DIY sump questions

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I

Iffrat

Plecostomus
MFK Member
May 8, 2009
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Dallas Texas
I am thinking about doing a DIY sump and i was thinking about having the water flow from the tank into this

31s8hLudj4L._AA400_.jpg

now the question is .. i would like to have my mechanical filtration in the top .. and i need some ideas on what i should use ..

the 2nd and 3rd would most likely be scrubies and maybe something else if it would work better... and then i would just place this into a Rubbermaid tub ..

suggestions? helpful hints? ideas?
 
Cheapest option would probably be to use quilt batting from wally world. Its cheap and effective. If you want something fancier, you can buy bonded filter pads of decreasing porosity, or use filter sponges, or you can even use micron filter pads.
 
I use that exact thing in my 50g hex sump. I took the wheels off and modified it to work like I wanted. The top and middle drawer have holes in the bottom to drip into the next one. The lid on the very top I removed completely and the tank drains directly into it. Each drawer is filled with scrubbies, ceramic rings, foam pads, among other random bits of bio/mech media.
 
bitteraspects;3914343; said:
Poly-fill / Quilt batting is cheap and effective, and will get down close to the micron level. Its pretty much all I use for mech in my sumps, and there are no floating specs in my tanks.
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sweet ... looks like that is the best bet .. so i will get some and try that out .. i take it you replace it at some level of dirty ... and how much do you use?
 
Frequency of replacement will be determined by your specific set up. But basically, when it gets dirty, change it. Fine filter medias like this tend to clog quicker than standard coarse filter pads because they catch so much more stuff. I probably change mine more often than I need to, but at $5 for a huge roll of poly fill, its extremely cheap to replace.

As far as how much, again that depends on your tank. You should be fine with a single piece twice the size of the drawer folded in half.
 
i am building the PVC overflow and would like to know placement .. if it really matters .. but i am thinking about this style
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but i would like to know placement .. where the inlet needs to be .. where the output needs to be and just how high the air tube needs to be ..

i figure the inlet needs to be right at water level .. but should the top of the inlet me at the highest level i want the tank to be at ? also with the outlet does it really matter where that is? or could it be right at the bottom of the 180 with a T? and should the air tube be above water level?
 
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