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Tony's 180 Malawi Setup

SubMariner

SubMariner

Master Jedi & Past VP
Ya know, I actually forgot to post about my visit to Tony's the other night.:eek:

His 180 is AWESOME!:wacko: Tony calls it a cichlidholic's wet dream and I concur.

I mean as soon as you walk in his basement it's like....CLIK CLAK!!:confused0054:

Really cool Tony, thanx for having me over. We had a ton of laughs that night so let's do it again soon Bro.
 
Tony

Tony

Alligator Snapping Turtle/Past Pres
Thanks for the kind words, Richard. You know that you're always at my pad, bro. Stop by whenever.
 
Tony

Tony

Alligator Snapping Turtle/Past Pres
cmcpart0422 said:
Looks awesome dude! After it all was done how much did the sump cost you?
Click to expand...

Thanks a ton, Chris. :)

For cost, let me see... Approximately:

$15 - plastic drawers (Target)
$12 - 50G rubbermaid (Depot)
~$20 - flexible hose/fittings (Depot)
$10 - 2x new 1" drain bulkheads (Jehmco) - we had to cut the old ones off the tank
$4 - filter pads (Foster and Smith)
$10 - Old cheapo bioballs sitting around (mail order?)
$10 - 10 packs 6 ea scrubbies (Dollar store)
$50 - Old Mag 9.5 (bought it used in my reef days)

So about $131 total to filter a heavily stocked 180 gallon. When you take out the replacement bulkheads, hoses and pump, we're talking about $51 for the sump and media alone.

Not too shabby, I think, especially when you consider that some acrylic sumps run $300+ for a tank this size. Yeah, they're pretty, but meh.

I would highly recommend this method for anyone considering filtration methods on a large tank. I am currently planning on daisy-chaining three 40 breeders together and doing a similar smaller setup using a 30G- 40G Rubbermaid and 5 gallon bucket as a tower, powered by the Mag 9.5 (I'll post pics of this project as it evolves).

Tough to beat the efficiency, ease-of-maintenance and economy of a DIY trickle filter.
 
chris_todd

chris_todd

Members
Tony, cool setup!

Forgive my ignorance, but would this kind of DIY wet/dry work on a tank without overflows? And how much noise does it make?

My wife has been compaining recently about the amount of noise the AC110 makes on our 65g Malawi tank in the kitchen. I tried the argument "But honey, some people spend a lot of money to have fountains installed in living areas so they can hear the soothing sound of trickling water". Didn't work, LOL. While I could probably just replace it with an XP2/3, FX5, or Eheim, I'd like to expore other filtering possibilities.

Tony said:
Thanks a ton, Chris. :)

For cost, let me see... Approximately:

$15 - plastic drawers (Target)
$12 - 50G rubbermaid (Depot)
~$20 - flexible hose/fittings (Depot)
$10 - 2x new 1" drain bulkheads (Jehmco) - we had to cut the old ones off the tank
$4 - filter pads (Foster and Smith)
$10 - Old cheapo bioballs sitting around (mail order?)
$10 - 10 packs 6 ea scrubbies (Dollar store)
$50 - Old Mag 9.5 (bought it used in my reef days)

So about $131 total to filter a heavily stocked 180 gallon. When you take out the replacement bulkheads, hoses and pump, we're talking about $51 for the sump and media alone.

Not too shabby, I think, especially when you consider that some acrylic sumps run $300+ for a tank this size. Yeah, they're pretty, but meh.

I would highly recommend this method for anyone considering filtration methods on a large tank. I am currently planning on daisy-chaining three 40 breeders together and doing a similar smaller setup using a 30G- 40G Rubbermaid and 5 gallon bucket as a tower, powered by the Mag 9.5 (I'll post pics of this project as it evolves).

Tough to beat the efficiency, ease-of-maintenance and economy of a DIY trickle filter.
Click to expand...
 
Tony

Tony

Alligator Snapping Turtle/Past Pres
While it's not loud, it definitely makes more noise than an Aquaclear. The glass lids cut down on the noise a good bit, but overflow towers are still overflow towers.... water falling over a lip 6"-8" into the tower.

You could probably set up a weir or over-the-side overflow, or even one of those DIY PVC syphon tubes. These may make less noise than towers from my experience with my reef setup. Charles' post (link on th4e first page) uses an over-the-side syphon and they will work well if you remember to check on it from time to time.

After multiple floods with my reef setup, I've pretty much sworn off these methods though (I am more forgetful than most). I've found that either a closed system (canister filter) or a drilled tank works best for me (and my relationship with my wife).

In terms of noise, come over some time to check it out for yourself. I've also closed up the back of the stand a good bit and have the sump covered.. this certainly helps.
 
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