Creative plumbing, non-hillstream

[pedzola]

So here is the situation...

I have a 75g tank with some clowns, yoyos, tiger barbs, cherry barbs, and a redtail shark.

The tank is running an Eheim 2028 filter plus a small powerhead, I forget the name/model of it.

I have 2 of the 2028 filters. One of them sits idle and is essentially an emergency backup in case the first one should break.

The tank also has an inline UV sterilizer on the return. Overall the flow isn't very strong. The water is crystal clear, so it seems to do a good job, but perhaps the tank would be better with both cannister filters running together on the same tank?

So my questions are.... is this a good idea? 2 large cannister filters on a 75g tank? And secondly, how would I go about plumbing this setup?

2 Eheim 2028s
1 Turbotwist 9w UV sterilizer

Is there a way that the 2 cannisters could share an intake and output?

Any hints or tips would be greatly appreciated. I'd rather have as little clutter in the tank as possible. Thanks.

[chefkeith]

I've never tried combining filters on the same lines. I won't because it creates a maintenence issue and a might cause restrictions on the filters.

You'd need to turn both filters off to do any work on either of them. The increased water flow would cause inlets to get clogged easier. Fish might get stuck in the inlets also. If there is a such clog or kink in the line that goes unnoticed for a day or 2, both filters will probably need to be cycled again, and there might be a loss of fish.

Redundancy is what I want and need. Make all connections seperate even if it does cause more clutter in the tank. It's a small price to pay.

I have 3 canisters hooked up to my 85g tank right now, so 2 in your tanks wouldn't be too many IMO.

[pedzola]

O.o

Sounds good. So basically you're sayin use the default eheim green tubes for intake and outlet and just try to position them whichever way I can?

There is no better solution? :\

[chefkeith]

I'd place them at opposite ends of the tank. Even if they are sitting right next to other, it would be an improvement. I'd aim the outlets so that the water moves in a circular motion.
If there is too much water flow, just direct one of the outlets into a corner.

[Emma Turner]

There are other advantages in having more than one filter running on the same tank. For instance, you can carry out maintenance on one of them at a time, without disturbing the bacteria in the other.

Emma

[pedzola]

I realize the benefits. I just wish there was a way to do it without needing 2 inlet tubes and 2 spraybars.

One reason I want to do this now is that I'll be moving on June 1st. And so, I'd like to have an extra filter ready to go for co-location purposes. In other words, I haven't quite figured out how to do the move just yet but I figure it will involve a filter running in both locations for at least some short period of time.


O.o

[RMau]

You could do something with common intake and return lines, and isolate each filter with shutoff valves, allowing independent maintenace and so forth. If you do that, you have to consider the overall system and things like back pressure on the filters, size of the plumbing in order to not restrict flow, etc.

It could be done, but would take some engineering and planning in order get best results.

Best of luck if you go that way.

Rick

[Rubix]

you could buy a large tub and take much of yoru water with you... this is what i plan to do in a few months. fortunately im moving a mile away and will have a month and a half overlap on both leases so i can establish a tank before i make the move.