# 3d BG and filters



## B.Roberson (Nov 6, 2011)

HI all. starting my new 90 gal. 3D BG and all. gonna try and hide stuff. may go with an inline heater on this 1. 
Hey DJRansome..you answered this post a while back.
Re: hiding equip,& water movement behind 3d b/g
by DJRansome » Fri Oct 05, 2012 4:40 pm

You don't want to "pipe" the holes at the bottom for inlets. The filter inlets behind the background sucking up the water behind the background are what keeps the space clean. The filter inlets don't even have to be right behind the holes.

I have mesh on the inlet holes in the background, but you may find that any fry in the tank can fit through. And the space required to allow the filter inlet to fit behind is big enough to fit a net to retrieve the fry when they have grown too big to swim back.

The heater is the only item with a trick to positioning. Actually I use in-line heaters now, so no worries. But when I had heaters behind...the heater has to be between the BG inlet hole and the filter intake so all water entering the filter has to flow over the heater..

so im leaning toward an xp model as i already have 1. 
so i can just cut holes in the BG and let the water flow thru toward the inlet? it will PULL the water thru???? and then i was going to put my spray bar at the opposite end front to back pointed toward the end with the inlet. may help with a powerhead behind the BG also with a hole cut out for it...
so for just 1 canister i would need just 1 or 2 inlet hole cut out about 3" from the bottom?? im thinking of using an ac110 also at the opposite end.
Anyone can chime in, im just trying to get a good picture in my mind before i put it in stone,. and beware i may have lots more questions. Thanxxxx


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

A powerhead is pretty big to put behind a background...if you just do the inlets you only need like a inch or 1.5" back there. Allow room to net fish...the fry swim through and grow up back there.

I always have 2 canisters with intake at either end.

You want your grates an inch or two above your substrate (else it will get sucked through). So with 3" of substrate (like for plants) you may want them 5" from the bottom. With 1" of substrate, 3" from the bottom works.

And I always have holes spaced along the background...not just by the intakes. Like 3 holes in a 48" tank and 4 holes in a 72" tank, etc. You want even circulation in your tank...not just at the ends.


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## FanOfSkynyrd (Nov 25, 2012)

I have 2 powerheads behind mine, the background is 2.5" off the back of the tank. I have the older Marineland Penguin 1140's, with the intake sponge prefilters on them. I turned the output nozzle, then connected a piece of pvc pipe maybe 1.5 feet long with a 90deg elbow at the end. that elbow is then stuck in another hole that I drilled in the background, near the bottom. With 2 canister filters on the tank and their outputs at the top and those 2 powerheads pushing water through the pvc piped out near the bottom, I feel that gives me a great total tank water turnover. Plus it helps keeping waste off the substrate (PFS) so that it gets sucked in the holes drilled for the filter intakes.

I felt the extra inch I sacrificed to allow for powerhead placement behind the background was worth it. All tank occupants seem happy, its been up and running now for about 3 months.


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## B.Roberson (Nov 6, 2011)

Thanks guys. That gives me good visual ideas. 
It's gonna be a work in progress. I'll update as time goes on. Going to start on the stand this weekend.


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## B.Roberson (Nov 6, 2011)

hey DJRansome. When u run 2 canisters, do u have 2 spray bars? 
Are you putting them at each end facing each other? Pointed from each end to the middle, ? OR 1 facing front and 1 facing lengthwise?
Just curious. .. Im gonna run 1 canister right now with an ac 70 till i can afford another canister. 
dang im already into this tank a bunch more than anticipated,, but hoooohaaa, having fun. 
power head,, the bg i purchased is 4-5" at the thickest ,mostly 2" or so, so I'm gonna try and put a powerhead back there. pipe it with flex tubing out near the bottom somewhere to help circulation. .. should i also cut some slits on top of the bg to allow some water flow over the top? just not big enough for fish?? thanks


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I could never figure out how to get a HOB to flow over the top. I think people build a little extender rather than cut the background. With the canisters, I just hook the canister water return (no spray bar...just the pipe outlet) over the thinnest part of the background pointing straight ahead.


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