I'm preparing to build an indoor pond for my baby rtc. He's only 4" now but soon enough he will outgrow even my 120 gallon tank. My main question is how big should the bio portion of my sump be if the pond is 500 gallons and I'm aiming for 8-10 x turnover. I'm actually going to be running two identical systems simultaneously,so either a total volume or volume for each sump will be fine.
Help needed with my first DIY wet dry filter
- Thread starter Jdj211
- Start date
I personally wouldn't use Bio Balls. If I was building a sump for 500 Gallons I would use either Scrubbies or Pond Matrix. More surface area. And if your a DIY guy, Use a 60 - 80 Gallon tote to make your sump out of and I'd use a 5 Gallon bucket of Matrix. Vs as many scrubbies as you can fit in the sump after your Mech Filtration.
Mike
Mike
Is that one 60-80 gallon tote? So two 40 gallon ones would be good? A more shallow container would be better right, with more water surface area for oxygen/water exchange? Thanks for the advice about bio balls!
If you want to do 2 Identical, yeah 2 40s will work just fine. For that matter I can get Drilled 40 gallon tanks from my LFS used pretty much at will. And your return to the main pond should cause enough surface agitation for Oxygen and Gas exchange. I wouldn't worry about a Shallower tote, vs a deeper tote.
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?241955-indoor-pond-filtration
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?241955-indoor-pond-filtration
Would you be able to recommend an economical mechanical filter media? And do you think any kind of chemical filtration will be necessary (ie. carbon)?
Economical Mechanic Filter Media? Hmm. Most of us Sump guys Use filter socks. I'm sure someone will chime in with a great place to get them. As I get them from my LFS But I am sure their cheaper online. Other then that I've used those Polishing pads that you get at Home Depot or Lowes that go on a Power Floor Buffer.
Mike
Mike
He's saying to go to a pool place and get a Sand or DE filter for a small pool and use that for your Pond. It's a tried and true practice and MANY threads in the DIY section on how to do it. These types of filters are designed to keep the sand or DE Material in them and let your water pass through while keeping all the particulates from your water in the filter. Every week or other week you run a backwash cycle. Basically it runs the filter backwards and dumps water down the drain to get the gunk from your water out of the filter. While still keeping the sand or DE material in the filter. Since most of us do a WC at least once a week this is the perfect time to do you Filter Backwash.
I don't however know what the Bio-Filter potential is with a set-up like this. I know they're great for Mechanical filtration, but is their a good Bio Load in the sand or De material to handle the Nitrogen Cycle?
Mike
I don't however know what the Bio-Filter potential is with a set-up like this. I know they're great for Mechanical filtration, but is their a good Bio Load in the sand or De material to handle the Nitrogen Cycle?
Mike