Virginia Dave
New Member
Hey folks, I'm setting up several connected tanks for about 500 gallons total ( 150, 180, 75 and a number of 55 and 20 gallons) and instead of a sump below the tanks I'll put a 75 gallon tank and a few 55s at the same level as the display tanks and use them as refugia/macro algae areas and other filtration. I'm not sure whether being an inch lower makes those a sump or not, I don't worry much about nomenclature.
Given that there will be very low head pressure on the water return, I'm trying to put in pumps with low RPM propellers to keep as much plankton alive as possible. I've heard that "plankton friendly" pumping is a loaded term, and apologize if I start a controversy. Today I saw a number of 12v and 24v DC submersible water pumps on ebay with variable speed controllers and ordered a couple with about 300-400 gallons per hour on the low end of their variable speed. I'm hoping that many plankters will pass undamaged through the impellers. I'm guessing that tank turnover will only be one half to two cycles per hour, depending on how many slow pumps I use.
I don't expect large plankton like artemia to live through many passes, (they don't last long in the tank anyway) but I'm hoping that much of the phyto and some of the copepods will be undamaged. Some phyto have tails and move in the water (dinoflagellates) and some have similar flagella (e?) like tetraselmis which may be damaged, but some other phyto (Isochrysis?) are more tolerant to stronger water movement or have thicker cell walls which should help.
Also, most open water (calanoid) copepods have long antennae that would not fare well as they pass through the impellers, but short antennae pods are more hardy. The harpacticoid copepods tend to have short antennae and the adults spend most of their time attached to surfaces, only the nauplii are free swimming, and most nauplii don't have long antennae until after a number of molts.
So, the big question is... do some of you more experienced reefers think that a few 20 watt pumps on low setting with only a few psi of head will allow more plankters to pass through the system alive multiple times a day? Or am I leading myself astray? I don't mind anyone telling me frankly that I'm guilty of wishful thinking. I'm sure other people have tried this and can tell me why they succeeded or failed.
I welcome your strong opinions if they serve to keep my mind open for more learning. I see some double diaphragm pumps on the market which should be plankton friendly but most are air driven and I fear the compressor will be too noisy for my basement. I have a very large air pump (I forget the capacity) so maybe that will come in handy. I've looked into peristaltic pumps, but most are way too small to move water through a decently sized system. Large peristaltic pumps look prohibitively expensive.
To give some livestock info, I anticipate a relatively low bio load, just a half dozen pygmy angelfish pairs and some pairs of blennies, gobies, dottybacks and dartfish. Not a lot of big fish and not a high number of fish. I anticipate that I'll put in some soft corals and a few stony corals, but not a large amount of either. I have a lot of rock left over from previous years (decades!) of fishkeeping but anticipate a light sand layer or nearly a bare bottom tank. The tanks all have overflows. I'm not a fan of big protein skimmers but may use a small skimmer if it's needed. I really like the new idea of the filter paper rolls removing detritus in large particles before it breaks down into small particles. I also am a believer in lots of macro algae in the refugium on an opposite photo cycle (night lighting) for pH stability. And of course I'm a big fan of phyto, artemia and copepod dosing for the tanks (or I wouldn't be asking this pump question).
I will have covers on the tanks to prevent jumpers, but maybe a muffin fan on each for oxygen/CO2 interchange. I don't have lights yet but without many stony corals I'm not anticipating a lot of light. I'll probably also put in some variable speed powerheads on the ends of the tank if I think they're needed for better flow. I also have a two 150 gallon totes on the floor for artemia and copepod culture but they are not connected to the main system. I'll have room for a relatively small bank of phyto cultures, but only the few hardier types of phyto (chlorella, nanno, T-iso,). I also believe in putting the rocks on eggcrate held above the tank bottom an inch so by short lengths of PVC pipe so I can use a powerhead to "leaf blow" the detritus to one end for removal. That's why I lean toward a bare bottom tank.
That's all I can think of for now. I'm sure I've missed a lot of things because I haven't kept a tank in 10 years. Please ask questions if you need to know any more about my system in order to help answer my questions about pumping. Hopefully you can tell by now that I lean toward more natural filtration and less technology.
Again, many thanks in advance.
Given that there will be very low head pressure on the water return, I'm trying to put in pumps with low RPM propellers to keep as much plankton alive as possible. I've heard that "plankton friendly" pumping is a loaded term, and apologize if I start a controversy. Today I saw a number of 12v and 24v DC submersible water pumps on ebay with variable speed controllers and ordered a couple with about 300-400 gallons per hour on the low end of their variable speed. I'm hoping that many plankters will pass undamaged through the impellers. I'm guessing that tank turnover will only be one half to two cycles per hour, depending on how many slow pumps I use.
I don't expect large plankton like artemia to live through many passes, (they don't last long in the tank anyway) but I'm hoping that much of the phyto and some of the copepods will be undamaged. Some phyto have tails and move in the water (dinoflagellates) and some have similar flagella (e?) like tetraselmis which may be damaged, but some other phyto (Isochrysis?) are more tolerant to stronger water movement or have thicker cell walls which should help.
Also, most open water (calanoid) copepods have long antennae that would not fare well as they pass through the impellers, but short antennae pods are more hardy. The harpacticoid copepods tend to have short antennae and the adults spend most of their time attached to surfaces, only the nauplii are free swimming, and most nauplii don't have long antennae until after a number of molts.
So, the big question is... do some of you more experienced reefers think that a few 20 watt pumps on low setting with only a few psi of head will allow more plankters to pass through the system alive multiple times a day? Or am I leading myself astray? I don't mind anyone telling me frankly that I'm guilty of wishful thinking. I'm sure other people have tried this and can tell me why they succeeded or failed.
I welcome your strong opinions if they serve to keep my mind open for more learning. I see some double diaphragm pumps on the market which should be plankton friendly but most are air driven and I fear the compressor will be too noisy for my basement. I have a very large air pump (I forget the capacity) so maybe that will come in handy. I've looked into peristaltic pumps, but most are way too small to move water through a decently sized system. Large peristaltic pumps look prohibitively expensive.
To give some livestock info, I anticipate a relatively low bio load, just a half dozen pygmy angelfish pairs and some pairs of blennies, gobies, dottybacks and dartfish. Not a lot of big fish and not a high number of fish. I anticipate that I'll put in some soft corals and a few stony corals, but not a large amount of either. I have a lot of rock left over from previous years (decades!) of fishkeeping but anticipate a light sand layer or nearly a bare bottom tank. The tanks all have overflows. I'm not a fan of big protein skimmers but may use a small skimmer if it's needed. I really like the new idea of the filter paper rolls removing detritus in large particles before it breaks down into small particles. I also am a believer in lots of macro algae in the refugium on an opposite photo cycle (night lighting) for pH stability. And of course I'm a big fan of phyto, artemia and copepod dosing for the tanks (or I wouldn't be asking this pump question).
I will have covers on the tanks to prevent jumpers, but maybe a muffin fan on each for oxygen/CO2 interchange. I don't have lights yet but without many stony corals I'm not anticipating a lot of light. I'll probably also put in some variable speed powerheads on the ends of the tank if I think they're needed for better flow. I also have a two 150 gallon totes on the floor for artemia and copepod culture but they are not connected to the main system. I'll have room for a relatively small bank of phyto cultures, but only the few hardier types of phyto (chlorella, nanno, T-iso,). I also believe in putting the rocks on eggcrate held above the tank bottom an inch so by short lengths of PVC pipe so I can use a powerhead to "leaf blow" the detritus to one end for removal. That's why I lean toward a bare bottom tank.
That's all I can think of for now. I'm sure I've missed a lot of things because I haven't kept a tank in 10 years. Please ask questions if you need to know any more about my system in order to help answer my questions about pumping. Hopefully you can tell by now that I lean toward more natural filtration and less technology.
Again, many thanks in advance.
