3 tank continuous system

[mattheite]

I made this tank set up with all old appliances because it is so small I didn't want to dump too much time and money into a possible failure also was my first saltwater tank have done many since but she just keeps running lol tank ran me only cost 40 to start with rock sand and water i had the two tanks and pumps from old freshwater the sump is a plastic zoo med cricket keeper with rubbermaid cut baffolds

 

[Iamonlyme]

Looks good how long has it been running mattheite

 

[mattheite]

Been running six months or so yellow watchman and his pistol shrimp and the red banded Goby and his pistol have been in since the get with about 10 hermits and 4 nasarius snails and 4 turban snails lots of chaeto and halimedia and some red kelp for p04 removal sockless tank feed live brine and home made frozen foods seachem zoo and phyto dosed weekly also using the aqua vitro nutrient line dosing as well great polyp growth and extension. Water change weekly scrub algae monthly Cruz in a little lazy lol

 

[mattheite]

 

[mattheite]

2.5 gallon display 2 gallon sump nat geo pod lights 8 10000k led spot lights 4rbg and 4 actinic blue sump light is 24 10000k white and 8 blue

 

[mattheite]

Salinity 1028

 

[mattheite]

And sorry last update lol 10 lbs of live rock

 

[Paul B]

Also be very careful with a continuous siphon you will have to trial and error and maybe a wet desk lol

That system with the three pumps will flood your floor in les than 10 minutes. You need to use 1 pump and siphons for the other two tanks. I would put two siphons in each tank and check them frequently for air bubbles because if the siphon stops, there will be water on the floor. I would use siphons but install the one pump so that it sucks water from no deeper than maybe an inch below the surface. This way, if a siphon stops and the water gets pumped out of the tank with the pump, only an inch of water will get pumped out rather than emptying the tank on the floor. I do these types of multi systems all the time and have had plenty of wet floors. Now I have it down to a science. Almost. :eek:

 

[Iamonlyme]

Paul I always appreciate your knowledge :) here is some quick pics of how I see the system connected keep in mind all the back glass of each tank will be black and the back cord excess will not be viewable at all once framed in

 

[Iamonlyme]

If I purchase a nano over flow box for main tank to overflow into protein skimmer how would I siphone to 3rd tank back to main? Sorry if idiotic question :)

 

[Paul B]

It's very important to have the top of all 3 tanks at the same height. If not, they will overflow in 2 minutes. I would also raise that pump so that the input is near the surface so if there is a problem all the water in that tank will bot be pumped on the floor. If you siphon the water from the second tank to the third tank it will siphon back to the main tank. Keep in mind you need large siphons that are capable of moving water faster than your pump. This is a tricky installation and rife with possabilities of flooding, it is tricky

 

[Iamonlyme]

The stand build will raise the two little tank to the same height as the main tank :) they will be framed in like a box maybe I need to think about a resivour around the tank under the frame to catch water in case of overflow lol only needs to be big enough to hold about 9 gallons lol

 

[mattheite]

It is hard to create a siphon without gravity you will probably need a pump system with gate valves just me tho

 

[mattheite]

Hydroponics stores have all kinds of irrigation needs for far cheaper than your lfs such as clear hoses and adapters and small pumps and catch trays for overflow

 

[Fin]

I would suggest a DIY All in One design. Get a 10 gallon for $10 at the next PetCo Dollar a Gallon Sale. Have a glass shop cut a few small pieces of glass for you to divide the tank off - like an all-in-one aquarium. Install a partition length-ways in the 10 and a couple of other perpendicular partitions in the rear compartment. Water would move into the skimmer compartment, under the partition into the refugium, and over the other partiotion into the return pump area, back into the tank. Like this...

Everything is in one enclosure that way. You can either stack your rock in a way to conceal the rear compartments, or to be even neater, just have a black piece of acrylic cut to attach to the the partition.

 

[Paul B]

That would definitely work better

 

[Iamonlyme]

Yes it would but first I have to,the the difficult 3 tanks lol I don't give up easily

 

[Fin]

Ok, I am interested in seeing what you come up with. Following along...

 

[mattheite]

Can you open the spout?

 

[melypr1985]

So this might be a stupid suggestion but.... why dont you stair step the tanks? You have the 10 which is the tallest, that one flows to the 5.5 which would be just a little lower and then the last 5.5 which would be the lowest. Then pump the water from the last 5.5 back up to the 10. That way you have a little gravity for each overflow siphon and you only use 1 pump. I've seen this done with much larger systems (albeit in a more spread out way) so i dont see why you cant do it with these.