Help on Sump Filtration?? total noobie here

[Ransom]

Hi all im going to be geting either a 6 / 7 or 8 foot tank very soon ideally im wanting a 8foot one but depends whats available,

right now i just use a single ehiem cansiter filter with the spray bar, but i would like to learn and maybe try to use a sump

i know water gets sucked into a tank *sump* under the main tank with media in there (how is that packed??) then somehow the water is forced back up into the tank cleaner,


could someone post some pics / or at least tell me whats needed for this and is there a min or max sump tank and what sort of media will be best for me?

my tank is a 4foot Malawi cichlid tank which will the upgraded.

Thanks for any replys

 

[mikeandannie]

what i use is, overflow has a pre filter usually just a sponge cylinder cut out in the middle, water falls from there and gets mechanically filtered threw blue bonded pad with filter floss underneath it, then the biological area i use pot scrubbies, there cheap and work for me. then water goes threw filter floss one more time(optional) then gets pumped back into the main tank from a pump, i use a pond pump or waterfall pump but there are alot better options out there for pumps, also heres a link to my sump it might help you out a little, http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=158363
also youtube has alot of good ones on there just type in wet/dry filter or something along them lines..i think its suggested somewhere that you get a sump that is 1/3 or 1/4 the size of the main tank
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=158363