I am starting to design my 29 gallon sump build (Thank you Petco!) and I am trying to figure out my goals for the filter. It seems like the goal of any filter system should be to provide the cleanest, clearest water possible for the Aquarium inhabitants?
For the best water quality it seems like I would want to remove any waste and debris from the water system as soon as possible? If I can remove the waste before it breaks down I won't have to worry about the byproducts of that waste (Nitrates).
I have been tempted to go down the road of bigger is better when it comes to filtering but this doesn't necessarily achieve my goal of the cleanest water possible. It almost has the opposite effect by storing as much waste as possible before I have to clean the filter and hence maximizing the amount of Nitrates that need to be dealt with.
This line of thought has led me to examine an approach of "the more often I clean any filter the better the water quality will be". This brings me to the conclusion that the easier a filter is to clean, the more often it will be cleaned resulting in better aquarium water quality.
After a lot of surfing I came across this design that looks pretty brilliant to me:
A Cetus sieve designed for a pond. The water flows over the curved screen which filters out large particles. The most recently filtered particles push the older particles down the curved screen and out of the water flow removing them from the water stream. Since the particles are out of the water stream they no longer break down and no longer add to the Nitrates in the tank. This effectively creates a continuously self cleaning filter. Every week or few weeks just scoop out the waste.
I am tempted to mimic this design on my sump. http://www.mcmaster.com/#mesh-filters/=d2r79a has many mesh screen available to choose from.
I am thinking of following the sieve with a series of easy to remove filter bags. I am almost thinking of doing away with any conventional microbe bio filtration and instead relying on a tray of terrestrial plants.
Would anyone like to help me with the engineering to bring this idea to fruition? Or am I just off my rocker????
For the best water quality it seems like I would want to remove any waste and debris from the water system as soon as possible? If I can remove the waste before it breaks down I won't have to worry about the byproducts of that waste (Nitrates).
I have been tempted to go down the road of bigger is better when it comes to filtering but this doesn't necessarily achieve my goal of the cleanest water possible. It almost has the opposite effect by storing as much waste as possible before I have to clean the filter and hence maximizing the amount of Nitrates that need to be dealt with.
This line of thought has led me to examine an approach of "the more often I clean any filter the better the water quality will be". This brings me to the conclusion that the easier a filter is to clean, the more often it will be cleaned resulting in better aquarium water quality.
After a lot of surfing I came across this design that looks pretty brilliant to me:
A Cetus sieve designed for a pond. The water flows over the curved screen which filters out large particles. The most recently filtered particles push the older particles down the curved screen and out of the water flow removing them from the water stream. Since the particles are out of the water stream they no longer break down and no longer add to the Nitrates in the tank. This effectively creates a continuously self cleaning filter. Every week or few weeks just scoop out the waste.
I am tempted to mimic this design on my sump. http://www.mcmaster.com/#mesh-filters/=d2r79a has many mesh screen available to choose from.
I am thinking of following the sieve with a series of easy to remove filter bags. I am almost thinking of doing away with any conventional microbe bio filtration and instead relying on a tray of terrestrial plants.
Would anyone like to help me with the engineering to bring this idea to fruition? Or am I just off my rocker????
Good point about waste that doesn't make it to the filter. My tank is a 110gal currently with a half dozen Cichlids. I have been thinking of a continuous water change system... but trying to minimize water consumption.
