Hello, im still very new to this hobby, Im building a large plywood/epoxy/glass tank(8 feet long - 250 gallons)for my pacu. I want to start on it monday,the only thing is i dont know if i should drill holes for bulkheads because i dont know what type of filter system to use. Any suggestions on a very cheap but effective filter setup??? DIY is not a problem to me, a wet/dry system would probably be best but it looks very time consuming to construct and i still dont understand how it works completelly. I just need a good mechanical and biological filter system for a 250 gallon tank, and need to know if im going to need to drill holes or not.
Building a 250 gal tank,need filter suggestions
- Thread starter deezdrama
- Start date
A Pondmaster filter kit for that sized tank could work. I have been looking into them.
It includes a pump and filter w/ pad.
It includes a pump and filter w/ pad.
I'm not a big fan of drilling holes in glass for bulkhead fittings. Even if the drilling operation goes OK, it still creates a weak spot. I'm much more comfortable using a submersible pump and going over the side with hoses. You're right though to be concerned about filter costs because with a 250 gallon tank you're talking about needing a 2500gph filter, or a combination of smaller filters adding up to 2500gph, which aren't cheap !
If you're a DIY fabricator, you could actually build your own high capacity mechanical filter module and biological module pretty easily by simply building a couple of vessels out of say 36" to 48" long by say 8" diameter PVC pipe and fittings. Fernco makes 8"x4" reducing rubber couplings which secure with a hose clamp ( http://www.fernco.com/1056.html ), which are easy to slip over the 8" pipe ends and which can accept a 4" plastic bushing on the small end to adapt to your hose size (at least 1 1/4" better yet 1 1/2" for 2500gph ). To save even more money, and if you have the tools necessary, instead of using the reducing Fernco couplings and commercial PVC bushings, you could use 8"x8" standard Fernco couplings (which are 1/2 the price of the reducing couplings), and fabricate an 8" diameter by say 1 1/2" better yet 2" thick PVC end plug for the 8" pipes, drill the center of the end plugs, and glue in a PVC coupling with the right thread to directly match your hose fittings.
Then just cram one pipe full of cut-out 8" round filter sponges followed by filter floss (like http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/category.xml?pcid1=1965;category_id=2569 ), and cram the other pipe full of bio balls ( like http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/product.xml?product_id=24209;category_id=2561;pcid1=1965;pcid2= ). You'll probably need to add an 8" diameter perforated plastic screen of some sort at the downstream end of each tube to keep the media from trying to escape down the hose (maybe cutting 8" circles out of a plastic 2'x4' suspended ceiling light fixture grille ?). Then just slip on the Fernco couplings, hook up a submersible pump like a Danner mag 36, go through the mechanical filter module first, go through the bio-ball module after it, dump the return hose back in the tank, and you're good to go with the world's least expensive 2500gph filter. When it comes time to clean the filter, just pop off the Fernco fittings and push out the media.
It wouldn't hurt to install a tee and drain valve near the bottom hose connections of your homemade modules either to avoid a major mess factor when cleaning time arrives, and also don't forget to add shutoff valves in each of the 'over the side' hoses to prevent your tank water from siphoning backwards when you open up the drain valves !
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If you're a DIY fabricator, you could actually build your own high capacity mechanical filter module and biological module pretty easily by simply building a couple of vessels out of say 36" to 48" long by say 8" diameter PVC pipe and fittings. Fernco makes 8"x4" reducing rubber couplings which secure with a hose clamp ( http://www.fernco.com/1056.html ), which are easy to slip over the 8" pipe ends and which can accept a 4" plastic bushing on the small end to adapt to your hose size (at least 1 1/4" better yet 1 1/2" for 2500gph ). To save even more money, and if you have the tools necessary, instead of using the reducing Fernco couplings and commercial PVC bushings, you could use 8"x8" standard Fernco couplings (which are 1/2 the price of the reducing couplings), and fabricate an 8" diameter by say 1 1/2" better yet 2" thick PVC end plug for the 8" pipes, drill the center of the end plugs, and glue in a PVC coupling with the right thread to directly match your hose fittings.
Then just cram one pipe full of cut-out 8" round filter sponges followed by filter floss (like http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/category.xml?pcid1=1965;category_id=2569 ), and cram the other pipe full of bio balls ( like http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/product.xml?product_id=24209;category_id=2561;pcid1=1965;pcid2= ). You'll probably need to add an 8" diameter perforated plastic screen of some sort at the downstream end of each tube to keep the media from trying to escape down the hose (maybe cutting 8" circles out of a plastic 2'x4' suspended ceiling light fixture grille ?). Then just slip on the Fernco couplings, hook up a submersible pump like a Danner mag 36, go through the mechanical filter module first, go through the bio-ball module after it, dump the return hose back in the tank, and you're good to go with the world's least expensive 2500gph filter. When it comes time to clean the filter, just pop off the Fernco fittings and push out the media.
It wouldn't hurt to install a tee and drain valve near the bottom hose connections of your homemade modules either to avoid a major mess factor when cleaning time arrives, and also don't forget to add shutoff valves in each of the 'over the side' hoses to prevent your tank water from siphoning backwards when you open up the drain valves !
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Is it just the pacu that will be going into there? You could try drilling 2 holes on each side of the tank for 3/4" bulkheads so then you could have two inlets and outlets for the filter. Don't forget to put valves on the inlets and outlets if you do go with bulkheads. For a filter you could try a Ocean Clear 318($105 @ Bigalsonline.com) matched with a Mag Drive 24 ($125 @ Bigals). The good thing about the OCs are that they have an attachment for hoses so that when you can close the outlet valve and run the pump, it can speed up the water changing process. OR, you could just get a rubbermaid container and make a DIY Bio-filter. I don't really know how, but others on the forum do know how.
I made a wet/dry for a 220 gal. with a rubbermaid tub and a few commericial "Coca Cola Trays": the plastic trays used to carry 2 liter bottles from the truck to the store. They're about 18"x24" or so, already perforated, stack, and fit into the rubbermaid tub with no problem. Two five gallon buckets of bio balls and a fabricated drip tray later, we were up and running. If I can recall, I used a Mag 12 to circulate water and the heat from the pump (submerged) provided a fair amount of heat on its own.
As far as getting water to the filter goes, you could buy/build an overflow box or drill the tank yourself. If it were me, I would drill two holes in the back of the tank: one to let water in and the other to let water out. You could hard-line everything and wind up with a very clean set-up. The only pieces of filtration in the tank would be a strainer for your overflow and a (approx. 2"x3") and your outlet.
IMO/IME, wet dry filters are the most cost effective way to filter large aquariums. They're not nearly as difficult to put together as you think and the only thing you need to remember is the filter works by splashing water over a material with large amounts of surface area. Nature does the rest.
As far as getting water to the filter goes, you could buy/build an overflow box or drill the tank yourself. If it were me, I would drill two holes in the back of the tank: one to let water in and the other to let water out. You could hard-line everything and wind up with a very clean set-up. The only pieces of filtration in the tank would be a strainer for your overflow and a (approx. 2"x3") and your outlet.
IMO/IME, wet dry filters are the most cost effective way to filter large aquariums. They're not nearly as difficult to put together as you think and the only thing you need to remember is the filter works by splashing water over a material with large amounts of surface area. Nature does the rest.