# does anyone do central filtration?



## sbarbee54 (Jan 12, 2012)

By that what do you mean, a sump for all your tanks or one of the large commercial grade systems?


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## ctaylor3737 (Nov 14, 2013)

All i use is a few air pumps and do sponge filters in my tanks, a few of my higher grades get the luxury of a small hob filter lol.


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## Soothing Shrimp (Nov 9, 2011)

ctaylor, that is what I am doing currently- sponge filters.

sbarbee- A DIY is fine. I'm just exploring possibilities of simplifying all tanks to one central water filtration- and I have absolutely NO IDEA what is even involved since I use racks.


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## bostoneric (Sep 7, 2011)

My latest rack is a sump designed system. 5 tanks all drain into 1 large sump. 40G breeder is the sump. probably a bit more complex than needed but I really want to explore this option on a limited scale to see the results.
1 large return pump pumps the water back up into a T. each tank has its ball valve return and DIY PVC overflow. next time i'll just drill the tanks for a bulked overflow.

1 week of cycling and water parameters are almost within the correct range.
The sump maximizes the refugium area. I used some plastic containers to hold aged soil and added a giant pile of moss.

I will explain in more detail later. very busy @ work today.

if this site would allow you to post FB photos it would be awesome...
uploading to flickr... please hold.


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## Duck5003 (Oct 1, 2012)

Interesting question. I have been trying to design a system for this, well kinda. It would only be for neos and tigers, my thoughts and what i'm trying to figure out is a 20L with a 10 sump. Divide the 20L so i'm essentially creating two tanks. Could even divide into 3 equal compartments, what have you. Drill the 20L. 

Its not exactly ALL centralized, but my thought process behind this is if something happens i.e. bacterial infection, hydra, disease, etc. i'm not potentially burning all my tanks. With a standard rack, 2 20L's and on the bottom shelf the two tens side by side for sumps (one/20L). If you divide them in 3's you getting roughly three 6 gallon tanks, all the same water and filtration. 

Now the logistics and actual parts, measurements, etc. is what i'm trying to figure out. Also solid glass divider to split the tanks, or foam to allow all the water to flow freely throughout the tank. I'm currently collecting the materials. I have the 20L and ten, i have glass ordered for the baffles and tank dividers. I'm anxious to see others input/experiences with this type of setup.


**Nice set up boston! What size are those shrimp tanks?


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## bostoneric (Sep 7, 2011)

I dont see a problem with how you want to do it. a couple of the biggest reasons I went with this sump setup is.
1. water volume. a lot easier to stay on top of parameters when I have close to 100G of water vs maintaining parameters in each individual tank.
2. sump refugium. this creates a great place for bacteria, algae, and nitrate sucking plants. keeps them all out of your displays.
3. when time comes for me to replace soil I can just shut off 1 tank replace the soil. put a small HOB on it while it cycles. once i'm satisfied with parameters introduce it back into the system. I even have a spare couple of these tanks I could start cycling and swap them out as needed. 

I little elbow grease now goes a long way down the road.
I use 3/4 for the over flow which can flow more than i'll need, the return from the sump pump is 1" because of the pump sizing and after it Ts off its 1.25" 
I figure its flowing about 60-80gph to each tank. each tank has air powered UGF and dual sponge filter. 

pvc gph flow rates.
http://flexpvc.com/WaterFlowBasedOnPipeSize.shtml

here is a photo of my 3 selective breeder cubes. they are isolated systems and small so i'm constantly having to monitor the water parameters in them.
being so small ~4G the water can change quickly.


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## Soothing Shrimp (Nov 9, 2011)

So basically you have a pump per aquarium with an overflow back down to the main holding tank?


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## Duck5003 (Oct 1, 2012)

Great info boston! Thanks for that. In addition to soothings question, what is your current overflow setup?


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## bostoneric (Sep 7, 2011)

Soothing Shrimp said:


> So basically you have a pump per aquarium with an overflow back down to the main holding tank?


I'm sorry if posting the small cubes confuses the topic. The 3 cubes are not part of my sump system. They are isolated environments. 
The sump system:
Larger cubes each with DIY overflow pipe that drains down to the sump 
The return pump from the sump pumps straight up above the height of the tanks where it Ts off into a larger horizontal pipe. 
Each tank has it's own ball valve return off this larger pipe 
The opening is slightly above water level to stop a back syphon in case of power loss. 

That's the basics. I will go into details of the design if requested.


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## Soothing Shrimp (Nov 9, 2011)

I understand now, however if you'd go into details of your design, I'd appreciate it as well.


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## Duck5003 (Oct 1, 2012)

Soothing Shrimp said:


> I understand now, however if you'd go into details of your design, I'd appreciate it as well.


+1! That is a seriously sweet setup. Did you do any drilling on the tanks?


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## sbarbee54 (Jan 12, 2012)

I plan on doing the same when I move, but will be drilling the tanks, as that is why I have choosen Mr Aqua tanks. You can drill all sides but the bottom. I will be doing sumps for eahc type of shrimp. 1 Neo 1 Tiger 1 CRS/CBS 1 PRL/PBL 1 TB/Mischling


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## bostoneric (Sep 7, 2011)

Soothing Shrimp said:


> I understand now, however if you'd go into details of your design, I'd appreciate it as well.


I'll pull some photos today and do a nice break down of it all.



sbarbee54 said:


> I plan on doing the same when I move, but will be drilling the tanks, as that is why I have choosen Mr Aqua tanks. You can drill all sides but the bottom. I will be doing sumps for eahc type of shrimp. 1 Neo 1 Tiger 1 CRS/CBS 1 PRL/PBL 1 TB/Mischling


Yes on my next design I will be drilling the tanks for an bulked overflow pipe. so much simpler design vs DIY PVC overflow. A lot of the breeders I've been communicating with drill the bottom of the tanks under the UGF for a drain pipe. This makes for quick water changes and also removes a lot of the buildup under the UGF when doing so.


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## usgetata (Dec 28, 2012)

My shrimp rack is a "central" filtration system combined with individual HMF system. 6 x 10 gallons tank, one is being used as the sump.
















A pump from the sump pumps water up to the 5 tanks. I drilled holes in the tanks and installed bulkhead as the overflown return. Each tank is divided into 2 sections by a poret foam HMF. They share the same 45~50 gallons water volume but I have 10 sections to separate shrimps with. Maintenance is easy, I top off the sump every other day with RO water. For water change I just point the pump's outflow to the 5 gallon bucket to drain, and then I refill the water by sucking it out of the bucket with the same pump.

Similar to Boston's system, I can turn off each tank's ball valve and isolate it for soil change or maintenance. Since I have HMF on each tank it can be disconnected from the sump for a while whitout worrying.


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## bostoneric (Sep 7, 2011)

thanks!! i couldnt have documented it better myself. your blueprints really hit the spot.


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## usgetata (Dec 28, 2012)

Boston i like the little pockets you use for feeding. Where did you get it?

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## Duck5003 (Oct 1, 2012)

Very nice setup usegata. I have a couple questions for you if you dont mind 

-Ever had any issues of shrimp making their way around/through the HMF dividers??

-What kind/rating is the pump for this setup?


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## Julianzh (Jul 28, 2011)

What a nice read on this threat! I know this will be hard/weird question, i had a 3 gallon tank and want a sump for it, yes over kill, but is there a suitable pump?


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## bostoneric (Sep 7, 2011)

Julianzh said:


> What a nice read on this threat! I know this will be hard/weird question, i had a 3 gallon tank and want a sump for it, yes over kill, but is there a suitable pump?


Id say having a sump for a small cube is an awesome idea. adds a lot of water volume and place for all kinds of goodies for success.


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## Duck5003 (Oct 1, 2012)

Julianzh said:


> What a nice read on this threat! I know this will be hard/weird question, i had a 3 gallon tank and want a sump for it, yes over kill, but is there a suitable pump?


With DIY sumps you could do whatever you wanted size wise. As for a pump, that small you could probly get away with just a power head rigged up for it.


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## sbarbee54 (Jan 12, 2012)

Most tanks now unless you reall spend money cant be drilled on the bottom. As I dont like it either because all weight is on the bottom and I have many fail especially rimless ones


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## usgetata (Dec 28, 2012)

Duck5003 said:


> Very nice setup usegata. I have a couple questions for you if you dont mind
> 
> -Ever had any issues of shrimp making their way around/through the HMF dividers??
> 
> -What kind/rating is the pump for this setup?


Everyone asks me about the shrimps going to the other side! So far it has not happen yet. But i only put different grades of same kind of shrimp in each tank so i am not worry. I won't put my Hakata PRL next to the mischlings in the same tank for that chance to happen!

Right now i am using an eheim 600 pump. I had an eheim 1000 but it was too powerful, my 3/4" overflow pipe couldn't handle it.

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## usgetata (Dec 28, 2012)

sbarbee54 said:


> Most tanks now unless you reall spend money cant be drilled on the bottom. As I dont like it either because all weight is on the bottom and I have many fail especially rimless ones


For me drilling for overflow is much safer. It doesn't bear the constant pressure, and in case of leaking it will stop as soon as you stop the water pump.

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## bostoneric (Sep 7, 2011)

how did you decide where to drill the back? I'm always curious about this. I'd want to drill it as high up as possible to maximize water in the tank but at some point you make the rim of the tank weak.... is there a formula for this?


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## ftwchopper (Nov 12, 2011)

Simple siphons can be used and are very dependable.This system has been in operation for over two years without a water spill.The top ten gallon tank on the left was drilled and a standpipe was added.The whole setup is powered by a maxi jet powerhead.


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## bostoneric (Sep 7, 2011)

While this system may work without any issues I dont see the value in it. the last tanks in the system have possibly a higher value of getting the oldest/worst/whatever water in the system.


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## sbarbee54 (Jan 12, 2012)

agreed. I dont know where to drill. I have my lfs drill them for me, and I tell them as high as they can go they make the call


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## bostoneric (Sep 7, 2011)

smart. My next set of tanks will be drilled with bulked overflows.

I have no doubt i could easily add another shelf of tanks to this current sump without overloading the bio ability of it.


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## usgetata (Dec 28, 2012)

I drilled it 1.5" from the sides to be safe, and i also needed some space above overflow line to add the HMF jerlifters.

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## bostoneric (Sep 7, 2011)

here's the return plumbing from the sump.

right goes back into the sump. this allows for water movement when i have to shut the main return for whatever reason.

left will be for water changes. i've added a few pieces that allow me to put a 5G jug in place and use the power of the sump pump to fill it very quickly.

straight up goes to the tanks. what you cant see is just above the frame is a Georg Fischer Wye Check Valve. probably completely unnecessary since the return nozzles are above the water line but rather have it now than need it later.

(again. completely over built, but wanted to see what i could build)


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## usgetata (Dec 28, 2012)

bostoneric said:


> (again. completely over built, but wanted to see what i could build)


So do mine :-D Most of my DIYs end up being much more work than I have planned.

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## Soothing Shrimp (Nov 9, 2011)

Amazing! Exceeded what I was hoping to find. Now to spin it in my head for a year or so and see if it's something that I would like to do. You guys are amazing. Thank you!


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## bostoneric (Sep 7, 2011)

I think next time i would change the following.

1. drill the tanks for bulked overflow. unlike saltwater tanks shrimp dont need heavy GPH.
its important to get the water out faster than needed so you dont have an overflow.
2. instead of each tank having its own drain down to the sump just put a large 3" pipe that collects all the overflow tubes and 1 drain down to the sump.

something like this.


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## Soothing Shrimp (Nov 9, 2011)

I'd think you'd have to place a screen on the overflow to keep from sucking in shrimp.


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## bostoneric (Sep 7, 2011)

Soothing Shrimp said:


> I'd think you'd have to place a screen on the overflow to keep from sucking in shrimp.


Yeah same thing I have now on the DIY overflow pipe. 
Not a bid deal


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## sbarbee54 (Jan 12, 2012)

they actually sell over fittings with screens on them for drilled tanks


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## bostoneric (Sep 7, 2011)

sbarbee54 said:


> they actually sell over fittings with screens on them for drilled tanks


if you go to a hydroponics store they have so many different fittings a lot cheaper than any hardware/aquarium store.


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## Soothing Shrimp (Nov 9, 2011)

I'd be nervous the screen would get clogged and the tank would overflow.


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## bostoneric (Sep 7, 2011)

Soothing Shrimp said:


> I'd be nervous the screen would get clogged and the tank would overflow.


I havent had a problem with that. but I'm also aware to check the screens every few days as part of normal routine on the rack.


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