If you could do it over again

[Rizzobitz]

Has anyone regretted their sump build and rigged it to fit their needs? Would love to see pictures please.

I had a custom sump built and really regret not adding filter socks. I have a ton of poop under my bioball secion and only a small spot to add a polishing filter pad before the return pump. It's hard to get at the filter pads because of the huge tray and I'm not so fond of the expensive Matala mats I purchased. I am trying to figure out how to rig a filtersock without removing all the bioballs and potentially flooding my sump if the filter socks clog up.

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[boldtogether]

Fish keeping is a constant evolving learning experience. We try and fail, hopefully learn from our mistakes and try to improve.
I regret nothing but not listening to those wiser than I...the old timers and the scientists. ..seriously, the scientific knowledge base on this website is phenomenal.
My filter socks fit into towers made from 6" pvc I found in a dumpster at a construction site I was working on. My filter box is a plastic bin I got at WalMart....the actual sump is an old acrylic aquarium. Everything is DIY....just like I want it to be.
The ONLY thing I woukd do different, is order my aquariums predrilled.

 

[Rizzobitz]

Fish keeping is a constant evolving learning experience. We try and fail, hopefully learn from our mistakes and try to improve.
I regret nothing but not listening to those wiser than I...the old timers and the scientists. ..seriously, the scientific knowledge base on this website is phenomenal.
My filter socks fit into towers made from 6" pvc I found in a dumpster at a construction site I was working on. My filter box is a plastic bin I got at WalMart....the actual sump is an old acrylic aquarium. Everything is DIY....just like I want it to be.
The ONLY thing I woukd do different, is order my aquariums predrilled.

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You sump looks amazing! and clean!

I wish I had found this site before I had started aquarium keeping. I thought koi sites would provide all the info I need. Pond keepers are not always concerned with crystal clear water.

 

[boldtogether]

You sump looks amazing! and clean!

I wish I had found this site before I had started aquarium keeping. I thought koi sites would provide all the info I need. Pond keepers are not always concerned with crystal clear water.

Well thank you. That is a somewhat older picture. The sump is now plumbed with an external pump. The tall pipe in the middle is full of about 5gallons of bioballs and fed from the discharge of the modified Eheim 2250 (green canister) I have a fluidized sand filter behind the tank in the corner but I can't get a good shot of it.
My sump has evolved with the tank and my tinkering personality. Don't be afraid to try new things...be creative. If we can't express ourselves by our creativity in this hobby, it just becomes work.

 

[Rizzobitz]

Wow that is a lot of changes! Thank you for the advice. I guess I should not feel so bad that I want to change things.

 

[boldtogether]

Wow that is a lot of changes! Thank you for the advice. I guess I should not feel so bad that I want to change things.

BTW.....your sump looks just fine! The only thing I would suggest is a couple little pieces of pvc pipe cut to act as legs to support the bio-ball platform. As far as the stuff collecting in the bottom....it's not in the main tank. If it bothers you, buy a little circulation pump with a sponge filter on the intake or discharge to filter that part of the sumps dead space. The sump looks pretty normal to me. If you need more mechanical filtration, consider replacing the bio-balls with submerged media and use the extra space for mechanical filter media...poret foam or batting/pillow stuffing.. (yes, pillow stuffing from the cloth/craft store)...or remove some of the bio-balls and make a polishing pillow...a mesh pillow case stuffed with batting...vecro closure to open and replace polyfil...the mesh can be made from the material they make wedding veils out of.
Anyway, work with what you have. No need to get crazy and start tearing things apart and start over. Feel free to side bar me with questions. (PM)

 

[DN328]

+1, agree with bold.

FWIW, I have filter socks and also have detritus in my sump. I think primarily because my socks could be raised higher limit detritus flowing back out to the next chamber. I too have evolved my sump and it's not the same filter wise as it was a year ago. I may be bias, but your sump is perfectly fine. As mentioned, you could experiment:

You could remove some bio-balls so that you have more vertical space (also puts less pressure on your bottom bio-ball tray) and use any combination of the blue filter pads and/or felt. You could also use a combination of the sponge in combination with the pads for additional mechanical filtration in your tray.

 

[Ihsnshaik]

Filter floss, Bio balls, sponge and thats all I need for my sump. Been running like this for 6 years and recently a few months ago added some plants and that made a huge difference.

My setup is so quiet. I have dual overflow boxes built in to my bowfront that go into in my sump and it hits a tray with my filter floss and sponge under it( Drawer for it for easy access) then hits my bioballs then another sponge then my plants to another sponge.

I have fry in my sump as well and boy do they grow so much faster in there I'm assuming since it has nice flow and filtered water only passing it.

I'f I can do it again I would do a bigger sump but nothing but a 40 gallon tank will fit comfortable down there. Anything bigger wouldn't really fit.

 

[matseski]

I would make the return pump section as large as possible. This was my first sump build and I made the return section small so I could have a larger refugium area and a lot of bio filtration. As a result, my pump runs dry in about 6-7 days and I cannot fix it without taking the sump offline for a week. If you are using a baffle system, make the return pump section large and do anything possible to combat evaporation. Week long vacations now require someone to stop by and refill the tank since I do not have access to water for an ATO system.

 

[HumanBean]

Fish keeping is a constant evolving learning experience. We try and fail, hopefully learn from our mistakes and try to improve.
I regret nothing but not listening to those wiser than I...the old timers and the scientists. ..seriously, the scientific knowledge base on this website is phenomenal.
My filter socks fit into towers made from 6" pvc I found in a dumpster at a construction site I was working on. My filter box is a plastic bin I got at WalMart....the actual sump is an old acrylic aquarium. Everything is DIY....just like I want it to be.
The ONLY thing I woukd do different, is order my aquariums predrilled.

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What's that cast iron pot green in color ? A slow cooker ? Lol