Sponge Filters / Plugs

[Fraoch]

so im setting up a fry/hospital tank, at first i was just going to set up the one but i think maybe it would mak more sense to set up 2, one for fry and one for breeding/hospital. but i only have so many plugs in that room, wwhich would not be enough for two tanks. So how do all these people manage when they have maybe 15+ tyanks in one room? do they just have a lot of plugs fitted or am i missing something obvious?

also when using sponge filters in these tanks, can you work 2 sponge filters off one plug?

thanks in advance

EDIT; also what kind/size of sponge filter would you suggest if it was a tank between 15 and 30 liters?

 

[waterdrop]

Multiple aquariums do often create an electricity distribution problem. It's always important to follow code and be safe with electricity in the home, the dangers are quite real. If you are the handyman type, electrical work is not really the hardest type of thing and there are plenty of books to be had if you want to take it on. Most of the individual things we do on aquariums don't respresent a large load but they can add up. Any fire inspector will tell you that it is indeed important not to simply plug multiple power strips into each other.

Ideally when people build a fish house on the back or whereever, they plan this out, along with water distribution and temperature control, etc. (I say all this, but I'm really just like many of the rest of you, thinking this very moment in the back of my mind how much I wish there were already more outlets in my son's room, lol.)

For sponge filter sizes you have to go with what you can get, nothing wrong with just making a judgement call on it not being rediculously small or large for the tank. I will say that OM47 has made contributions that his findings are that one can get by with a smaller biofiltration sponge than would often be popularly thought.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[moochy13]

maybe use a single small external thats enough to do both small tanks ? is that even possible ?

 

[Fraoch]

maybe use a single small external thats enough to do both small tanks ? is that even possible ?

how do you use one filter on two tanks?

Multiple aquariums do often create an electricity distribution problem. It's always important to follow code and be safe with electricity in the home, the dangers are quite real. If you are the handyman type, electrical work is not really the hardest type of thing and there are plenty of books to be had if you want to take it on. Most of the individual things we do on aquariums don't respresent a large load but they can add up. Any fire inspector will tell you that it is indeed important not to simply plug multiple power strips into each other.

Ideally when people build a fish house on the back or whereever, they plan this out, along with water distribution and temperature control, etc. (I say all this, but I'm really just like many of the rest of you, thinking this very moment in the back of my mind how much I wish there were already more outlets in my son's room, lol.)

For sponge filter sizes you have to go with what you can get, nothing wrong with just making a judgement call on it not being rediculously small or large for the tank. I will say that OM47 has made contributions that his findings are that one can get by with a smaller biofiltration sponge than would often be popularly thought.

~~waterdrop~~

my dads a fire man so he knows a lot about the safety with plugs and electricity
and thank you, this makes sense now

 

[Aqua Tom]

so im setting up a fry/hospital tank, at first i was just going to set up the one but i think maybe it would mak more sense to set up 2, one for fry and one for breeding/hospital. but i only have so many plugs in that room, wwhich would not be enough for two tanks. So how do all these people manage when they have maybe 15+ tyanks in one room? do they just have a lot of plugs fitted or am i missing something obvious?

also when using sponge filters in these tanks, can you work 2 sponge filters off one plug?

thanks in advance

EDIT; also what kind/size of sponge filter would you suggest if it was a tank between 15 and 30 liters?

If I had a dedecated fish room with 10 + tanks in it then I would go for a dedicated ring main just for that as each tank will have a light, filter & heater so the amount of sockets would soon add up.

 

[moochy13]

a bit of creative plumbing, adding an extra pipe to the outlet and inlet pipes coming from the filter. so youve got an inlet extension pipe coming from each tank, into the main pipe that goes to the filter, same thing for the outlet. as long as the filter is big enough to do the combined total of the 2 tanks, and maybe a bit more for leeway, i cant see why it wouldnt work. obviusly the tanks would have to be next to eachother. surely fish shops dont have a filter for each and every tank they run. they must run multiple of tanks off a single filter.

saying that, im just thinking out loud, and it may be a bit of an extreme solution for 2 small tanks.

 

[Fraoch]

so would it be possible to run 2 sponge filters off one power head?

 

[Uriel]

Most of the things you are going to be running are low power draw. I would think you would be safe to use a multiplug(I do). But it might be better to wait for on of the sparkies to comment as i'm not qualified to properly answer this question.

 

[Tolak]

One large air pump, one plug. Run air lines to the filters of each tank, piping the air supply around the room to reach the tanks. Heat the room, not each tank, any additional heaters are minimal draw on the electrical system.

Most folks consider the electrical requirements when setting up a fishroom, and run circuits accordingly.

 

[Aqua Tom]

Most of the things you are going to be running are low power draw. I would think you would be safe to use a multiplug(I do). But it might be better to wait for on of the sparkies to comment as i'm not qualified to properly answer this question.

That would be fine.