Two tanks, one filter ? best approach?

carpguy

carpguy

lots of small fish
Jul 15, 2002
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Two tanks, one filter — best approach?

I'm still in the planning stages but I want to set up a second 30 alongside the first and would like to run it as one system.

I'd like to get an Eheim 2026 and draw from one tank and return to the other. I was thinking I could run a spraybar low across the back of each tank and run some plumbing up and over to attach them, so that the water could siphon over as the one tank empties and the other one fills.

Doe this make sense? Is there a better way to do this? Any details I need to consider? One tank will be inhabited at all times so drilling seems impractical…
 
a one inch PVC sealed pipe of any shape you care to assemble going from one tank to the second would be sufficient. You could put a screen over one end to prevent creatures from passing back and forth.

good luck
:)
 
That clogging bit is actually one of the main concerns and reasons for the post.

Also one of the reasons for the spray bar in the return tank: multiple entry points.

Any workarounds? Redundancy? An overflow? A different approach? A bad idea?
 
Just put the tanks next to each other and put an inverted U connecting them both, suck the air out of the tube and your all set.

The flow rate from the canister should be high enough to keep bubbles from forming in the U-tube.

Theres no reason to worry about the spray bar, if the spray bar gets clogged it wont cause any problems.
 
Ok I will chime in on this one first I have set up 4 tank systems with one overflow box many diff ways and the Utube will work fine.
#1 add all the water to the first tank keep the flow through the tubes as strong as possable to prevent cloging and air build up.
#2 I like my tubes shorter so if a hose blows I'd rather my pump run dry than to empty both tanks on the floor say the 2nd tank springs a leak down low,It will leak all the water down to the depth of the tube in the second tank.I would rather come home to one dead tank instead of two.
#3 no screen I drill small holes all over the pvc pipe then cap them.I also use a couple smaller tubes instead of one bigger one If you can affors the clear ones well worth the money.

Inline 4- 29s with 600gph flow and the water level diff from the first tank to the last is only 1/2" :D
NEVER any acidents after overfilling, power outs

4-29 central.jpg
 
We used a similar setup with a SW 65 and 29. We had an octopus in the 29, so we had to have a fine screen on the octopus side to prevent her from going grocery shopping in the reef. It worked fine. The only problem was the occassional snail foray up the tube, which would slow the flow too much. If you are concerned something might clog the pipe, run 2. They won't run any faster, but if one gets clogged the other can carry the full flow.
 
Don't forget to have backup filtration ready if one of these tanks has some sort of outbreak of illness and the two need to be isolated for a bit.
 
I've run circulating ranges for many years. I make my own U-tubes from PVC, add an airline tube joint to the high point and check the U-tubes every week/10 days. I use three tubes between each pair of tanks. Sponge or mesh (depending on inhabitants) is used to restrict access between tanks.

If your fish don't mind the extra current, you can automate the air bleed by running airline tubing between the U-tube vent and the venturi intake of the powerhead -> automatic air bleed-off. But the U-tube vent is subject to clogs, so check it periodically anyway.

Pobody's nerfect. Don't do this over hardwood or rugs.
 
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