• Looking to buy a cephalopod? Check out Tomh's Cephs Forum, and this post in particular shares important info about our policies as it relates to responsible ceph-keeping.

hows your plumbing?

octomatic

GPO
Registered
Joined
Jan 27, 2011
Messages
131
hey everyone im new and in the seattle area. i was wondering the best way to set up all the plumbing for a octotank. i have read alot about it, but im more of a pictures kinda guy. if you could maybe show some photos of how you setup your tanks and the best way to do it for an octo only species tank.
 
ok, my peoples. i scanned the forums and found lots of useful info, but nothing that really showed me how to set up my sump. my tank is a 37 gallon and i have a heater(if needed) and skimmer that i would like to set up in a 10 gal sump if possible? im just wondering how to set up my tank to be most effective for a octopus. (escape proof) also, what kind of filtration would i need? i was thinking just using live rock for my biofilter and the skimmer would take up the rest. any ideas or photos would be sweet!
 
Ahhh! A 10 gallon wont fit under my stand! Im gonna have to use a 5 gal. Is that even worth doing? A 5 gallon sump system?
 
Do you have the height for a skimmer under the stand any way then? Unfortunately, a 5 gallon tank won't give you enough water depth to run a skimmer, a return pump and allow room for the pump off back flow from the tank. A 10 gallon pushes the minimum limit as it is.
 
Sweet, i got my 10 gallon to fit... My skimmer fits in there too. Is there a formula for figuring out what kind of overflow box to use with your return pump? Im trying to do this all my self to save some moolah.
 
Your best bet is to pick up a good reefkeeping book or check in with the local reef scene. Without more detail, I am not sure how much we can help you since every system is 'custom'. :smile:

For instance, what do you mean by overflow box? Internal or External? Full height or shorty? For octos, I actually don't like overflow boxes and prefer to put some bulkheads through the back top of the tank, and make or buy perforated strainers or cover them with open cell foam.
 
I was gonna do the hang on back overflow with a custom mesh screen and a acrylic lid custom cut to keep the octo in!
 
I have an acrylic top that I bolted down to the top rim of my tank. I glued square acrylic rod to the underside of the top just over the "teeth" in my overflow, to fill the gap between the top of the teeth and the tank lid. The slits on my overflow are 1/8" wide, so I can't keep a really small octopus in there, but any octo with an eyeball larger than 1/8" should be fine. For a smaller one I would cover the top edge of the overflow with some open-celled foam (like the foam blocks used in AquacClear filters, that water flows through easily). You would need to be able to remove and rinse the foam periodically. If the foam clogs and blocks your overflow, your pump will try to put your whole sump into your tank (onto your floor).

Your live rock will be in the display right, not in the sump?

You only need to cycle the volume of your tank through your sump four or five times per hour, so a return pump that moves 150 - 250 GPH, at whatever head pressure you'll have, is what you should design for (A pump rated for 350 - 600 gph should be in the ball park). More than that is unnecessary, and requires your overflow to be larger. Use Koralias or a closed loop to get more flow in the tank.
 
Wow, everyone is this forum is so helpful. What do you mean head pressure? I appreciate all the help, u guys rock! And yeah my live rock will be in the display tank. Probly 45lbs, will that cramp up my tank too much?
 
octomatic;171685 said:
What do you mean head pressure?
"Head pressure" is the total pressure the return pump must work against to get water back to the tank. It is measured in feet, because it is mostly determined by the vertical distance that the pump must lift the water to get it up to get it from the water level of the sump, to the water level of the display tank. Because of the resistance caused by plumbing, total head is usually the vertical distance between the water lines plus about 10 or 15% of that distance. The flow rate of any pump is advertises assuming 0 head, so a pump that is rated at "425 gph" will put out 425 gph under ideal conditions and only if it isn't lifting the water above where it is getting it. The actual flow (in gph (gallons per hour)) decreases as the head (vertical lift distance) increases, so you can plot a curve, on a graph, of gph vs. head. The flow of some pumps decreases a lot faster than others as the head increases, so you need to look at the flow curve (or flow graph) for each pump you are considering, and see how much flow it will deliver at the head (vertical distance) that your system will have.
 
So from the bottom of my stand (where i will put my sump) to the top of my tank is 4ft. What should i shoot for as far a gph of my pump? and should i choose an overflow box that is about 300-400 gph?
 

Shop Amazon

Shop Amazon
Shop Amazon; support TONMO!
Shop Amazon
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Back
Top