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sump


simy696

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currently running 2 eheim filters one 2217 one end and a 2215 the other but 6foot tank is set up for a sump with deviders in back left and right corner is it worth me going a sump or continue with eheims

if sumps the way to go would like some advice on how to set up etc.

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personally for the 6 ft id say sump reason being you can oxygenate water more and add k1 ets and have your heater in the sump so its not seen plus ud probably cut down on power by using one pump

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  • 2 weeks later...

Cant beat sumps, far superior than canisters!

Have a bit of a search around for sumps on google.You can make your own pretty easily if your handy. Just need some glass, a glass cutter, tape and some silicon.

I like this basic design but dont bother with the 3 holes drilled on the right, just use the one or similar on the left for a return pump if needed:

103.jpg

What sort of fish do you keep? I like using egg crate on top with sheet of acrylic with holes over it so you can use maximum surface area.

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Africans currently 2 lawandas a ngara a benga a tangerine peacock a big blue peacock and 3 other peacocks unknown as yet also a leopard longfin and goldspot cat fish plus trying to sell jack Dempsey pair who keep to them selves at present. alos has cabinet underneath will have to figure out if a sump can be placed within it.

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  • 3 weeks later...

you would need to get some measurements first of your cabinet space and dont forget to allow room to pull out materials for cleaning replacement of pump if ever needed are you able to get the sump in whole or do you need to remove the brace between doors etc all this kind of things need to be considerd.is it possible to have the sump sitting next to the tank?is it possible to have a gravity fed sump above the tank?which is when you have a powerhead in the tank pumping water up to it then it filters through and gravity takes the water down to the tank?lots of options use what best suits you and your setup.

ive seen gravity fed sumps where peoplke use elongated flower pots etc works well but the flower pot doesnt really give you a great turn over of water per hour as the flower pots i saw were shallow and only used on a standard 4ftr.

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You can't beat matrix styled sumps. On my 6x2x2 I have 100x45x50(h) sump and it keeps the water crystal clear Eben when I had 40 adult trophs in there. I have to swap it out soon as the dodgy sump builder (who ever he was :)) didn't put enough silicone on the dividers and now one has fallen down. I will probably change the configuration anyhow.

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didn't put enough silicone on the dividers and now one has fallen down.

I had the same problem with my tanks, Rosco. Over time, the flow rate weakened the silicon seal, causing the barrier to collapse. I ended up gluing glass pieces to on the top and bottom of the barriers to strengthen them. It worked a treat.

It's hard to see here, but the shiny thing halfway along the pic on the last barrier before the pump is the glass I used.

http://smg.photobucket.com/user/yellow123456789/media/fishroom%20pics/DSC03448.jpg.html?sort=3&o=21

Simy, If you're going to build a sump (Do it; they're easy), I recommend putting in these barriers so you don't have the same problem. It's a pain having to shut down the sump to do it afterwards.

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  • 5 weeks later...

tys for the info every one finally decided to have a go today ready for my new fish in a few weeks coming more fish better filtration I guess so forced my hand ill let you no how I go tys every one.

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If I was building a sump again I would use Poret foam to create the walls, giving extra filtering and bubble removal.

I would also create a low flow zone at one end of the sump and fill it with Matrix and Poret foam and a small pump create the low flow.

The result of this should be No3 reduction and better filtration.

My current sump simply does not have enough mechanical filtration but room for more is short.

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still a bit lost with my sump bought some byo balls to go in the inbuilt sump each end of my 6footer but as far as ive got. have room for about a 2andhalf foot sump under tank but how do u stop the pump pumping it up faster than it is gravity falling back to the sump.

poret foam sounds good where you get it.

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Bio-balls are generally a waste of time in a sump (there are caveats to this), I would suggest that you purchase Seachem Matrix around 8 to 12 L. Also you need mechanical filtration, lots of it.

The poret foam can be purchased from http://poretfoam.com/

Generally the pump and and down is not an issue, you do need extra room for the water which will syphon back to the sump when the pump is turned off.

http://www.diyfishkeepers.com/SumpSizeCalculator.htm

I have two 32mm down pipes and a 6000L/hour pump and it keeps up easilly.

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how do u stop the pump pumping it up faster than it is gravity falling back to the sump.

If you can't increase the size of the outlet pipe/hole, you can split the return so that it flows back into the the sump instead of sending all of the water back to the tank at once. Basically, put a T section coming out of your pump, put a tap on the side of the outlet returning to the sump, and leave the tank return free. Then just start the pump and open the tap until the flow going into the tank balances with what is coming out.

Hopefully, you can see what I mean here.

008-1.jpg

I recommend sending the outlet pipe with the T section in it back to the start of the sump; mine is the middle pipe in this pic.

005.jpg

Doing this gives you the added benefit of filtering your water twice before returning it to the tank.

Hopefully, these pics will also give you an idea of how I had my filter media set up. I don't like foam in sumps; I tried it and found it gets clogs no matter what position you put it in the tank, affecting sump flow. Have a look at the silt sitting on the bottom of the second section. That's there after going through four layers of filter wool, one layer of biomat and 40kgs of matrix.

Hope this helps.

Jason

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Hi Jason

Firstly I really think your idea of take part of the flow and running it back in to the sump is a great idea. :)

I would normally agree with you about foam and blocking, but you should have a read about Poret and how it works and you might change your mind. ;)

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Firstly I really think your idea of take part of the flow and running it back in to the sump is a great idea. :)

I'd love to take credit for it, but I got the idea from Vis after experiencing the same problem you're having.

I would normally agree with you about foam and blocking, but you should have a read about Poret and how it works and you might change your mind. ;)

I don't doubt it works. I just don't think it's worth the trouble in a sump system when there are better mediums available.

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The design would still have the normal pre-filter materials as with any sump. This would be used to hold the media in place.

Cleaning is easy, the NZ guys who sells the stuff has a soft drink bottle with the bottom cut off and uses it like a tank syphon.

The amount of surface area which is designed to be non blocking in these pad I really think they would do the job.

I'm actually in the process get getting a set of his pad to put as the filter in my sump, so I suppose I'll find out.

He claims its going to be very easy to maintain.

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I hear what you are saying but experience tells me do it right the first time :) I have used 3 different PPI material in my sumps and all have clogged up and if they were uses as a divider it would only be a matter of time before it would need ripping out and cleaning. to get the desired HMF type filtration out f it the flow rate would need to be slower than a standard sump setup also.

As a mechanical filter in a sump it works great as it does for HMF, if you want it biological reasons matrix, marine pure etc are far better. However you n03 reducer idea intrigues me

I love the poret foam and was looking at using it for exclusive HMF on my 50+ tanks but the cost is prohibitive and don't trust the Chinese nock offs ;)

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Yer the anarobic bacteria filtering is something I've been thinking about for a while. As I understand it the issue with getting the bacteria which will eat the NO3 you need to reduced O2 in the water.

The normal bacteria we use for converting ammonia and nitrite to nitrate uses O2 out of the water, so my idea is to fill it with Matrix and blocks of the Poret. Poret first and Matrix second and pump the water in from the end with the Poret foam.

I have no idea if enough aerobic bacteria will grow to reduce the O2 down enough for most of the Matrix to switch to anarobic bacteria but I would be worth a try.

Issue is of course that it would still take 3 to 6 month in a test, but as an aerobic bacteria filter it would still be very good.

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