180 gallon system for $453.49‬

[bblumberg]

Ok, here are some pix. The full shot is a rack of tanks that each have a single inlet and outlet. The overflow drains into a 1.5" manifold. A key point here is that these can be isolated and the tanks drained, removed and washed as needed. The 1" into 1.5" handles plenty of water, but does not fit tightly, permitting easy removal.

 

[Ratherbeflyen]

Is this your first tank? I have no doubt that you could make this rack system work. It looks like every system at any petco. I guess my question would be why?

When ever someone asks me about getting into the hobby, I always ask what do you want to keep? In other words, if all you ever want to have is a pair of clown fish, almost any tank of 10+ gallons will work just fine. If you want to keep a blue fin tuna, you need to start digging a hole in your back yard. What do you "have" to keep in your system for you to be happy and content with your fish/coral hobby? Most marine fish cannot be safely kept in a 20 gallon tank. The problems will increase if you add more fish or anything else that decreases swimming room like rock and coral.

So why do you want nine, 20 gallon tanks? If you're trying to breed clowns, then I think you're on the right path. If you want to keep a traditional mixed reef variety of fish and coral, you're 180 gallon system isn't really gaining you anything over just having one display and sump. Even if that system consisted of a single 40 gallon breeder display and sump, you'll have more stocking options than you would with a rack of 20 gallon tanks. Not to mention the lighting. If you're going to keep coral, buying lights for all those tanks will cost more than the projected cost of your rack system.

So what is going in this system? What might be in the system two or three years from now?

 

[dankaqua]

A key point here is that these can be isolated and the tanks drained, removed and washed as needed.

Thanks for the pics Bruce!

I agree, the ability to isolate each tank, tear it down or preform whatever maintenance/upgrades/medication/modification is definitely a plus.

You mentioned that those tanks hold ... frogs..? Could you give us a bit of detail about that?

I've never kept amphibians (I've had plenty inhabit my pond systems).. but I'm always interested in the biology/study/correlations of other aquatic fauna.

 

[dankaqua]

Is this your first tank? I have no doubt that you could make this rack system work. It looks like every system at any petco. I guess my question would be why?

When ever someone asks me about getting into the hobby, I always ask what do you want to keep? In other words, if all you ever want to have is a pair of clown fish, almost any tank of 10+ gallons will work just fine. If you want to keep a blue fin tuna, you need to start digging a hole in your back yard. What do you "have" to keep in your system for you to be happy and content with your fish/coral hobby? Most marine fish cannot be safely kept in a 20 gallon tank. The problems will increase if you add more fish or anything else that decreases swimming room like rock and coral.

So why do you want nine, 20 gallon tanks? If you're trying to breed clowns, then I think you're on the right path. If you want to keep a traditional mixed reef variety of fish and coral, you're 180 gallon system isn't really gaining you anything over just having one display and sump. Even if that system consisted of a single 40 gallon breeder display and sump, you'll have more stocking options than you would with a rack of 20 gallon tanks. Not to mention the lighting. If you're going to keep coral, buying lights for all those tanks will cost more than the projected cost of your rack system.

So what is going in this system? What might be in the system two or three years from now?

All excellent points Ratherbeflyen!

Your questions definitely hit the bullseye. Undoubtedly a large display tank with appropriate sized sump would be the best.

The original idea was based on restrictions of portability... namely, "can it be put in the back of a car and moved fairly easily". There were also restrictions on space. Restrictions on budget. And restrictions on leakage.

Regarding leakage, the idea was any minor crack/dripping/slow leak should be caught by the system and allowed to drain down to a central drain (while tripping a leak detector).

I also added restrictions on "availability" and "shipping".

...so that was the initial set of restrictions for this build.

The idea then morphed and most of those restrictions were thrown out the window, and the new angle was "is this a legitimate replacement for a display tank given the 180 size and $450 price tag?"

I don't have an answer for that question, but I think, for some people, building a serial system would be one way to do it.

For example, someone who lives in an rural area (or a non-westernized part of the world) where large aquariums are hard to find. Or where shipping a large aquarium would be astronomical. Or if they wanted to set up a system to temporarily house a large number of corals/frags/fish from another system...

Or, as you say, for someone who wants to breed clownfish.

I can't say that I will build this system... but I think there is a chance I will give it a try at some point...

Is this your first tank?

Wow, this thread must sound really greenhorn!

I really wish I had a count. Note to all aquarium owners: take photos and treasure them!

You can see a pic of one of my early tanks here:
Old School reef tank

That was the second iteration of my 75g saltwater "reef tank" (with much thanks to A. J. Thiel, C. Delbeek and J. Sprung!).

Most marine fish cannot be safely kept in a 20 gallon tank. The problems will increase if you add more fish or anything else that decreases swimming room like rock and coral.

I couldn't agree more.

There are a few fish which live in tidepools and can take huge swings in temperature and salinity etc. I think those fish are relatively happy in our tanks.

For example:
Blue Devil Damsel (Chrysiptera cyanea) in Okinawa tidepool

Of course, they call them "blue devil damsels" for a reason...

I think we all need to consider if a fish is really "happy" in the size tank we provide. I would say that many fish can live and prosper in what they would consider "cramped quarters". I survived several years in Osaka so I can commiserate.

Personally, I prefer fish under 2" in length for "indoor living". And yes, I would be hard pressed to find fish to put in a 20h.

If I want to see big, beautiful reef fish, I put on a mask and snorkel and get wet.

 

[bblumberg]

Thanks for the pics Bruce!

I agree, the ability to isolate each tank, tear it down or preform whatever maintenance/upgrades/medication/modification is definitely a plus.

You mentioned that those tanks hold ... frogs..? Could you give us a bit of detail about that?

I've never kept amphibians (I've had plenty inhabit my pond systems).. but I'm always interested in the biology/study/correlations of other aquatic fauna.

The pictured rack is a quarantine system for African clawed frogs,Xenopus laevis. These are fully aquatic frogs that are useful for various sorts of developmental studies. Some fraction of our research uses this model to understand how the early developing vertebrate embryo is patterned along the anteroposterior and dorsoventral axes.

Xenopus are easy to keep, breed all year long and produce lots of eggs for our studies. The main system (not pictured) has a similar arrangement with 2 large tanks and one sump per rack, all plumbed together and serviced by a 3/4 hp Jacuzzi pump. We empty each of the tanks once or twice per year for a thorough cleaning as the frogs eat and poop quite a bit.

Although it will be more troublesome for you to plumb your tanks this way, I think that you will be very happy you did so going forward.

 

[dankaqua]

The pictured rack is a quarantine system for African clawed frogs,Xenopus laevis. These are fully aquatic frogs that are useful for various sorts of developmental studies. Some fraction of our research uses this model to understand how the early developing vertebrate embryo is patterned along the anteroposterior and dorsoventral axes.

Xenopus are easy to keep, breed all year long and produce lots of eggs for our studies. The main system (not pictured) has a similar arrangement with 2 large tanks and one sump per rack, all plumbed together and serviced by a 3/4 hp Jacuzzi pump. We empty each of the tanks once or twice per year for a thorough cleaning as the frogs eat and poop quite a bit.

Although it will be more troublesome for you to plumb your tanks this way, I think that you will be very happy you did so going forward.

Getting off topic to be sure, but I'm curious as to how the waste is handled within the system? Looks like the sump first does mechanical filtration with some floss, and then is that a wet/dry?

 

[bblumberg]

Yes, there are coarse filter pads on top of the sump and some wet dry type plastic beads. Not pictured are two pleated paper filters that are together with the pump on the rack to the right. I would not have designed it this way (too much attention required), but that system has been chugging along for 15 years with no issues.

 

[don_chuwish]

If it's meant to be free standing then you need some kind of bracing on the back. Even a 1x3 reaching diagonally corner to corner would be a big improvement, but I'd probably go with some 1/4" plywood across the whole back.

 

[dankaqua]

If it's meant to be free standing then you need some kind of bracing on the back. Even a 1x3 reaching diagonally corner to corner would be a big improvement, but I'd probably go with some 1/4" plywood across the whole back.

Agreed. It's too unstable with all that live load. I redesigned my model to incorporate the build into a fishroom. So bracing is no longer an issue (the entire system is connected to the wall).

 

[KrisReef]

You could lower head pressure by pumping to the side of the first top tank on the right (reversing the flow across the top tanks) and then using a drain from the top left that flows at an angle down to the middle row-right tank in your series.

 

[dankaqua]

You could lower head pressure by pumping to the side of the first top tank on the right (reversing the flow across the top tanks) and then using a drain from the top left that flows at an angle down to the middle row-right tank in your series.

Great idea! It's now part of the most recent update.

 

[Devaji]

did this ever happen?