[bentcountershaft]

I'm wanting to make sure I understand the concept of tilting standpipes to help alleviate noise. The picture below shows three examples of a standpipe. The red lines represent an imaginary line going straight up from the center of the bulkhead. The first pic shows the pipe straight up. The second shows the pipe tilted, but the centering red line still stays within the pipe. The third shows a more extreme angle where the opening of the pipe is tilted beyond the centering red line. I'm wandering which of these two is better or more recommended. I'm assuming the middle option but I want to be sure I'm understanding the concept of freeing the air correctly.

 

[iceblue]

Hey Bent. How you coming on your background structures?

I would think any angle beyond the second illustration to a certain point would be fine. It allows the water to flow on a path rather then falling straight down and splashing around. The two I have on my diy 350 are far more angled then any you have pictured but haven't been tested yet. I don't expect any problems but you never know untill it's running. They'll also be setup in a Durso style to further control flow and noise. http://www.dursostandpipes.com/BuildYou ... fault.aspx

The standpipes won't be exactly like whats pictured but the principle will be the same.

 

[bentcountershaft]

Thanks for the info iceblue, I'm going to experiment with that.

As far as my backgrounds, I've decided to rethink the whole filtration system so they're on hold. The space constraints of the area above the tank have finally gotten to me so all the plumbing that was in the backgrounds will be changed. Also, they're just too big and monopolize the whole tank so I'm going to downsize on the redesign.

Good news is that my filtration changes are going to be cool and will make my life a lot easier. The wife gave me permission to put a sump in the basement, directly under the tank. I had originally only one hole drilled in the tank to use with my continuous water changing system but now I'm going to do put one on the opposite end as well I think. A 1" bulkhead will only do 600gph in a best case scenario they way I understand, so I figure two will be better. The sump will be about 9 feet below the top of the tank, so I'm planning to use the two Quiet One pumps I have for two returns. The 4000H is rated to do 600gph at that height but the standard 4000 will be around 275ish. Of course that's without any restriction from elbows and the like. I don't know if those two will be enough or not. I might be better off with just the one bulkhead and using the 4000H pump on it and then supplementing the filtration with the smaller pump and and a canister above the tank, I'm not sure at this point.

The sump tank itself I'm not sure about either. I have a variety of options. I have a few spare glass tanks I could use but they aren't really wide enough for the sterilite shelves I was planning on using. I also have some sizable plastic storage containers that would work but I'm probably going to do a Rubbermaid or similar stock tank. I looked at one yesterday that was a 75 gallon and had a drain system made into it. I'm still planning on doing the continuous water change system so I could incorporate that to make a small overflow to get rid of waste water. I'm not sure how I could incorporate an overflow system on the plastic storage containers and trust it not to leak so I think for piece of mind I might as well spend the money for the stock tank. The one I looked at was $60. I'll also have to build a sturdy stand for the sump to sit on. I want to get it as high as I can and still have easy access so I can keep the head height as small as possible.

This month my annual house insurance payment and my property taxes are due, so it'll be a few weeks before I can buy everything I need. Hopefully I won't change my mind ten times before now and then

 

[iceblue]

I started my plywood 350 over three years ago and it still keeps changing. The wife has given up on giving permission for things and just rolls her eyes, shakes her head and walks away. :lol:

Thier are alot of things you could do to keep water from overflowing your sump. The simplist one is to drill a small hole just below your return line just under the water surface of your main tank. In case of power failure or just routine maintenance the water will drain untill it hits the siphon break. Just make sure you have enough room left in the sump to handle that and the water in the line. I have 2 return lines on my project and the siphon breaks are at the top of the lines and are tubed over to feed the hydroponic trough I have built into the hood.

Do you have a drain in the basement you could run a feed line to for your automatic water change system?

 

[bentcountershaft]

Yeah, I have easy access to drains in the basement, so that's not an issue. I'm not wanting to put an overflow in the sump as a safeguard against the display tank draining though. The continuous water change system will basically be a constant drip of new water coming into the sump, at a rate of about 10-12 gallons per day. I want a mechanical means of getting rid of the same amount of water over the course of the day to keep things consistent. I could use a pump hooked to a float switch, but I'm not crazy about that idea. I'd rather have something mechanical like an overflow that will simply trickle the old water out at the same rate the new comes in. This was my plan when I drilled the display tank before I got the sump-wet/dry bug.

I'm still up in the air over the need for an additional bulkhead in the display tank. I currently have one 1" so my turnover rate for the tank (not including the water in the sump) is about 6.5 times per hour in a best case scenario. I'm wondering if I put a bunch of additional filtration in the sump if that flow rate will be acceptable. I already have a UV sterilizer, a fluidized bed filter and a mechanical and chemical filter module from Pentair. Would adding these to a good wet/dry setup in a big sump offset the lower tank turnover? When I say adding these I mean having them pull water from and return to the sump. To put in another bulkhead is going to be a bit of trouble as I'll need to drill through the floor again. I already have a large hole for the existing bulkhead side that was done before the cabinet was built. To drill another one one the opposite side is going to be a trick involving some very accurate measuring and a bit of luck. There's no access from the top side so I'd have to drill from the basement. The space to drill in isn't wide enough for my drill to fit in with my hand wrapped around it so I'll have to engineer my "trigger fingerless drilling system", which is kind of dangerous but works.

 

[Rick_Lindsey]

I currently have one 1" so my turnover rate for the tank (not including the water in the sump) is about 6.5 times per hour in a best case scenario. I'm wondering if I put a bunch of additional filtration in the sump if that flow rate will be acceptable. I already have a UV sterilizer, a fluidized bed filter and a mechanical and chemical filter module from Pentair.

Personally I think the "10x" rule of thumb comes from HOB power filters and overstocked mbuna tanks. With a big honking wet/dry I would expect 6.5x to be more than sufficient. Once you've got "enough" biological filtration, adding more doesn't actually do anything. Adding mechanical filtration may reduce the need for vacuuming, or reduce the frequency of filter maintenance, but I would expect you'd be fine, even without the additional filtration you described.

-Rick (the armchair aquarist)