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Bulkhead fittings

castle

castle

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Joined
19 Dec 2015
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Im looking to connect a few nano tanks to each other so I can use one heater and not 3. I noticed in some LFS they have fairly large circle grates between tanks, but maybe these are just on a diving piece of glass.
Anyway, I’d like to connect two+ tanks to eachother, that are next to each other. Is there a pipe fitting off the shelf for this, or should I diy this somehow? Any ideas?

rough sketch:

1615926693647.png
 
So my issue here is that 1/2“ feels a little small for water to travel between tanks?
 
You can get bigger, I’ve got these for my outlet pipes in the overflow box. Not very pretty though for somewhere more visible.

What’s the idea between the two tanks? You’ll maybe have to run them kind of as two tanks anyway as you’ll get no flow really between the two with only a couple of connectors.

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hmm, looks like bulkheads are the only option.

i was considering drilling a hole and siliconing in place a thin piece of pipe to connect the two pieces of glass as I’d have the tanks flush with one another, but I guess the connection could be quite weak?
 
I think whatever option you choose, heating multiple tanks like this is going to be near impossible, whatever tank the heater is in is going to heat quicker than the others, so that tank will be at the right temp and the others will be colder.

Bulkheads etc are just too small to allow enough water through (especially passively)
 
castle said:
i was considering drilling a hole and siliconing in place a thin piece of pipe to connect the two pieces of glass as I’d have the tanks flush with one another, but I guess the connection could be quite weak?
Click to expand...
Hi, I reckon this can work, you just need to make sure the tanks can never move relative to each other, for example if they are knocked. If I was going to try something like this I would glue or silicone the drilled tanks in place onto a suitable base board and then silicone the "thin piece of pipe" into the hole.

OB1 would be stronger than silicone too, but not quite as flexible.

(On the whole seems harder work than dividing a larger tank.)
 
Yeah, in a normal situation I’d divide a tank. But for the space and time I have, 4 30x20x20l tanks will have to do. I have a tank I could divide, but I was thinking on using that as a sump for 4 nanos.

I will just run an airstone and heater in each nano until after I move later in the year. No longer drilling
 
I wouldn't drill the tanks but use a water bridge above it instead... It works the exact same way .

Create a U pipe and hang one end in each of the tanks. Suck all air out the U pipe and it puls a vacuum. This connects both tanks and if the filter inlet is placed in tank one and the outlet in tank two the water level in both tanks stays equal. And the water will pass through the pipe. (Communicating vessels) :)

You could make the U pipe large enough for fish to pass through from one tank to the other... :) You could use a clear tube as well but this will get dirty and needs cleaning.

The same concept, this is how I overwinter my goldfish in the cellar. And they happily pass through the tubes from one tub to the other. It only has one pump and the water flows through all 3 tubs always leveling with eachother.
dscf9529-jpg.jpg
 
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I can’t see the point of connecting them together through the sides
You won’t get a flow around the tank and the last tank will be cooler than the first

Why not use a sump system ?
The sump can be on the same level it doesn’t have to be underneath

Drill each tank at the rear and take a pipe to the sump tank
10 tanks = 10 pipes into the sump

Put your heater and return pump in the sump
Run one pipe from the pump across the top of the tanks
Use small taps (airline valves) to return the water to each tank

You could put sponge filters on the outlet pipes on each tank to provide your filtration or a corner hmf in front of the outlets

Doing it this way means you
can adjust the flow on every tank
Easily extend the system to add new tanks
Easily remove a tank or isolate it from the system

If it’s just saving money on heaters then look at heat mats, you can stand multiple tanks on a large heat mat


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Sump was my initial thought but I have limited space, and time. Not sure you read my last post @dean as I say I’m going to do what you’re suggesting 😅

however, slight update, I cut some acrylic, I’ve ordered some stainless steel mesh, and will be just adding a dividing wall to a larger tank. Should be set up tomorrow and filled by Sunday 😄

The nanos are going back in the loft.
 
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