 6000

it is pretty quiet .. I use it on my 110 marine tank it is submerged in the fuge.

1.5" holes are pretty good sized.

I need to do more research in closed loops to give you any ideas there.
I am considering a closed loop myself.

tho the ones I have seen are drilled in the bottom ctr with a stand pipe set up.

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These holes were already drilled when I got the tank from a shop going out of business...

There are just so many ways to plumb the system that I'm not sure which would be the best 2way to go due to the odd placement of the holes.

Star - how long have you been using the quiet one for? Any problems? I would be running it external tho so not sure if there is a huge difference in its performance.

[krytan]

I would just set up a wet/dry, use the two holes on the side of the tank for overflows and the hole on the back of the tank as the return. You can then hide all of your heaters and other equipment in the sump.

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I'm trying to stay away from the sump setup which is why I wanted to go closed loop... I'd rather not worry about flooding if the electric shuts off. and I'd rather not put a very large sump under the tank incase it decides to drain from the return line...

The only exception to this would be to put a small 10gal above the water level 125 (if I can drill the side) and pumpwater into it from the 125, put the heaters, Co2, and some more bio material or whatever in it... but this would only be in addition to the closed loop

[SubRosa]

I would scrap the overflow idea if you're going to be adding CO2. Just plumb the system you described through the two more accessible holes and block off the unused one. Or if you feel the need split the return.

[krytan]

I'm trying to stay away from the sump setup which is why I wanted to go closed loop... I'd rather not worry about flooding if the electric shuts off. and I'd rather not put a very large sump under the tank incase it decides to drain from the return line...

That won't happen, the water will only drain to the level that you set your overflow to and the return won't back syphon if you put a syphon break in just under the top of the water level. All a closed loop is going to do is give you water circulation (it's like having a external powerhead).

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well, with one of the holes in the tank being towards the bottom of the tank, any water above that hole will drain into the sump... And I want to stay away from having an ugly 1.5" pvc pipe running up the middle of the tank. There is a good 90 gallons of water above that hole so I'd need a HUGE sump or pvc in the middle of the tank. :barf:


That won't happen, the water will only drain to the level that you set your overflow to and the return won't back syphon if you put a syphon break in just under the top of the water level. All a closed loop is going to do is give you water circulation (it's like having a external powerhead).

[krytan]

You could patch the hole and have the return over the top of the tank.

[SubRosa]

well, with one of the holes in the tank being towards the bottom of the tank, any water above that hole will drain into the sump... And I want to stay away from having an ugly 1.5" pvc pipe running up the middle of the tank. There is a good 90 gallons of water above that hole so I'd need a HUGE sump or pvc in the middle of the tank. :barf:Or you could place the internal overflow so that it uses that hole for the drain.

[adstudio3d]

What about this...

Drain from the 2 left side holes through the filters and split the return line.
1 return line flows to the 3rd hole in the back of the tank, while the other return line flows to a 10gal sump (above the water level of the 125) which then drains back into the 125... the 10gal will hold the heaters, Co2 and whatever else needs to be added. Thats IF i can drill the side of the 10gal.


I would scrap the overflow idea if you're going to be adding CO2. Just plumb the system you described through the two more accessible holes and block off the unused one. Or if you feel the need split the return.

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SubRosa - then I'd still need about a 60 gallon sump because the other two holes are about halfway down the tank aswell... I know it's not the most ideal drill spots but for $100 for a drilled 125gal in good shape I just have to get a little creative =)

[krytan]

Can i ask what you are trying to achieve?
IMO the best way to plumb your tank would be to have a sump under the tank. The two holes on the side of the tank as overflows and either have the return on the third hole or over the back of the tank. If this is done properly there will be no way your sump would overflow if the power went out.

[krytan]

SubRosa - then I'd still need about a 60 gallon sump because the other two holes are about halfway down the tank aswell... I know it's not the most ideal drill spots but for $100 for a drilled 125gal in good shape I just have to get a little creative =)
The position of the holes is irrelevant to where the tank drains down to, it all come's down to how you have your plumbing.

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The holes locations do matter if I don't want pvc piping inside of the tank though, which I don't. The goal is to have a highly planted tank and overstock it....

[krytan]

The pipes can be painted or hidden.
If you don't want any pipes in your tank i would just patch all of the holes up and use canister filters with in-line heaters instead.

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Do you think the suction from these two drain holes would be too much? I have bulkheads with built in screens, but If I decide to have small fish I think this might be a problem which is why I was going to go the internal overflow route... Maybe I'm just overthinking this, but I'd think the fish would get stuck to the bulkhead screen haha



I would scrap the overflow idea if you're going to be adding CO2. Just plumb the system you described through the two more accessible holes and block off the unused one. Or if you feel the need split the return.

[adstudio3d]

Very true, could do that... and could also just have the closed loop system. And I can't take anything you say seriously when everytime I read one of your posts all i see is a big thumbs up hahaha


The pipes can be painted or hidden.
If you don't want any pipes in your tank i would just patch all of the holes up and use canister filters with in-line heaters instead.

[krytan]

With the holes where they are i would set the tank up like this.
99899
I would use krylon fusion to paint the pipes so you cant see them easily or install acrylic overflows to hide the pipes. The return doesn't need to be inside the tank like in my diagram, you could patch that hole and have the return over the back of the tank.
If you want to take advantage of the holes you have in the tank you are going to have to have pipes in the tank.

[krytan]

Heres a good thread on how another member has set up his sump and closed loop. http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=161222

[Star_Rider]

use the existing holes for closed loop and then add a canister for mechanical/bio filter.
;)

I like krytans drawing for plumbing

[adstudio3d]

That's a huge thread, but from the pictures on the first page it looks like his sump will just overflow if the pump stops working... Unless there are things going on which can't be seen, I don't see what would stop the water from flowing back into the sump from all of those outputs.

But this has gone off in a different direction as I'm not setting up a sump anyway

The stand will not only have doors/shelves under the tank, but on the left side of the tank as well... I modeled it in 3D at home and will upload the render later but i'll see if i can show the general concept.

Tank stand
_________________________________________________
I.........................I.........Hood.......... I.........................I
I________________I________________I_______________ I
I...............I
I...............I
I..cabinet...I'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' '''''''Tank''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' '''''''''''
I...............I
I_________I_______________________________________
I..........................I...................... ...I........................I
I........cabinet........I........cabinet.......I.. ......cabinet.......I
I..........................I...................... ...I........................I
I________________I________________I_______________ I

Drains to the left through the left cabinet...
If I do any kind of sump it will be for ease and to hide things and it will be above the tank in the left cabinet with a bulkhead plumbed to drain back into the main tank, not under the main tank...


and the tank looks like this
------ __________________________________________
------ I_I............................................... ................I
2holes I0I............................................... ................I
------ I............................................O.... ................I
------ I................................................. .................I
------ I_________________________________________I

hahaha yea, it would be much easier if i could upload images, but firewall at work is not very friendly



Heres a good thread on how another member has set up his sump and closed loop. http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=161222

[krytan]

There is always something to prevent the water overflowing the sump if the pump stops, on ace's tank it is the weir he has in front of the overflow.
Having a sump increases the volume of the tank, gives you somewhere you can put other equipment that you would normally have to have in the display tank and you get better oxygen exchange with a sump.
A closed loop is not going to give you anywhere to hide your heaters and you won't be able to have it run through a filter like you wanted. A closed loop is like having an external power head, they use more energy than internal power heads and are noisy.
At the end of the day it's your tank and it's up to you what you do with it.

Your stand looks how i wanted to build mine but the wife said no. I look forward to seeing how this project turns out, please keep us updated with the build as we all like to see these things develop.

Here's my current build if you are interested http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=189483 you can see the glass weirs i have in the corners of the tank to stop the sump overflowing.

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Nice setup Kryton, stand is coming out nice... I didn't get a chance last night up upload the renders for my stand yet, as soon as I get a chance (if i remember) I'll upload them.

The nu-clear filters are run inline in the closed loop...
Tank -> pump -> filters -> Tank
or if i split the return to an overhead sump, half of the return water will go to the sump and then back to the tank.

[krytan]

Thanks.
Never seen those nu-clear filters before, i had to google it to see what they were.
With a closed loop system the outlets and the ruturn are both underwater so if the power was to go out air cannot get into the system.

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I haven't set them up yet, but I hear very good things about them. They are also very well built and heavy duty. The only downside is they are only 1" in/out but for a tank this size that should be more than enough.

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Finally remembered to post the renders of the tank... check it out.

http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/7939/tankstand.jpg