# I have an idea and i wanted some input



## macframalama (Apr 17, 2012)

Alright well I have a 170 gallon tank that is 4 feet wide and i currently have a wet dry bio box on the top of it , but I am trying to "boss" up the filtration on it so i have had a thought


and please if this sounds out there bare with me

alright so for starters my tank has a 1200gph cpr overflow box and a 30-40 gallon cpr sump but this is what i was thinking instead of having my return pump pumping back into the tank i was thinking of buying a larger return pump and having it pump water into a 55 gallon sitting on top of my 170 , the 55 gallon would have to be drilled and filled with biomedia either bio balls, ceramics, or lava rock one of the three 

i guess my#1st question is .. is there a 55 gallon or 4 footer that is drillable or are most common 55's tempered? i really dont care what size so long as it is 4 feet i guess or should i go with acrylic

#2 is it a smart idea to rest that much weight on the top of a tank or should i build a "stand" of sorts for it to sit up there
#3 does anyone else have these gravity fed wet dry systems going or is this just something i have dreamed up and made sence of in my head?

any thoughts or input , i have alot of space above my tank and to increase bio filtration i thought it would just make sence rather than my little 12 x 12 x 18 bio box up there why not a 55 gallon , alot more space = more bio media= more bio filtration right?
if i ran pvc through a manifold and had it spraying over the media and gravity feeding into the tank should be good right? especially since it would have already gone thru my sump 

thanks


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## charles (Apr 21, 2010)

#1 - you can drill on the side or the back of the tank. Almost all the glass tank are built with temper on bottom.

#2 - you need a stand. Can't rest the tank on your 170g

#3 - it is very popular to use over the tank sump. But you don't need a 55g as it is quite tall. Even a 33g long 48" with a spray bar will work. If you want to save on weight, you can use a rubbermaid long bin as well.


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## macframalama (Apr 17, 2012)

I thought about the rubbermaid bin, and because it is over my tank i wanted it to look a little nicer but i mean i guess anything would work

and i cant fit anything between my sump and my tank when i built the stand i was a dummy and didnt leave enough room for anything else in there

i guess some sort of wall mount / acrylic box combo is probably my best bet I was just trying to save $$$ acrylic is a premium over here and to get a shop to do anything for you is like pulling teeth alot of the local shops around me are really busy and I have made inquiries before and half of them didnt get back to me and the other half are talking like a 2 week wait time, if i had better tool at home here i could just buy a sheet i guess but its just more $$$. i have a extra 55 gallon thats why i thought it might work but it isnt drilled and it looks like areally cheap 55 gallon so im gonna assume because the glass is so thin that it must be tempered, even if i had to drill low on the sides or something if the bottom is tempered..

alright well.... Thanks for your input charles ... looks like im back to the drawing board

if anyone knows of any plans online i guess shoot em my way or if you have DIY'D something yourself please hit me up , i just wanna massive biofilter and not that mine is failing but bigger is better


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## charles (Apr 21, 2010)

use a garbage bin with 5g bucket inside as a sump next to your tank.


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## macframalama (Apr 17, 2012)

i thought of something like that too unfortunately where the tank is it is kind of inset on the wall with like 8 inches on either side... 

my neighbour has this weird water tank on a stand outside i have no idea what the heck he is using it for , he is an old guy but i was thinking of hitting him up and seeing if he would sell it with a little modification i could have it on top and it wouldnt look to bad , worst case he says no and i could use his thing and copy cat it a bit.. do you guys know anywhere that would have odd shaped acrylic tanks or even water storage tanks... i was thinking maybe a holding tank from an RV or motor home or something,....


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## Lamplighter (Aug 3, 2012)

A 55 gallon fluval tank is 3/8" glass and is not tempered. $209. for the kit at king ed. The c4 filter is included in the kit. There's also a heater and some other stuff.


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## charles (Apr 21, 2010)

you sure the bottom of the tank is not tempered? I know the 4 sides are not. But the bottom most likely is.


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## Dietmar (Dec 15, 2011)

Could you build a stand around your existing tank, ie have the legs standing on the floor and ending above your 170. Then you could put the 55 on it. The legs could be 2x4s or steel. The back of the new stand could be lag bolted to your existing wall studs for stability.
Where are you located?


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## macframalama (Apr 17, 2012)

thats kind of what i was thinking, i have enough room to build some legs up there and get a tank up but i still have to figure out what im gonna use for a tank , the 55 gallon i have is really thin like 3/8 glass but i may sub out the tank for something else that i can drill out here but i like the idea of studs running up and lagging it to the wall


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## macframalama (Apr 17, 2012)

im located in honeymoon bay bc, on vancouver island....... its near lk cowichan in the boooooooonies lol


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## target (Apr 21, 2010)

I was going to suggest the same thing. A secondary stand to support the 55g. You could feed the water into the top, then drill low on the back of the 55 for the return to your display tank.


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## bcorchidguy (Jan 14, 2011)

Mac, first off, this an awesome idea, secondly, you have an aquarium maker in and around victoria who can make you a tank with a drilled bottom. Thirdly, you could do a section of the new tank as a breeding trap for shrimp and any larvae that get caught in the overflow would be like plankton in the water column, you could put guppies in there as well. You could do a heavilly planted section to help keep your water clean, plants filter crap that filter media doesn't get and if you put the top tank on an alternate light cycle you'd have something cool to look at when the main tank lights are off.

Go team hybrid refugium... rah rah rah

Douglas


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## Ra's al Ghul (Apr 28, 2010)

How about a tetra clear choice pond filter. Or just use a bucket, checkout deepreds 300 gallon in wall tank.


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## macframalama (Apr 17, 2012)

that aquarium shop is in sydney but i know who your talking about but its big bucks....but i do like the idea of a glass box and maybe stagger it in sections and have plants inverts and even lil fishies in there and if i did it right it might look pretty cool...

i like it, now just gotta get a drilled tank and some studs and put in some work... im also gonna need a larger return pump mine is fine for what it is now but if im gonna feed a whole other tank... but you have all got me thinking....


bcorchidguy said:


> Mac, first off, this an awesome idea, secondly, you have an aquarium maker in and around victoria who can make you a tank with a drilled bottom. Thirdly, you could do a section of the new tank as a breeding trap for shrimp and any larvae that get caught in the overflow would be like plankton in the water column, you could put guppies in there as well. You could do a heavilly planted section to help keep your water clean, plants filter crap that filter media doesn't get and if you put the top tank on an alternate light cycle you'd have something cool to look at when the main tank lights are off.
> 
> Go team hybrid refugium... rah rah rah
> 
> Douglas


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## macframalama (Apr 17, 2012)

Roberto Luongo said:


> How about a tetra clear choice pond filter. Or just use a bucket, checkout deepreds 300 gallon in wall tank.


those are pretty neat but i think the price tag is gonna be high..


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## Lamplighter (Aug 3, 2012)

charles said:


> you sure the bottom of the tank is not tempered? I know the 4 sides are not. But the bottom most likely is.


I didn't see any mark on the bottom of the Fluval tank to indicate that it's tempered. All my Top Fin tanks have tempered bottoms. We're talking 55 gallon tanks.


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