jamesR

I'm trying to find a book or books specifically on aquarium plumbing. I've searched Amazon and Google, and about all I could come up with were books with plumbing sections, but all of these I found were geared toward reef setups. For that reason I am leary of these books, as I'm looking to do a heavily planted tank. So I need a book on aquarium plumbing that doesn't speak only to reef-keepers. Thanks in advance!

ahill3780

Not sure about books on plumbing. Reef tank owners are generally the targeted audience for most trade manuals since keeping a reef tank is so demanding and usually the newest techniques are needed to gain the upper edge. However, just because it is aimed at the reef aquarist does not mean you should shun it entirely because you are focused on a planted aquarium. Plumbing is PVC, and PVC doesn't care if its moving fresh water laden in CO2 for planted aquariums, or calcium heavy saltwater for reef tanks, water is water and it all moves in the same way. Most all the techniques used for the reef can be adapted just as well for the freshwater planted aquarium.

I have some experience in working with plumbing for aquariums. Is there something in particular you were wanting to find out? Maybe I can offer advice, or steer you in the right direction.

Good luck!

jamesR

I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to set up my next tank. I've decided on Perfecto's 265g tank, and I plan on planting it heavy and stocking with rainbows and killies. Now since it doesn't seem there are any aquarium filters for a tank this size i went with a pair of eheim canisters. I decided against a wet/dry filter with sump figuring a strong biological filter wouldn't be necessary in a planted tank, so I opted for strong mechanical filters. I've also decided on adding a UV sterilizer. The only other filtration/maintenance components I've thought about including is an automatic single-tank refiller, but if I do this I want to plumb it to an RO unit and include some kind of chamber or sump where RO water and tap(?) water can automatically mix together before being pumped into the tank. All this considered, I haven't got the slightest clue how to set any of this up, especially the setup I want to do with the refiller. So, if you have any advice you could give me on how I would go about doing this, or if you could point me in the right direction it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, again. And tell me if you think my refiller idea is really a good idea in the first place.

ahill3780

Ok, I have a good idea of what you're wanting to do here. First off, scrap the UV sterilizer. They are more useful in setups where multiple tanks are all plumbed through a single central pump system like in pet shops. It really won't be of that much use to you and it will end up zapping a lot of the desired nutrients that you want in the tank for your plants.

The cannister filters are good to have around for when they are needed. In a tank as large as yours you will not need to run mechanical filtration all the time if you allow it to cycle properly in the beginning. If you run mechanical filters 24/7 they would just end up becoming nitrate factories. I would go with a closed loop system to create a nice current in the tank and only run the filters when you need to.

The auto top-off system is an ok idea - they do sometimes malfunction and flood the tank until you catch it and shut off the water so keep this in mind when you are deciding where to place the tank. It is not as bad of a problem for fresh water tanks as it is for saltwater tanks. I would forget the idea of mixing RO and tap - that just defeats the purpose of filtering the water in the first place - and decide to go with one or the other. Jay suggests tap water as the better source, but before deciding on that I would read this post: http://www.fishtankforums.com/freshw...ttled-tap.html I made on tap water and check in with your local water company as to their filtration practices to see whats in your tap water. When dealing with RO units you need to keep in mind that they produce a LOT of waste water and you will need to find some way of getting rid of it. (Takes around 3-4 gallons of tap water to produce 1 gallon of RO water.) not to mention that you will need to change out the filters after every so many gallons.

If you plan on using a top-off system then you might want to consider using a sump in your design in order to keep a lot of unsightly equipment from hanging in the tank.

I can offer suggestions, advice, and help with planning the plumbing on most of your choices as I have studied it all a great deal in preparing for my next big tank. Once you decide on a game plan, lets get together and discuss specifics.

If you have any questions on anything I have said in this post, please ask and I will be happy to explain in more detail. Let me know if I missed anything here.

__________________
"The only thing that happens fast in saltwater tanks is failure."

[url=http://www.fishtankforums.com]
[img]http://www.fishtankforums.com/sigpics/91_fishtankforums.png[/img]
[/url]

Jay

IMO and IME I think you are over thinking the value of RO Water if you are going with a heavily planted tank. Plants respond very positively to a tap water change, and unless your tap water is really funky, I would not bother.

PLUS in a heavily planted tank it is essential to maintain many critical nutrients and trace elements the RO process eliminates. You would be filtering the water and then adding back a lot of essential stuff.

Well... really Not a bad thing in a heavily planted tank where high nitrate levels are desirable.

Regards,
Jay