DIY Sump & Prefilter Syphon box

[SilverGR]

Some questions please.

DIY Sump :

I have a problem with the drip tray. When the water reaches the drip tray it doesnt spread all the way on the surface of the tray. I use a sponge for mechanical filtrarion, so the water first hits the sponge and then spreads on the drip tray. What have i done wrong? Maybe the holew i made on the tray are too big? What do you propose about the holes(size?)??
Also is there a general rule about how much water (flow) must be there? If the flow is high is there a possibility that the bacteria would not live long or not do their job right?

Prefilter :

I dont know if i can do that, if not please the admins fix it. I have purchase a prefilter syphon box from lifereef. I dont know if anyone has one of them, they are excelent pieces and i managed to start it working at once. The problems i have are those :

- I have a lot of noise on the inside box, not the outside. This is created because the water surface inside the inner box is too lower than the water surface inside the tank. Another problem that is created from the above is that because of the lower surface in the inner box so the water falls with some power, i have too many bubbles in there, then the bubbles travels all the way inside the u shaped acrylic tube and all the way down to the sump. Is tha a problem? How can i fix that?

- In the outer box i have a lot of air travelling down to the sump. This is because i have the first problem as I stated above and second because the tubes that travels down the sump sucking too much water. I managed to solve that problem just closing a little the 2 ball valves i have connected before the water enters the sump. Is that a problem? What can i do about that?

Just to inform you, the tank is 227 gallons, the prefilter box is the double slim line that manages 1400 GPH. The 2 circulation pumps i use manages to flow the water back inside the tank at a flow rate of 1321 gallons per hour (both of them). I have managed to check the height of the tank, so the above number (1321) is the true one. Waiting for your observations and proposals on my problems.Thank you.

 

[DeLgAdO]

Some questions please.

DIY Sump :

I have a problem with the drip tray. When the water reaches the drip tray it doesnt spread all the way on the surface of the tray. I use a sponge for mechanical filtrarion, so the water first hits the sponge and then spreads on the drip tray. What have i done wrong? Maybe the holew i made on the tray are too big? What do you propose about the holes(size?)??
Also is there a general rule about how much water (flow) must be there? If the flow is high is there a possibility that the bacteria would not live long or not do their job right?

.

you probably need a bigger pump for it to spread evenly

flow rate will not inhibit bacteria to do their job or kill them

their are wet-dry that do their jobs with "thousands of gallons" flow rate

more will not hurt if your wet-dry can handle the flow

 

[Caveman]

How far apart are your drip plates holes? Did you taper the holes in the drip plate? This can sometimes solve water flowing problems. Is the drip plate tight fitting? I have seen some drip plates deemed ineffective by water exiting out one side and not wetting all the biological medium. My freind had this problem with his drip plate and solved it by placing a fine bead of silicone aquarium sealant on the outer edge of the plate to make it water tight allowing the water to only exit through the holes we created.

 

[ChickenTeeth]

Without a picture or diagram its hard to say. Are you using a spray bar? to introduce the water. You could install a rotating sprinkler head. Or you could experiment, and drill small holes in the center and larger ones farther out on the plate...

 

[SilverGR]

How far apart are your drip plates holes? Did you taper the holes in the drip plate? This can sometimes solve water flowing problems. Is the drip plate tight fitting? I have seen some drip plates deemed ineffective by water exiting out one side and not wetting all the biological medium. My freind had this problem with his drip plate and solved it by placing a fine bead of silicone aquarium sealant on the outer edge of the plate to make it water tight allowing the water to only exit through the holes we created.

The holes are 0,4in far apart between them. How can i taper the holes? What do you mean by that? I managed to open them with a drilling machine in which i use a 0,3in drill bit and nothing else. No, the drip plate is not tight fitting because i thought of the cleaning process, so if i use silicone to tight fitted it, then how can i clean it in the future? I thought of using some rubber sealing over there so i can remove it whenever i must do so. What do you say about that? When i took of the sponge the water indeed flew from the sides of the plate. Thank you.

 

[SilverGR]

Without a picture or diagram its hard to say. Are you using a spray bar? to introduce the water. You could install a rotating sprinkler head. Or you could experiment, and drill small holes in the center and larger ones farther out on the plate...

I wasnt able to find a spray bar or the other thing you told me( i dont know what a rotating sprinkler is!) The water goes in from 2 flexible water tubes 1 in diameter each. Then the water hits the sponge and from the sponge it stretches out to the surface of the drip plate. The smaller holes at the center and the larger farther out was one of my thoughts, just trying to avoid making a new drip plate because the drilling is way too dificult for me to do(too many holes!!!). Thank you.

 

[Caveman]

The holes are 0,4in far apart between them. How can i taper the holes? What do you mean by that? I managed to open them with a drilling machine in which i use a 0,3in drill bit and nothing else. No, the drip plate is not tight fitting because i thought of the cleaning process, so if i use silicone to tight fitted it, then how can i clean it in the future? I thought of using some rubber sealing over there so i can remove it whenever i must do so. What do you say about that? When i took of the sponge the water indeed flew from the sides of the plate. Thank you.

You can take a taper bit to the holes and wear the outside edges down a little bit so the edges of the holes slope in gradually to allow for easier water flow. I like to space the holes 1" apart this is what I have had the best experience with and I do not drill holes within 2" of the edge of the drip plate. Rubber sealant may work to keep the water from running out the side but make sure that the sealant is not harmful to fish.

 

[SilverGR]

You can take a taper bit to the holes and wear the outside edges down a little bit so the edges of the holes slope in gradually to allow for easier water flow. I like to space the holes 1" apart this is what I have had the best experience with and I do not drill holes within 2" of the edge of the drip plate. Rubber sealant may work to keep the water from running out the side but make sure that the sealant is not harmful to fish.

Thank you very much my friend, you were helpfull and fast! 1000 thanks to you and all the other folks in here. Thank you.