Two canister filters attached to one tank

Hi Guys

My new tank is a Jewel Vision 450, This tank holds my discus fish as well as a few catfish and some tetras.
My tank comes its own built internal filter . The large Jewel filter.

I also have two tetratec 1200 canister filters , one is currently attached to the tank and the other is just laying about.

I want to have both external filters connected to the tank for extra filtration.

Is it possible for me to attach the inlet tube from both filters together and the outlet tubes from both filters together and have them both running at the same time?

reason I ask is , I already have two tubes going into my tank.(the current filter thats set up) I would prefer to only have two tubes going into the tank and not four tubes.
One for inlet and one for outlet of the canister filters.

Hope you guys understand what im saying?

Is it possible? Has anybody done this, Can you sure your set up with me?

If possible would a simple Y joint suffice?

Thanks for all reply's , I do appreciate it.

regards

 

Understand your point, but flow would be severely restricted, I.e. it will be energy inefficient. Also if the two pumps are of a different rating, or the ones filter material is more clogged than the others, they will start competing against each other.

If you want to do this, consider only running the pump on one and have the other simply as an extra filter chamber increasing your media volume.

Alternately you could consider plumbing the inlet pipe into the built in Juwel filter compartment. You should have some space by the heater. The return can be above water into the tank, so it is invisible.

 

I have a single outlet leaving my tank, splitting at a T-piece and going into 2 external filters. Then the 2 filters outlets connects via another T piece and go back into the tank as a single spraybar. Filters are not the same, and whilst I agree with above that you do loose effeciency, my tank has been running like this for over 2 years now without any problems. (Please keep in mind that one filter is sufficient to filter my tank... the second filter is bonus)

Regards

 

@Zippy320: Why not put each canister on different ends of the tank? It would be more productive, that way you can create a sort of flow in your tank using the canisters and preventing dead spots in your tank.

 

I dont think that it will be inefficient, instead it will be, I believe, much more efficient!

Especially if you join using a Y joint as you have mentioned. This will only work if the single part of the Y inlet/outlet is in the tank and the split is where you connect respectively the pipes for the two canisters. I do not know if you are following though. :weird:

Only think that you need to worry about is the connection, i.e. Y piece. the diameter needs to be big enough for Max flow or even more! I.e. the general pipe size for the canisters are around 16mm, give or take. So in theory, the 16mm is the optimum pipe diameter for each canister, so 32mm would be sufficient for a 2 in 1 combo. I don't know the exact science to this, but if you do some research on sumps and how their whole plumbing and pipe size influences flow, then you will understand what I'm going on about.

I personally feel that a 2 in 1 combo will be much more efficient( if the correct diameter pipes are used) because each canister will "help" each other when pushing up the water. For example, if two rivers meet and merges to one, and if one is flowing faster than the other, the point at which these two meet, the current or flow of the slower one will increase to match the faster one. I hope I'm making sense here...:stupid:

Dude go get a couple of PVC fittings and try it out.

Good luck!

 

Or in other words the faster river will slow down to the slower ones pace.

NO, they will average out, that is all that happens. In a suction based example through a pipe with two pumps drawing water through the single pipe you will loose a degree of efficiency substantially due to friction if the pipe size is not increased and in all events due to increased turbulence in the flow.

Either way, don't think OP's intention is to have a massive 32 mm inlet.

 

Yeah i agree that at the same diameter as the normal pipe it will be inefficient, but that is why i said you have to increase the pipe diameter to achieve the flow as originally.

I understand what OP wanted to achieve, but without the increase and as you said, it will not be efficient.

 

Hi Chaps, I would have the original suction pipes of the canister filter attached to their own tubes and place one on each side of the tank as to draw from both sides therefore having a better and more efficient cleaning ability inside the tank. As for the return onto the spray bar, I would attach the return of both filters to each side and then drill the holes of that spraybar bigger. If they are originally say 2mm the increase them to 3.5-4.0mm and try to have the spraybar run the full length at the top back of the tank, this will allow the flow not to be restricted and the pumps of both filters to fight each other. You will have to make sure that both the media inside the filters are of the same age as this could also play a role in the restriction process. You would end up with two pipes in each corner, filter one on the left side of the tank and filter two on the right side of the tank. You would not have to buy anything as you have already got what you need. You only need to drill the spray bar's holes bigger and face them towards the back glass of your tank. Just my take on this.

 

When you say extra filtration do you mean to turn over the volume of water being filtered quicker or have more filter media ? If you want to increase the turn over of water then you would need to increase the diameters of the piping to make the filters run efficiently .

If you want to increase the amount or variety of filter media why not try running them "inline" have the outlet from the tank running into the first filter with mechanical and /or chemical filter media then connect the out let from the 1st filter to the inlet of the second filter with biological filter media and the outlet from the 2nd filter returning to the tank

 

HI Guys! Thanks for the many many replays I truly appreciate it. It has given me some ideas.

Sorry for the late reply, It was the weekend and as you know how weekends go, Anyway , I took most of the tank down, and kind of rebuilt it up, moved the driftwood around into better positions, removed the live plants and added in some silk / plastic plants, Live plants will be going into me other empty tank (rehabilitation)

Regarding the filter, I haven't worked on that yet, I did however set it up to be attached to the tank alone, but havnt attached it as yet, Still researching my options on this. Reason I cant have it on the other end is because I have limited space at the other end (Corner is up against a wall) and I did notice that if I extend the piping I loose alot of power from the filter (wont make that mistake again) , and the holes in the canopy arnt big enough to accommodate the wiring to the lights etc and these pipes.
Both filters are of the same make and brand, so im not sure if it would overpower the new filter or of the new filter would overpower the old one. I will clean the old filter out so it should have the same amount of power as the new one.

I will be buying a Y piece tomorrow and see if that works out well.

@soulflyBy extra filtration, Basically I want cleaner water, My water is clean at the moment though I still find bits and pieces of something floating around. But I do admit , I am pretty interested in your idea,that would work out for me as I would still have just two filter pipes and I could have both canisters side by side inside the cupboard.
Do you guys think this would cause any issues with the filtration? Im assuming that it would filter out alot more or what goes in? Would it slow down or increase the rate of filtration?

Regards

 

Just thaught I give you an Idea , This is my tank at its current state (After the clean up etc), On the left corner, there are the two canister filter pipes, On the right corner we have the Jewel filter and next to that is the wall. On the left bottom we see the new canister filter, Its not connected to the tank , niether is it plugged in.
The Canister filter that is plugged in is actually in the cupboard stand below the tank , out of sight. I dont believe my tank is overstocked though I do wish for the water to be crystal clear, which is my main aim and goal.

 

@Zippy320: I would suggest you get either seachem clarity or purigen. That would help with your water clarity.

 

Hi @Swagasaurus , Iv heard they work, but im really trying to avoid the use of any chemicals for the water. I prefer manual filtration.

 

It is not chemicals it is filter media, and unfortunately without it you will never get your water crystal clear no matter how much filtration you throw at your tank.

 

Hi, sorry i Didnt know it was filter media, thought you were referring to that liquid stuff I see on sale at the petshops. I will look into that as well. At the moment , there's the basic filter media that my filters came with. Sponges, bio balls, ceramic rings or tubes .

 

It shouldn't slow down or increase the rate of filtration as the pressure should remain the same even though the volume of the filter has doubled.
The dual filters will allow you to keep one filter, preferably the 1st one in the line with media that needs to be cleaned and replaced such as your mechanical filter media like sponges , filter wools and the chemical media like carbon while the second filter with biological filter media, IE bio balls and ceramic rings will never need to be opened as this media shouldn't ever need to be cleaned .

I ran a tank many years ago with a similar setup running an old Prime 10 canister filter with sponges and carbon in it , the return water then went through a fluidized bed filter for a biological filter and then through a UV sterilizer and from there back into the tank , it is not ideal if you are needing to turn over large volumes of water especially if you are keeping messy eaters and large fish but for a planted community tank you will be turning over the water volume more than twice an hour which should be sufficient

 

Totally agree with on the Seachem Purigen, I also had clarity problems but after putting in only one bag ob Seachem Purigen it is far better. I have one bag been regenerated at the moment in bleach. That is what is nice about this product, you can clean it and reuse it over again this save you money. So for R150-00/100g bag it is worth the money. I bought two bags, one in filter and one been cleaned.