Idea for BIO filters

[anarekist]

I was thinking about adding some more bio filtration to my tank, prolly dont even need it but im a big fan over over filtration.

one idea i have is to make a bio tower out of some 4" pvc piping, pretty much make a screen at the bottom of the pipe to hold the bio media (havent decided on what yet) then having a pump pump water to the top of maybe a 6 foot pipe and let that drain back into the sump.

another idea is this:

made out of some 2" or 1.5" pvc piping, could give me almost 24 feet of travel depending on how many times i can make it bend back and forth behind the tank. thinking about filling it with some low density foam but im not sure what route i wana go with maintenance of it.. if its low flow i can use teflon then i can take it apart, clean it then put it back but i duno if i even wana do that hahaha.

what do you guys think?

 

[ruddybop]

The only thing I see is that the water would not flow through all of the media in the 2" / 1 1/2" 24 foot pipe. It would run on the bottom of the pipe getting very little filtration/water on all the media. Especially when your going to use low flow. Pulling it out to clean would be a Fart knocker... OOP...Having foam media it would clog up a lot faster. (Wonder what the other guys/girls think)

Having a strait 4" pipe with a strait down flow would probably get all the media wet and work pretty good.

 

[anarekist]

hmm, maybe have a valve at the end so i can adjust the flow to where the whole thing fills up with water? then add an overflow type at the very top so excess water will just flow back to the tank or sump.

 

[ruddybop]

Your going to have a lot of weight with 24 foot of 2" or 1 1/2" pvc filled with water.

1 You will need heavy duty brackets to hold it up.

2 When the electricity goes out all the water from the tank overflow and the 24 foot of
pipe will drain into your sump. Possibly overflowing the sump if not enough room.

3 Maintenance is going to be a pain.

But hey maybe some one else has something.

Common guys/girls anarekist needs some suggestions...

 

[npaetsch]

I was going to do the same thing but with with clean out caps at each end so you can clean the media.

 

[Arthur]

I think it would be easier if you just built a fluidized bed filter. You would use a lot less pvc too

 

[Oughtsix]

I would do the 4" x 6' tower. Put an air stone in the bottom. Fill it with bio balls. Run it with only a couple inches of water level in the bottom. Air + water + bacteria = very effective filtration.

If you want to run it fill of water I would look at building a Nitrate filter. Coil 50 or so of 1/4" tubing inside the 4" pipe. Seal the pipe. Let the aerobic bacteria live in the first few feet of the tubing and consume all the oxygen. Let the anaerobic bacteria inhabit the rest and consume the Nitrates.

 

[anarekist]

yeah, i still like the idea of a tall bio tower, i abandoned the back and forth version cause it would be real heavy when filled with water but it's a good use of the space behind the tank, if you are willing to build a support structure for all that weight. i would love to have a FB filter but if you're using plastics (pvc) the bottom will eventually wear out and leak cause the sand is slowly but surely rubbing material away. but I've been researching Kaldnes as a replacement tumbling media since its also plastic it wont wear out the plastic container but i duno how effective it is in a similar setup to a fluidized bed filter.