Fresh water Sump Ideas
- Thread starter Redchamp
- Start date
A well established tank 0ammonia 0nitrites doesn't need ammonia remover or carbon, just bio media for bb. Everything else is solid, just trying to save you some cash Bro.
A lot of good tanks around here ONLY run mechanical filtration pads, and bio media for bacteria to live in, that takes care of smell and water quality.
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A lot of good tanks around here ONLY run mechanical filtration pads, and bio media for bacteria to live in, that takes care of smell and water quality.
_________________________________________________________________________http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?504763-Cheap-plants-less-nitrate!-POTHOS
*Go S. Vettel #1 rb8--5 MORE RACES LEFT! LET'S MAKE IT 3 BACK TO BACK WINS/WDC!* :beer:
X3 and, the beads and the bio balls are a bit redundant if you have plants. They will help until plants are established, but after plants are added they are not needed.
And you do not want your only return line to go thru a UV sterilizer. For a sterilizer to be effective, you need a fairly slow flow rate in order to have enough contact time to kill parasites. What you would need to do, is split the return line and run a line that is throttled back to a gph recommended by the sizeand strength of the UV you use.
I would save the money spent on bio balls and beads and spend it on high quality plant lights, and bulbs.
I use planted sumps, and a sub par light and bulbs only tends to grow nuisance algae.
And you do not want your only return line to go thru a UV sterilizer. For a sterilizer to be effective, you need a fairly slow flow rate in order to have enough contact time to kill parasites. What you would need to do, is split the return line and run a line that is throttled back to a gph recommended by the sizeand strength of the UV you use.
I would save the money spent on bio balls and beads and spend it on high quality plant lights, and bulbs.
I use planted sumps, and a sub par light and bulbs only tends to grow nuisance algae.
I have had good luck with pathos plants with there roots hanging in the water. Plus they dont need high end lights
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Looks like a recipe for disaster if you've got foam/media/anything that can clog between the baffles on the left and have them full height! You'd want them at least 1/2 an inch down from the top so if one chamber does clog the water can go over the top without flooding the house.
I think you need better mechanical filtration, both before and after the planted tank, and ideally you want all the mechanical before the water gets to the bio media so it doesn't get waste caught in it.
Is the planted bit going to be an aquascaped planted aquarium type thing, or just a chamber of plants for nitrate removal? Are you going to stock it with fish?
You said this is a 135g, but how big is the tank above it that this will be the sump for? How heavily stocked is it? How strong is your return pump, and are you running the UV just to help clarify green water, or do you want it to help prevent things like whitespot? I think your return pump will probably be moving too much water for the UV to work efficiently, you probably want it running on a separate slower pump or even on a closed loop separate from the sump system.
Last thing; how much 'skim' is there going to be from the main tank when the pump switches off? Doesn't look like there is much room in the sump for that, which means you'll end up with wet carpet if there is a power cut.
I think you need better mechanical filtration, both before and after the planted tank, and ideally you want all the mechanical before the water gets to the bio media so it doesn't get waste caught in it.
Is the planted bit going to be an aquascaped planted aquarium type thing, or just a chamber of plants for nitrate removal? Are you going to stock it with fish?
You said this is a 135g, but how big is the tank above it that this will be the sump for? How heavily stocked is it? How strong is your return pump, and are you running the UV just to help clarify green water, or do you want it to help prevent things like whitespot? I think your return pump will probably be moving too much water for the UV to work efficiently, you probably want it running on a separate slower pump or even on a closed loop separate from the sump system.
Last thing; how much 'skim' is there going to be from the main tank when the pump switches off? Doesn't look like there is much room in the sump for that, which means you'll end up with wet carpet if there is a power cut.
David R.
Thanks for the criticism.
This will be my first sump and planted tank so all advice is good advice at this point.
Looks like a recipe for disaster if you've got foam/media/anything that can clog between the baffles on the left and have them full height! You'd want them at least 1/2 an inch down from the top so if one chamber does clog the water can go over the top without flooding the house.
I understand the overflowing issues. I was not planning on having the baffles up the entire way.
I think you need better mechanical filtration, both before and after the planted tank, and ideally you want all the mechanical before the water gets to the bio media so it doesn't get waste caught in it.
The planned filtration added is just due to me having a crap load of different types.. A pet store went out of business, I got all of it for 95% off… What else would you suggest?
I have Carbon bags, Foam pads, ammonia removers, Kaldnes-K1, Ceramic Rings…
Is the planted bit going to be an aquascaped planted aquarium type thing, or just a chamber of plants for nitrate removal? Are you going to stock it with fish?
I wanted to do something for both.. I was thinking about adding small stock like mollies or something. Just for looks.
You said this is a 135g, but how big is the tank above it that this will be the sump for? How heavily stocked is it? How strong is your return pump, and are you running the UV just to help clarify green water, or do you want it to help prevent things like whitespot? I think your return pump will probably be moving too much water for the UV to work efficiently, you probably want it running on a separate slower pump or even on a closed loop separate from the sump system.
The main tank is 6 ½ ft x 2 ft x 4 ft. I will have a ton of cichlids in it. So maybe 25-50
I want to use an existing tank that I have so I can try out a planted tank. The Main return pump is a 3200gph submersible.. I was planning on using a powerhead for the Aqua 15 watt UV sterilizer.
Last thing; how much 'skim' is there going to be from the main tank when the pump switches off? Doesn't look like there is much room in the sump for that, which means you'll end up with wet carpet if there is a power cut.
?? have to figure this out…
Thanks for the criticism.
This will be my first sump and planted tank so all advice is good advice at this point.
Looks like a recipe for disaster if you've got foam/media/anything that can clog between the baffles on the left and have them full height! You'd want them at least 1/2 an inch down from the top so if one chamber does clog the water can go over the top without flooding the house.
I understand the overflowing issues. I was not planning on having the baffles up the entire way.
I think you need better mechanical filtration, both before and after the planted tank, and ideally you want all the mechanical before the water gets to the bio media so it doesn't get waste caught in it.
The planned filtration added is just due to me having a crap load of different types.. A pet store went out of business, I got all of it for 95% off… What else would you suggest?
I have Carbon bags, Foam pads, ammonia removers, Kaldnes-K1, Ceramic Rings…
Is the planted bit going to be an aquascaped planted aquarium type thing, or just a chamber of plants for nitrate removal? Are you going to stock it with fish?
I wanted to do something for both.. I was thinking about adding small stock like mollies or something. Just for looks.
You said this is a 135g, but how big is the tank above it that this will be the sump for? How heavily stocked is it? How strong is your return pump, and are you running the UV just to help clarify green water, or do you want it to help prevent things like whitespot? I think your return pump will probably be moving too much water for the UV to work efficiently, you probably want it running on a separate slower pump or even on a closed loop separate from the sump system.
The main tank is 6 ½ ft x 2 ft x 4 ft. I will have a ton of cichlids in it. So maybe 25-50
I want to use an existing tank that I have so I can try out a planted tank. The Main return pump is a 3200gph submersible.. I was planning on using a powerhead for the Aqua 15 watt UV sterilizer.
Last thing; how much 'skim' is there going to be from the main tank when the pump switches off? Doesn't look like there is much room in the sump for that, which means you'll end up with wet carpet if there is a power cut.
?? have to figure this out…