building my first sump

[gman]

I am building my first sump and i need to know a few things. (it is for a freshwter tank)

1.) Will i ever need to replace/ wash the bio balls?

2.) should the container the bio balls are in be sealed or should it be able to breathe?

3.)should i put any other filtering devises in like a sponge or a carbon insert or anything else?

thanks for the help in advance

 

[rallysman]

you will need a prefilter to keep large particles out of the bioballs, and if your prefilter is good enough you shouldnt have to clean the bioballs. Also make it so it can breathe so oxygen can be present. the sides of mine are sealed but it breathes through the top and works very well...good luck and post pix!

 

[fishguy306]

Im building my first one right now too. Heres what ive figured out.

1. Its bad to replace the bio balls, but if they need to be rinced it should be in tank water.

2. Being able to breath is very important. Thats why wet drys work so well.

3. Its wise to put a sponge before the bio balls to collect everything. You can rinse this one and periodicly replace it.

Hope that helps some. Im no expert, but Ive learned a lot about them recently so feel free to send a pm my way if youd like my opinion

 

[gman]

thanks alot its just a little one (10 gal) for a 30 gal.

if i ever get hold of a digicam i will post the pics.

 

[hardb0iled]

On my wet/dry filters, I use a drip plate to disperse the water over the bio balls(basically a sheet of acrylic with lots of holes drilled in it), on this drip plate I place a layer of dacron matting and the water is dispersed over the plate and matting and any debris that makes it past the prefilter on my tank overflow is caught here before getting to the bio balls. One filter I have had going for about 3 months and have only had to rinse out the matting once