Mandy's 130g Community Tank

**KevinVA** · 02-06-2013, 07:26 PM

All of this talk of sumps makes me want to start a DIY project just to see if I can. It looks like a fun project.

**talldutchie** · 02-06-2013, 07:39 PM

Well, why not. A homebuilt cannister is still on my list and I will if I happen to find a container of the right size

**MandyK** · 02-06-2013, 10:25 PM

Back from the store!

We looked at lots of stuff, and all I eneded up with was a digital thermometer. Lol! Something is up though. My reg mercury thermometer is reading 79F, but the digital is only reading 73F. I would think that my fish would be dead or not swimming at that temp. Any ideas?

We did lots of pricing while we were out. We picked out our return pump. It was marked at $70 but the owner said he'd do $60 for it. It has a 700ghp capacity. Then we went and looked at PVC, fittings, and braided tubes. Our rough estimate is about $200 for everything including a tub and drawer tower.

Sounds pretty good to me. A smidge bit cheaper than a canister filter, does the same job, gets the equipment out of the tank, and adds much more water volume. Not to menion I'd have room for an algae scrubber. :)

Okay, so now we're on to stocking. Does anyone know anything about roseline sharks? I would like to have a few, but I need to know if they will clash with my current stock. See sig.

**Carapar56** · 02-06-2013, 11:57 PM

I've done quite a bit of research on Rose Lines as I saw them on YouTube a while ago and fell in love. They grow to around 3 -4 inches, they're very fast, schooling fish. They need a school of at least 6 to feel comfortable and if you look up videos on YouTube, healthy rose lines often swim very closely with one another. They're cooler water fish living in 60*F - 77*F and can handle a pH of 6.8 - 7.8 Just like a molly they need a varied diet of meat and vegetables so go for a flake food and then frozen or live brine shrimp or blood worms. OHH also they're jumpers, really bad jumpers at that. Be sure to have a tight fitting lid with as few holes as possible. From what I've read they're incredibly peaceful and won't bother your small neons nor will the nip at other fish. However they are fast swimmers and may disturb Discus. Like I said, also, if you get some be sure to get a group. They ARE schooling fish.

**Cliff** · 02-07-2013, 12:17 AM

Originally Posted by MandyK

We did lots of pricing while we were out. We picked out our return pump. It was marked at $70 but the owner said he'd do $60 for it. It has a 700ghp capacity.

Don't forget, you would have to factor in head height loss and loss of flow due to fittings. I would not be surprised if you would end up around 500 gph after factoring in those losses (about 100 gph of loss for the elbows that I could see on the plan just for starters), not to mention the flow you would need for the scrubber. I've always found it better to plan out the design first so I would have a good idea of how much flow I would loss and then pick out my return pump last. You woulds have more than enough for the trickle filter, but you might be pushing it for the scrubber as well. You might want to consider a return pump with a higher GHP rating

**MandyK** · 02-07-2013, 12:36 AM

Thanks for the info guys!

Carapar-- Thanks much! Those are some things to think about. I do of course want to have the correct amount for a school. Do you know anything about their bioloads? Discus are very sensitive, and if they are going to be putting off lots of waste that's something that I'm going to have to seriously think about.

Cliff-- I appreciate you bringing this up. Do you have a formula that you use to kind of figure out how much flow you will lose for each bend and fitting? If so I'd be very interested in it. That way I could be keeping that in mind as we formulate our design over the next week or so. Do you have a recommendation? I saw another that was reasonably priced and was rated for 850.

**Cliff** · 02-07-2013, 12:39 AM

Why yes, as a matter of fact I do:

below factors will become very important when planning your set-up.
• A loss of 75 to 125 GPH for each foot of height (from the pump to the display tank return)
• A loss of 50 to 75 GPH for each 90 degree elbow
• A loss of 30 to 50 GPH for each 45 degree elbow
• A loss of 50 to 75 GPH for each swing check valve
• A loss of 20 to 40 GPH for each ball valve
• A loss of ~ 3 to 5 GPH for each union

Taken from the below link (can't remember if I posted this link for you yet or not)

http://saltwater.aquaticcommunity.co...umbing-basics/