Breeding tank to share sump filter? Would it work?

[HarryDk]

Just a question out of curiosity.

I have a 600L tank with ~10 adult discus; there are two confirmed pair now and one of them constantly lay eggs, recently the young male learn how to fertilize the eggs as they were laid. I didn't plan to breed them at first due to time limited and lack of experience, however, In the future I might.

Lead to my question today, as I have an oversize sump down below the main tank which is providing a bloody good filtration, can I share the sump with any breeding tank that I may set up? and What is the best way to share the sump between tank?

What kind of set up should I use? There is no space above the sump to place the small tank there so I will avoid overflow for it, would a small power head will help, and how do I set it up? I know breeders use sponge filter but since water in the main tank have stable PH always and good temperature, so can I share the water?

My PH will stay between 6.6 to 6.8 most of the time and I do 30% wc weekly, also I have a small aquaponic straberries that doing great vs nitrate, they grow faster than my discus lol.

I have never attempt to breed discus before, but this is a part of the hobby so would be waste if not try

[Phillydubs]

You could share the filtration. Just have no idea how you would do that. Especially w no room as you say. You'd need a way to get water out of the breeding tank and intoned the sump and back in the tank.

Doesn't sound like it would work well

[HarryDk]

You could share the filtration. Just have no idea how you would do that. Especially w no room as you say. You'd need a way to get water out of the breeding tank and intoned the sump and back in the tank.

Doesn't sound like it would work well

I have been thinking about it all day, my first possible solution is to use duo low power pump to do so from the side, and I will need lot of work with sponge to block the suction from them and protect the fry lol

[Larry Bugg]

Don't over complicate this. A breeding tank works best with just a simply sponge filter. There is no need to try and tie the tank into the existing sump.

[Phillydubs]

I really tend to agree with Larry here... Sounds like to daunting a task for what gain really? Use a sponge and do big daily WC and you are good to go...

[rickztahone]

Don't try to run multiple tanks with one sump, it will fail. I've seen many try to do this with only temporary success. I can go in to more detail if necessary

[HarryDk]

THanks guy, my main point is to save some time and share the heater cost with the main tank, look like I am not ready for breeding yet, my little girls may need to wait :D

[GregCambridge]

Bigger water volume brings stability. I have 2 x 140L tanks on a rack, one above the other that share a 200L sump. It works well.
The difficulty you have is that you can't have one tank above another, so balancing water flow is tricky.

[Md. Shafiqual Alam]

100% Agree with Larry. imo sponge filter is the best solution for breeding tanks. cost effective, easy to clean...

[CliffsDiscus]

I know a breeder that has 15 breeder tanks running
on a central filteration, works great with a flip of a
switch 1000 gallon waterchange, but there are problems, like all breeding pairs shut down, sharing
diseases and having to manually siphon poop from
the tank floor and wiping down the sides of each
tank.

CLIFF