Need creative idea's..

[flukes]

Ok i ve just made a stand to hold 3x4fters ie 55g's. I was looking at a way to filter all tanks but not using the same water. The reason i dont want the same water in each tank is because -
1. The bottom tank wont be for discus, its for catfish.
2. The top tank wil be partioned off for 2 breeding pairs and the middle will be a grow out tank.
I know it wouldn't really matter if all 3 had the same water but id just prefer not too as if one tank gets a desease then they all will. Now i had a few ideas for filtration but in the end, iam lost at what to do.
This was idea 1. - (i called it a internal cannister filter) DIY of course!!
http://members.optusnet.com.au/flukes/filter.JPG
Now this will be using 100mm pvc pipe and will be about 16.5inches tall, as the tank is 18 high. I was thinking i would need 2 of these in each tank and some strong power heads but it might cause to much of a current in the tank, and ill get a discus spa. This i already have power heads for and if i dont use this idea i would still like to use them, in some way.
Idea 2. was to run a small wet/dry filter on the side of each tank this would be a 6.5gallon bucket for each tank but i was thinking it would cost more for 3 different pumps to get the water back into the tank then 1 big tank to do all 3. Unless i could use a powerhead to get the water back in?? the bucket would sit on the same height as the tank.
Iam stuck for ideas and i dont want to spend a fortune on a cannister filter that i could have made my self with double the amount of media space and gph. Any ideas if its really worth it i could connect the tanks but iam a bit cautious. I think the bottom tank, which will be for peppermint bristlenose could be run of an undergravel and a sponge filter. But its the top 2 tanks iam worried about.

Any ideas would be great, I got so many ideas running through my head but i dont know what will be most effective.

Thanks for anyhelp..

Confused Scott ??? :( ??? :-[ :-\ :'(

[Haywire]

I would still go for a central system. I have the ability to take 1 or all 8 tanks off the system should some "outbreak" occur. 8 tanks running with 5 heaters :) I also clean only one filter.

Quarantine and Quickcure are your best friends. If I'm not mistaken peppermints prefer the same conditions for spawning that discus do.

Have you tried one of these yet? The parts like you mentioned are cheap, 4" pvc pipe, an end cap, and a 1/2" outlet line.

[ronrca]

;) I love ideas! ;D

From my first hand experience with diy filters, I found the k.i.s.s. method also the best! Keep It Simple Silly is what is stands for and no abuse intended. ;) I have tried 'complicated' and 'neat' filters but the basic factor remained - cleaning and maintaince! Filters do require cleaning or rinsing and if you are like myself, I like to keep it simple and time effective rather than haveing to take part and put back together. So, if you are looking for a filter on a rack, you can have a look at my mini rack project. http://forum.simplydiscus.com//index.php?board=19;action=display;threadid=9428

I have the bio filter above the tanks and the mechanical filtering placed before the water enters the sumps. The material used is plexi glass/glass. Plexi is easy to work with and relatively inexpensive.

Second, pumps! The more pumps you have, the more headache it is to co-ordinate the flows especially when preforming a wc and turning this pump off, that pump on, etc, etc! Again k.i.s.s.! I have 1 pump in each sump!

Just some ideas! I actually just finished putting a rack together for 2 65Gs using the mini rack design! It works really good. No vacuuming and wc's take under 10mins for both 65s @ 50% wc! ;)