I tried my luck on another site with little interest, so here's to hoping an expert (or not) here can direct me.
So, this weekend, I"ll start plumbing my tank. I'm concerned about getting this thing right the first time.
Some background to start:
I have a Sunsun canister rated at 265gph. Tests by others show that this number isn't too exaggerated either. The top of the tank however is about 5.5 feet (the stand is also secured to a stud in the wall), and the filter is not going to be but a few inches off the floor. That may effect flow, but it doesn't make sense to me as to how.
There will be an inline household-water-filter-canister-CO2 reactor, and then a Hydor 300W inline heater.
I intend to run 3/4 PVC into the cabinet with ball valves, and only have the soft tubing for the short stretch into the filter.
Now, I'm concerned about circulation in this tank. I've searched and found a few-well, one-threads about the effects of a DIY spraybar on circulation, but nothing concerning a tank of this shape. It's 20" wide, 18" deep, 30" tall. It's basically a tall square.
The bottom will be covered with a ground cover. I think I like dwarf hair grass for that. I'm soaking a pretty large piece of Malaysian DW for the center piece that will ascend to ~2" from the water surface. I'd like some slightly larger plants around the base of that, then some rather tall plants in the back to hide the (hopefully) only two things that I have to stick over the edge and into the tank--the filter intake and output.
So far through my research, I've concluded that a vertical spraybar would be best, and to place it in the (from the front) back left corner, and have it spray into the glass slightly across the back. The spraybar will have several holes in it, all in a line that span the entire length of the PVC. (I assume it's OK to paint PVC.)
The intake would be on the opposite side of the back in the corner too. I think I"ll put it on a table saw and cut vertical slits along it's length to allow water to enter with as little restriction as possible. I will only have small fish. the smaller the better, so maybe it would be a good idea to wrap it in a 'prefilter' to avoid anyone getting sucked up, or stuck!
Other things I'm concerned about that could/should effect the design.
1. Large tank volume, small surface area for degassing. I don't intend to follow the 1"/Galllon rule here. I'll only have about 8-10 small schooling fish, and maybe a few ottos or corys.
2. CO2 during the day and--if absolutely necessary--an air pump during the night so nobody suffocates... but, only if necessary.
3. I'm trying to keep it quiet.
I'd like to run this by you guys/gals as I value your experience. What should I look out for now while putting this part of the tank together? What problems might I encounter later on buy doing it this way? What were your first impressions when you read this--what am it missing?
Any and all suggestions would be appreciated.
Many thanks!
So, this weekend, I"ll start plumbing my tank. I'm concerned about getting this thing right the first time.
Some background to start:
I have a Sunsun canister rated at 265gph. Tests by others show that this number isn't too exaggerated either. The top of the tank however is about 5.5 feet (the stand is also secured to a stud in the wall), and the filter is not going to be but a few inches off the floor. That may effect flow, but it doesn't make sense to me as to how.
There will be an inline household-water-filter-canister-CO2 reactor, and then a Hydor 300W inline heater.
I intend to run 3/4 PVC into the cabinet with ball valves, and only have the soft tubing for the short stretch into the filter.
Now, I'm concerned about circulation in this tank. I've searched and found a few-well, one-threads about the effects of a DIY spraybar on circulation, but nothing concerning a tank of this shape. It's 20" wide, 18" deep, 30" tall. It's basically a tall square.
The bottom will be covered with a ground cover. I think I like dwarf hair grass for that. I'm soaking a pretty large piece of Malaysian DW for the center piece that will ascend to ~2" from the water surface. I'd like some slightly larger plants around the base of that, then some rather tall plants in the back to hide the (hopefully) only two things that I have to stick over the edge and into the tank--the filter intake and output.
So far through my research, I've concluded that a vertical spraybar would be best, and to place it in the (from the front) back left corner, and have it spray into the glass slightly across the back. The spraybar will have several holes in it, all in a line that span the entire length of the PVC. (I assume it's OK to paint PVC.)
The intake would be on the opposite side of the back in the corner too. I think I"ll put it on a table saw and cut vertical slits along it's length to allow water to enter with as little restriction as possible. I will only have small fish. the smaller the better, so maybe it would be a good idea to wrap it in a 'prefilter' to avoid anyone getting sucked up, or stuck!
Other things I'm concerned about that could/should effect the design.
1. Large tank volume, small surface area for degassing. I don't intend to follow the 1"/Galllon rule here. I'll only have about 8-10 small schooling fish, and maybe a few ottos or corys.
2. CO2 during the day and--if absolutely necessary--an air pump during the night so nobody suffocates... but, only if necessary.
3. I'm trying to keep it quiet.
I'd like to run this by you guys/gals as I value your experience. What should I look out for now while putting this part of the tank together? What problems might I encounter later on buy doing it this way? What were your first impressions when you read this--what am it missing?
Any and all suggestions would be appreciated.
Many thanks!
