New to Rays Looking for help

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
For a sump, just grab a 55 gallon used aquarium and use it as your sump. You can install baffles but they're not necessary. Here is a picture of my sump I made out of a 55:

View attachment 1255948 View attachment 1255949

I use this to filter my 220 at about 1600gph.

That is exactly what I am in the process of doing just picked up a used tank today I will be installing baffles if needed but still have not decided on whether I am going to build submerged, emerged, or fluidized filter. I wanted to do fluidized but have heard that they can be quite loud. Looks like you went submerged and that kinda seems to be the way i may be leaning what do you use for media?
 
That is exactly what I am in the process of doing just picked up a used tank today I will be installing baffles if needed but still have not decided on whether I am going to build submerged, emerged, or fluidized filter. I wanted to do fluidized but have heard that they can be quite loud. Looks like you went submerged and that kinda seems to be the way i may be leaning what do you use for media?

I have 12-15lbs of cheap ceramic media and 1100 bio balls that I picked up cheap. It's way overkill for my tank, but I like to have enough that I can move some to other tanks, if needed.
 
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Nice to see some d.i.y builds going on, good luck...try not to use excessive amounts of media, you should only use the amount of media that you tank requires if not the bacteria will be spread thin across the media and your filtration will not be as effective,, which then means using the excess media you have put in your filter to start another tank will not work as you think it will,, you should only use the amount of media in your filtration that your tank requires,, your media will only ever have the amount of good bacteria on it that it needs for the amount of waste your fish are creating, so the more media you have the thinner that bacteria will be spread across your media, so you could end up taking handfuls of media out of your filter thinking that the media is ready to start a new tank and the media could have hardly any good bacteria on it as you have used to much media in your filtration, using to much media is not good,,
 
Use a filter sock and foams for mechanical filtrations, and a good quality bio media,, especially if you are still thinking about keeping rays,
 
If you are building a submersed filtration system the water needs to go into the first chamber where the mechanical foams are then under the first baffle into the bio media section then over the top of the second baffle then under the third baffle and into the last chamber where the return pump is,, don't use bio balls as your bio media in this type of filter,, ceramic is ok
 
Can you explain how that submersed filtration sump in the thread works (pictured) the water flows over the top of the baffle then over the top of the media then straight out over the next baffle, the water should flow under the first baffle into the the bottom of the bio media compartment causing movement of media then the water should exit over the top of the next baffle.. ???????????? How is bacteria going to form properly on media that is not in the flow of the water,, 60% of the media in that filter sump must be dead
 
I oppoligise in advance if I have miss read something or not seen all the pictures correctly ,,
 
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