Advice and Opinions Needed Please

[qtrhorse89]

Hey all I have a few quick questions concerning a diy sump/overflow deal. My tank is a 120 gallon and it's only inhabitant is a 11.5 inch female Umbee. The filtration on the tank right now is 2 Aquaclear 110's. The Umbee is my first large fish and I just didn't quite realize just how big her poops would be. I know how important very clean water is to this species and I'm wondering if these two filters are doing the job. The water is clear but her poop piles up on the bottom even after a day and there is some slight algae growth on the back glass. Test results are always 0,0, 0-.3 for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates respectively. I know the tank is adequately cycled but I'm wondering if a sump set up would be better at keeping the tank clean. Which leads me to my question exactly how hard is it to build one of these things. I'm a 21 y/o female and I know how to drill, use a hand saw, measure etc but I've never worked with PVC or built anything on this scale size. Is it even feasible for me to attempt this? I don't want to try to get into this and not be able to do it because of my skill level. It doesn't look too difficult to drill a hole here, insert tube A into tube B but these things always seem so much simpler on paper. So to everybody out there who has built this how difficult is it and could a person with only a moderate knowledge of tools and DIY'ing successfully pull this off? Also for a 120 what size sump/overflow should I even be looking at? Are the diy ones louder than say an HOB? What are the chances of me flooding my living room if the power goes off? (this would be my greatest fear besides injuring my fish) Thanks for any help or insight.

 

[MyGiants]

Hanging filters only create a water current circular motion front to back. Feces can settle off to each side of the current. You can add a powerhead on one side of the tank will get the current flowing around the whole tank not letting feces settle in the corner and have a better chance of getting sucked into the filter. Or add a canister filter and you can direct the inlet water to add more circulation.

 

[CHOMPERS]

One of the cleanest tanks I ever had was a 75g with an Emporer 400 on the side (not the back). The water flows across the surface (along the length of the tank), and circulates back along the bottom (bare bottom). It kept all the poo together under the filter pick up tube until it made its way into the filter.

As for the DIY overflows, they are cheap and easy to build. However, I only recommend them for places where flooding isn't going to be an issue (garages or basements with floor drains).

You can suplement your circulation with a Hydor-Koralia pump (more of a fan). It will help break up the poo and get it in the water column so it can get filtered out.