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filtration for 8ftx2ftx2ft?


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<H1>filtration for 8ftx2ftx2ft?</H1><DIV id=Qtextbox><P><STRONG>Author: Downunder</STRONG><BR><BR>I'm getting an 8ftx2ftx2ft in a couple of weeks, with a wet/dry setup consisting of a 3ftx18inx18in sump. I was just wondering what you all suggets as the recommended flow rate of a sump pump, and the overall filtration for the tank. Obviously the bigger the pump the better, but niagra falls is rediculous in the lounge room. I'm thinking around 4500lph for the sump pump and an external cannister of around 2000lph for additional filtration. Ideas? Thanks,

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Wayne

<p></P></DIV><H2>Replies »</H2><DIV id=Atextbox><P><STRONG>Author: lungy01</STRONG><BR><BR>LOL thought ya said ya din want niagra ...

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yer tank is only 800 ltr's less (displacement

) so

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yer sump pump (4.5 .... ) will be heaps ...

.. Unless ya wanna keep all yer fish up one end : lol : lol : lol : lol ...

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Andy...

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EMINEM & LINKIN PARK RULE & I ALSO HAVE A LARGE COD !!! tongue.gif

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Brownsplains - Brisbane - drumpak@bigpond.com</P></DIV><DIV id=Atextbox><P><STRONG>Author: danceswithdingoes</STRONG><BR><BR>Wayne, why do you feel you need the extra filtration of the canister? The mini-reef should be sufficient. If you need chemical filtration bags of resins can be added to the sump.

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If quizzes are quizzical, what are tests?</P></DIV><DIV id=Atextbox><P><STRONG>Author: c2105208</STRONG><BR><BR>As an idea, my sump for a 5x2x2 I designed to be 750Lx400Wx500H. It contains 30L of Aquasonic Ovi-flow bio-balls (I think that's 750 units). Bio-balls generally for most cichlids and other messy fish in moderate to high stocking you want 3-5% of the tank volume in bio-balls. Reef tanks you use 4-7%.... Tropicals and planted tanks 2-4% works...

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Theoretically, you only need enough flow to allow good contact time and distribution over the bio-media. Unlike mechanical filtration (cannisters etc) the turnover rate is not to remove suspended particles but simply to allow the bacteria time enough to decompose the wastes. This is a complex question but generally speaking - if you're using a spray arm then you can use slightly less flow rate since this distributes very nicely... If you are using a drip tray, in my experiences, you want a slightly larger flow rate. I run my 5x2x2 currently on 2500lph however I'm in the process of reconstructing the sump/wetdry filter and when it's finished I'll be running around 3500lph. I find the water distributes a lot more nicely over the bio-balls through the drip tray with the larger flow rate. Sure, you could just put less holes or smaller holes but it's nice to have a fine shower over the whole lot of the bio-media chamber. It's useless to have a large amount of bio-media with such a large total surface area, if only a moderate proportion of the media is in contact with water most of the time (but not submersed).

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Your wet/dry will do wonders for your biological filtration. If you wish to use a cannister filter that's a great idea for mechanical (and chemical if you wish). I'd just pack it full of sponges of different grades and use it as a handy way of pulling out more suspended matter. Weir's for wet/dry's don't tend to pull out all of the suspended particles quickly especially with messy eaters and so a cannister or other mechanical aid will help with this. Even with my high flow rate on my 5x2x2, it takes several hours after a feeding for the water to become crystal clear again. Once I added another mechanical aid, the water is crystal clear in a matter of 10-15 minutes.

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In summary - with regards to your 8x2x2... I would run two weirs (one in each end) with 2x25mm bulkheads (one in each) plumb'd to a central wet/dry filter underneath. Run pre-filters in the weir overflows and if you are running moderate cichlid loads then around 40L of bio-balls should do the trick. Dispersion will be tricky so you may need to split this up into two bio-media chambers each with its own drip tray / spray arm - plumb each overflow into its own media chamber. You'll want a pump (or two pumps) such that you have a minimum turnover rate of 4000-5000lph. I strongly believe in overkill. If you want a bit of extra mechanical aid then you could add that cannister filter or perhaps an internal filter... your choice - 2 weirs should do a lot nicer than one however at moving suspended matter.

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Hope this helps,

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Cheers,

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Adam

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<p></P></DIV><DIV id=Atextbox><P><STRONG>Author: aquarooms</STRONG><BR><BR>have to agree with Adam go with over kill, and dont buy aquarium power head/ sump pumps, go to your nearest irrigation shop and buy a 24hour rated sump pump,

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try and stay away from brands like DAVEY, Grundfos, as they claim to be 24hour rated but are not,

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and add the canister as well as overflows dont normally catch all bottom dirt/ debre

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my 2cents

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tony_aquarooms

<p></P></DIV><DIV id=Atextbox><P><STRONG>Author: searlesy</STRONG><BR><BR>On my 500 litre reef tank, I have a via aqua 4900, which is a cheap dodgy pump, but is very quiet and has been going fine for a year. If you are worried about the noise of the overflow, there has been a recent thread on here about standpipes, where there were a couple of links to Durso standpipes, which limit the waterfall to a couple of inches, and if tuned properly wont even gurgle, mine is almost silent, even with such a large turnover.

<p></P></DIV><DIV id=Atextbox><P><STRONG>Author: Downunder</STRONG><BR><BR>Thanks for the advice guys. Really helpfull feedback. The ideas you had Andy for the two overflows plumbed into a central sump is the design I am going for. As for the tank load I'm going for a Lake Malawi set up with a fibreglass backing and sides. I now figure the way I was going should be okay. I am planning on plumbing my cannister into behind my background ( it will have holes in it for the water to move through) for sucking up the debris that gets trapped there, with the return going into the main tank area. The tank will be drilled in the back wall of the overflows, so I won't require the standpipe idea, hoping that the noise won't be too bad. I'm also planning on using some filtering pad in the overflow as a pre-filter to stop large particles from getting through to the sump and also this may take some noise away from the overflowing water. Once again thanks for your input guys.

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Wayne

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