Setup Design, brand new build and a first time discus owner, Oh my!

[Mistwist]

So we are getting ready to build our new house, which will FINALLY allow me to have a few discus. However, the situation I am in is a little unique, so I am working on a design and going to test build it on a smaller scale with much less expensive, sacrificial fish(not discus, though they will most likely become hubbies later). We have about a year, so time isn't an issue at the moment but I do want to get started asap so I have time to work out any unexpected flaws in the design and so I know exactly where to have the builders put what, and so I will know what I need to add for solar once we get the plan nailed down.

We are doing the proof of design with a 20Gal Tall that is currently housing 8 black mollies left over from my sons school project and a 10 Gal tank that currently houses the hubbies betta and his plants.

Here are my "ground rules"

Tanks can not utilized city power. Solar only.
LED lighting only. No grow lights.
1 pump, 1 aerator, 1 heater
Hubby has to be able to have a small tank for his fish and it must be planted as well(though I think I have a solution for keeping it as BB as possible.)
Discus tank will be BB
Drip system
75 - 125 tank
"sump" size????

What we have so far

The test setup is set up in front of a window to get the plants enough light but with blackout curtains to keep the lower larger tank out of any direct sunlight. So far so good, no issues with algae or over heating. Being directly below the window is actually better, as anywhere else in the room it would get a ton of indirect natural light that I couldn't control. The only way to do this however, after a lot of trial and error, was to place the smaller tank, that I was going to use as a sump, above the lower "discus" tank. Nevermind that it works well with both of our statures(I am 5ft, so lower is better and hubby is tall so not having crouching down to take care of his smaller tank makes this even better) Anyways, I had to design everything around that arrangement which means I have to pump up from what will be the discus tank to the "sump" tank. unfortunately the new house has a very similar problem(to many windows) that I will probably have to account for in the same manner. I can move piping but not windows...

Though not set up yet the drip system in a pretty integral part of the design as I have to go out of town at least once a month for 3-4 days and if I have younger fish I don't want to leave them that long with out a water change.

Limiting my setup to LED lighting, 1 pump, 1 aerator and 1 heater was just part of the agreement we worked out so I wouldn't raise the amount of solar and batteries we are installing too much(read: solar and batteries are expensive.)


To keep the planted tank as easy to clean as possible the plants will be planted in mounds leaving about 50-60% of the bottom bare. With a few strategically placed to make it look like the whole bottom is covered.

So anyway here is the concept design...
98759

Once I get some input I will have a ton of questions but right now I just want to work the flaws out of the design.

[rickztahone]

How long has the sample tank been under direct sunlight? As per the rendering your aging barrel will be above the tank height correct?

The sump should be as large as you can fit under the stand, but if you need to place anything else down there, make sure to factor that in to the limiting space under the stand.

What kind of overflow do you plan on using?

[Mistwist]

How long has the sample tank been under direct sunlight? As per the rendering your aging barrel will be above the tank height correct?

The sump should be as large as you can fit under the stand, but if you need to place anything else down there, make sure to factor that in to the limiting space under the stand.

What kind of overflow do you plan on using?

Yes, the aging tank will be above the top tank. Overflow is still up in the air I guess. I have a 1/2" outlet planned for BIG waster changes, but for the daily drip overflow I haven't really come up with a good idea yet, so I am open to suggestions. For the test tank it can go out the window. For the permanent set up I can plum it anyway I want. But I am don't have a clue as to size for either yet.

The planted tank is going on 2 weeks with about 3 hours of direct sun and the rest of the day in the indirect sunlight.

I guess the "sump" tank isn't actually a sump, as it is above the main tank, but I am not sure what else to call it at this point.

[rickztahone]

Yes, the aging tank will be above the top tank. Overflow is still up in the air I guess. I have a 1/2" outlet planned for BIG waster changes, but for the daily drip overflow I haven't really come up with a good idea yet, so I am open to suggestions. For the test tank it can go out the window. For the permanent set up I can plum it anyway I want. But I am don't have a clue as to size for either yet.

The planted tank is going on 2 weeks with about 3 hours of direct sun and the rest of the day in the indirect sunlight.

I guess the "sump" tank isn't actually a sump, as it is above the main tank, but I am not sure what else to call it at this point.

I would highly recommend you stick with the sample tank for at least 2 months. 2 weeks is not a significant time to make conclusions of how a larger scale setup would work. IMHO, direct light as you are proposing is asking for trouble. There is one other member that I know of that is feeding his tank with natural sunlight. I cannot recall what his last update reported but he may be a good resource to ask questions to about your setup. I will try to find it if I can and link you to it.

As far as the overflow system, I would suggest a Herbie or Bean Animal setup for peace of mind and instead of a 1/2" BH, go with a 1" one for faster water changes.

[Mistwist]

I would highly recommend you stick with the sample tank for at least 2 months. 2 weeks is not a significant time to make conclusions of how a larger scale setup would work. IMHO, direct light as you are proposing is asking for trouble. There is one other member that I know of that is feeding his tank with natural sunlight. I cannot recall what his last update reported but he may be a good resource to ask questions to about your setup. I will try to find it if I can and link you to it.

As far as the overflow system, I would suggest a Herbie or Bean Animal setup for peace of mind and instead of a 1/2" BH, go with a 1" one for faster water changes.

The sample tank is only 2 weeks old, but will have 8-10 months of age before any decisions are finalized. I expect there will have to be changes made. But I also can't move windows, now or in the new house, and grow lights will be too taxing on the solar so I will have to learn control the light, so that is all part of this test set up as well.

Since daily WC aren't going to be an issue I would rather have the redundancy of two 1/2" outlets. As far as bigger WC go I would rather have to take longer to do them than have no redundancy and risk overflowing my sump tank. On the final build we will go bigger but remember we are working on the test set up with scaling in mind so everything will be about double in size (if not more) on the final build.

I think the overflow needs to be on the simpler side. Under normal circumstances it will only be an outlet for the excess caused by the drip system. In the event of the sumps out flow failure, well then I have bigger problems than 100G. of water on a floor with a drain in it, in fact that will be the least of my problems. but either way, in my test set up or on the final build the outflow will be more than capable of handling the disposal of all water in the lower main tank, whatever that size may end up being.


50% WC daily on 100G. is 50G. or 2GPH with the drip sysytem I am planning
1/2 pipe flow rate is 150GPH
pump flow rate @ 6 x turnover per hour 600

[bobj1973]

You'll need to ensure the Overflows don't get blocked with Plant debris, otherwise you might get Wet Feet.

You'll also need some expansion capacity in the tanks.

How are you planning to water change the tanks ? Is it the drip system or is that just to compensate for evaporation.

[Mistwist]

You'll need to ensure the Overflows don't get blocked with Plant debris, otherwise you might get Wet Feet.

You'll also need some expansion capacity in the tanks.

How are you planning to water change the tanks ? Is it the drip system or is that just to compensate for evaporation.

It is a drip system.

I was thinking about some type of debris screen though if the plants get in the way the hubby won't notice a little snip here and there right? ;)

Care to errr.. expand on "some expansion capacity"?