centralized filtration without drilling?

unknown_saint · May 31, 2015

while i don't have a "fish room" per se, i'm at 400+ gallons and 10 tanks in my basement apartment. i'm wondering if it's time to move to centralized filtration.
all of the diy i've seen online involves drilling, which i'm not willing to do. has anyone managed to run several aquaria on a single system more simply? i realize the drawbacks, as far as potentially spreading disease, but i would of course keep my quarantine/hospice tank offline. also, i'm not sure i can spare the space for a large sump.
the benefit, as i see it, is that right now i have an average of 2.5 filters per aquarium, and they run the gamut of brands...it's frustrating to try to buy so many different cartridges. i had thought of picking one brand/size and and replacing the others. but i want to explore the centralized idea to see if that would be any more effiecient and economical.
i've never done even a small sump, so this might be a bit beyond me...

JLW · May 31, 2015

You could do central air.... but, if you want central filtration, you need a sump to act as a filter.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App

spazmattik · May 31, 2015

What about just buying a large air pump and running box filters or sponges? The hodge podge of filters does sound annoying. Aquaclears are amazing if you dont already own some. Just rinse out the sponge and pop it back in. Of course switching over to all aquaclear at once wont be cheap.

unknown_saint · May 31, 2015

i've been researching a bit today, pondering all of this.... i get a lot of 'work' done on sundays while sitting in my office.

i think i've decided to switch to some aquaclears, in conjunction with marineland biowheel filters (long have been my favorite, and i already have one on each tank), and phase out the tetra whispers, api and je-bo units i've been using in addition. still plan to keep the externals (sun sun, i think) that run on the 180 and the 55.
the aquaclears do seem a bit pricey, but i've heard from a few people that swear by them.
am i correct, that they don't take disposable cartridges?

chriscoli · May 31, 2015

I tried a central system for my rack of smaller tanks a few years back. I had the same issue as you about not being able/ not wanting to drill tanks. I tried several of the no-drill overflow designs that are available out there as DIY projects. Eventually I'd have one that would lose siphon and overflow. So I don't recommend it. I had too many minor floods.

Reed · May 31, 2015

Drilling your tank is easy don't be afraid. Check out my video
https://youtu.be/o1_GJZcjKw0

mchambers · May 31, 2015

AC Filters

unknown_saint said:
the aquaclears do seem a bit pricey, but i've heard from a few people that swear by them.
am i correct, that they don't take disposable cartridges?

Right. They do come with carbon, a sponge, and biomedia. Most of us use the carbon once and don't replace it. You can put another sponge or more biomedia in its place.

Jt731 · May 31, 2015

I've spent way too much time lately looking a Swiss Tropical's page on in tank filtration foam/sponges

spazmattik · May 31, 2015

If you decide to make the change over to aquaclears , petsmart still has them on sale. If you order through the site you get additional money off if you go over 100

dogofwar · May 31, 2015

I'm nearly 100% air (sponges and boxes) in my fishroom (except for a couple of pumps and a single canister). It's not "central filtration" per se but all runs on a couple of pumps / air systems.

I agree with Christine - don't try to run sumps on DIY overflows. Eventually it will be a mess.

Just having a central drain can make a big difference.

Matt

CichlidAddict · Jun 1, 2015

If you are running only 10 tanks, it may not be worth to convert to a centralized system that require drilling. I have about the same number of tanks and standardize my HOBs with Marineland Penquen filters. I bought Marineland filter baskets and buy Poly Batting by yards from JoAnn Fabric to cut my standardized filter pads. Changing the filter pads costs a nickle and takes less than 3 min each, which is easier to service than any other filters.

Becca · Jun 1, 2015

You've seen my "fish room" - I run it all on a central air pump with a mix of box and foam filters. It doesn't save the kind of time/hassle on water changes that a sump does, but it's less cords and a huge electricity savings compared to HOB filters.

The other thing I do that helps a lot is I've got a siphon with tube long enough to make it from any tank in the house out the door and another long enough to make it from the utility sink to any tank in the house. This means I can be using gravity to drain tanks, while I fill others that are already drained. You might need a pump to do this since you have a basement apartment, but a small submersible utility pump will only set you back about $40.

unknown_saint · Jun 1, 2015

Becca said:
You've seen my "fish room" - I run it all on a central air pump with a mix of box and foam filters. It doesn't save the kind of time/hassle on water changes that a sump does, but it's less cords and a huge electricity savings compared to HOB filters.

The other thing I do that helps a lot is I've got a siphon with tube long enough to make it from any tank in the house out the door and another long enough to make it from the utility sink to any tank in the house. This means I can be using gravity to drain tanks, while I fill others that are already drained. You might need a pump to do this since you have a basement apartment, but a small submersible utility pump will only set you back about $40.

that's a thought...your fish room is in your basement too, as i recall? i was distracted by the snow outside when i was there!
i think i'm moreso now leaning toward sticking with hob's, but settling on just two brands instead of going one of everything as i have it now. i'm pretty well sold on the aquaclears, especially since they don't require cartridges. i've already invested pretty heavily into marineland biowheels and have one on each tank, but will probably over time supplement that with aquaclears, maybe two a month until i've phased out all of the other filters. while less cords would be nice, i haven't given too much consideration to the electricity savings/costs because my utilities are included. :blush:
but if nothing else you've inspired me to look at a longer siphon so as to not have to drain tanks 5 gallons at a time and dump buckets in the yard while the neighbors look at me confusedly.

mchambers · Jun 1, 2015

Definitely get a longer siphon, Python or Lee or Aqueon brand, and a pump you can put on it. I have about the same amount of tanks and water as you, and it really simplifies things and makes it a long quicker. I have two water changer, and put a pump on each. In the winter, they drain into our basement shower. In the summer, I put the water out into our yard.

Can't imagine using buckets for 400 gallons of tanks.

Becca · Jun 1, 2015

unknown_saint said:
that's a thought...your fish room is in your basement too, as i recall? i was distracted by the snow outside when i was there!
i think i'm moreso now leaning toward sticking with hob's, but settling on just two brands instead of going one of everything as i have it now. i'm pretty well sold on the aquaclears, especially since they don't require cartridges. i've already invested pretty heavily into marineland biowheels and have one on each tank, but will probably over time supplement that with aquaclears, maybe two a month until i've phased out all of the other filters. while less cords would be nice, i haven't given too much consideration to the electricity savings/costs because my utilities are included. :blush:
but if nothing else you've inspired me to look at a longer siphon so as to not have to drain tanks 5 gallons at a time and dump buckets in the yard while the neighbors look at me confusedly.

Yes, the weather was terrible that day. I used to do buckets and I just can't anymore. I can't say enough good things about ACs. If you were at Aquamania, Chuck Davis gave a rather funny talk on his fish room. He runs aquaclears for 3 years at a time then throws them out and buys new ones. He had some tricks for keeping them running that long without any cleaning/maintenance, but the way he did his math was that, if he could get by 3 years on the same filter pads, motor, parts, etc., then he broke even buying a new one.

That said, parts in ACs are easy to replace and there are some cool tricks you can do with them. For instance, the AC 50, 70, and 110 (I think it's those 3) all run on the same motor have the same shaft, same fittings. The difference is the impeller size. If you want to up your filtration without flow that overpowers your tank, you can buy a 110 and put the impeller for a 50 on it. You get better filtration this way without turning your tank into a blender.

b considine · Jun 1, 2015

Becca said:
If you want to up your filtration without flow that overpowers your tank, you can buy a 110 and put the impeller for a 50 on it. You get better filtration this way without turning your tank into a blender.

I'm currently running an AC 20 motor/impeller on an AC 70 housing. Works just fine.

Blaise

npbarca · Jun 1, 2015

I originally had bio-wheels because they were much cheaper than Aquaclears. However, I've had 5 bio-wheels break on me in the past 4 months. I'm slowly converting all mine to Aquaclears. The big difference I found was the flow rate. I had to clean the bio wheels almost once a week to keep the highest flow rate, but the flow rate on the Aquaclears never decreases.

mchambers · Jun 1, 2015

The shafts are the same on the 20, 30, 50, and 70. I just changed one out. The 110 uses a different shaft.

The impellers are different, however.

Tangcollector · Jun 1, 2015

I had no problems with the bio wheels especially for the money. I only had two and I am switching out for the aquaclears only for the simplicity of ordering replacement media and also ATI makes a great pre filter that adapts right on the tube to the AC. It doesn't seem to slow down the flow and it is great for tanks with fry in them. And it is about 6 dollars.

unknown_saint · Jun 1, 2015

mchambers said:
Can't imagine using buckets for 400 gallons of tanks.

fortunately i've never had to bail out 400+ gallons all at once. my rotation for cleaning is the 40 & 55 one week, two 20's and a 29 the next week, the three 10's the following, and finally the 180.
but now i have a new 56 i'm setting up so will need to work that into the rotation somewhere along the way. regardless, it makes for a lot of trips out to the yard with buckets!
first priority is getting the filter situation stabilized, then i'm going to look at some more efficient siphoning solutions.

centralized filtration without drilling?

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