Fish room build

im lookin at running 6-8 60 gallon tanks. so i want to plumb the whole room to use one central filter i plan to build my self.

here is my problem. i need an external pump. im lookin for one between 2000-3000 GPH. anyone know a good brand and where to get it ? thanks for reading.

also how do i heat a system this big ? lookin at around 700-800 gallons total.

this setup is for breeding my angel fish and bristle nose pleco. so the temp is roughly the same for both of them. i also plan to grow a few plants.

also how do i keep the bristle nose fry from gettin sucked into the over flow box.. right now i have a tank set aside just for the fry to be in till they are about 1 inch long and then i move them to a 60 gallon grow out tank.

External pumps - Eheim or Ocean Runner are the ones that I would use. They are up there with the most efficient and quietest pumps you can get.

Heating - Use several large heaters in the sump system. for this I suggest the 1000w Jagers. They are the most efficient and will be the most cost effective in the long run. I would look at having a few of them both for efficiency sake, and safety sake (if one goes you still have enough to heat the whole setup)

Overflow protection - Most people use a comb across the top of their overflow boxes. This works a treat for 99% of applications. However, for breeding it is useless. In fact I would not be going with overflow boxes at all. I would be going with drilled holes at the back with sponges covering the inlet. That way the angel fry and bristlenose fry will be fine.

Just out of interest, how do you plan to filter all of this? It will have to be one big-arse filter! Most people will generally do 3 or at most 4 60gal tanks on one filter setup. With 6 tanks your filter will have to filter at a minimum 1400 gallons every hour. However, if you are like me and like to aim for more that filtering the water in the tank 4 times every hour, you will need more. I like to aim for at least 8 in grow out/breeding tanks which is 2800gallons every hour (over 10500litres per hour for all us logical metric people )

Thats a LOT of filtering. I'm thinking multiple trickle filters leading into a central sump system...oh man, you are going to have SO much fun building this! If i was a rich man I would love to take the time off and help. Epic Project!

this is a work in progress.. this isnt actualy 60 gallon tanks. they are stands with 2x 29 gallon tanks on them. bottom tank for pleco top tank for my angel fish.

top tank over flows into the bottom tank. bottom tank goes back to a sump. the sump is goin to be 2 x 55 gallon drums. one with filter floss / sponges. the other with a layer of gravel and more floss.

right now i tried this out on my 40 gallon discus tank. it has a 20 gallon sump that is empty. the over flow box on this tank splits into 2 lines. one goes to the sump. the other goes to a 35 gallon drum with the floss and sponges in it. then goes right into the sump from there. then back to the 40 gallon tank.. i need to change the water on this every month... i have 4 discus and 8 angel fish in this tank.


also this new build is goin into an extra bed room we have at the house. im lookin for either 2x55 gal drums or some kind of agriculture water container that is tall and holds 100-250 gallons of water. the tall container allows me to use one pump and then let it gravity feed back into the tanks.


most of this project ideas come from pond filters and pond set ups.

oh forgot to mention. i shoot for at least 6 times GPH of the tank total volume. so right now i have a 60 gallon in my front room with a quiet one 1200. which is rated for 330 GPH. its only 3 foot head presure on it. so i figure its right around 285-300 gph.

this tank has a small 10 gallon sump with course sponges in it. works perfect for my fry grow out tank. the over flow box is modified with tons of 1/8 inch holes in it so the fry dont get sucked in.

Im in the process of getting my room up and running with 60 plus tanks and all of them are going to be on a central system but i broke mine down in to 6 smaller systems and that way if something happens it only affects part of my tanks. im going touse a pump called LIFEGUARD QUIETONE MADE BY PENTAIR AQUATICS they makes pumps any size you want.

nice i was thinkin of puttin a pump per set of tanks. since this allows me to build over time vs trying to pre plan how many tanks i will have set up at once.

i also use quiet one pumps right now. i love them. i have 2x1200 pumps and 1x2200 pump. the 2200 isnt being used right now. it moves too much water for my discus tank.

I need to get another big quite one pump one that will turn 2500 to 3000 gals for a rack i have that holds 8 - 75 gal tanks then i will have all my pumps