Improving mechanical filtration on 200gal sump filtered tank.

[Burnsie]

I’m looking at ideas to improve the turnover and mechanical filtration on my sump filtered 200gal/800L tank.
My water parameters are fine but I’m getting a lot of floating particles that the filtration cannot pull out of the tank quick enough and my filter foam and floss is clogging within a week.

The sump currently has a return pump rated at 4000L per hour but is giving a turnover of around 1500L per hour as plumbed up.
My sump has 4 chambers as can be seen in the pic bellow. The 1st chamber I am using to grow out a few fish and keep some feeders. It then flows into the second chamber which has layers of filter foam and floss. The 3rd chamber has 20L of ceramic rings and 4th houses the return pump, heater and some carbon in mesh bags.

Nothing is getting through my layers of filter foam and floss but I don’t think the turnover is high enough to pull all the floating partials out of the water and it is clogging too quickly.
The over flow and return is all housed in 3 clear PVC tubes, one inside the other as can be seen in this pic. This is very neat but limits the size of the return plumbing. The 15mm return runs back up inside the 60mm overflow tube so the tank only has one hole.



A Marineland 350, Ocean Clear or nu-clear canister filter would be good but I have not seen them available anywhere in Australia and I don't have much space for a big canister under my stand.
I am thinking about adding some whole of house filter canisters in parallel to the sump, driven by a second 3000LPH – 5000LPH pump which would sit in the 1st chamber of the sump and ether tap into the existing return or set up a second independent return.
This would increase my water turnover and reduce the amount or crap clogging up the filter foam and floss. I would probably run two filter housing in series with 60 and 20 micron cartages
The filter inserts range from .05 to 60 micron with and without carbon and are available at just about any hardware or plumbing store and all over the internet.

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250609371552&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

More pics of my tank and set up can be seen on this thread.
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=328202

What do people thing of this idea and what other ways could I improve my mechanical filtration?

 

[dawnmarie]

You'll rarely hear me say this , but I think you would benefit from a higher turnover rate.
Currently you have slightly less than 2x turnover. This assumes your return is actually flowing what you think it is. With a 15mm (.59 or less than 5/8") return I suspect your pump is working pretty hard to achieve 1500 lph (400 GPH).

Short of a major overhaul of your current return/drain, which by the way looks very cool, I think adding a second return is in your future.
I am having a hard time understanding why there are three pipes and not two in you current setup.
You would also need to know for sure how much your current drain will flow to know if it can supply an additional pump.
Is it an optical illusion or is it already sucking air into itself ?

Your idea of using whole house filters as a cheap alternative is valid.
I currently use these as the only mechanical filtratioon on my 240 and my 100.(pictures in my album)
There are a number of pool filter cartridges available that you can use and reuse in these housings. I currently use Pentair C-2606 30 micron cartridges in mine.
With two filters plumbed in parrallel and supplied by a 1050 GPH (3975 LPH) pump, I get an actual 950 GPH ( 3596 LPH) at the 3/4" ( 19 mm) return.

 

[rhodes_96]

What is the brand and model of the pump ?
What is the return pumps wattage ?
What is headheight rating for the pump ?

15mm return pipe on a 4000lph pump is a potential bottleneck.
25mm / 1" return would be better.

What is the total intake size of the tubes carring water to the sump ?

I recently had a similar situation like you have with the floaties with similar size tank.
Tank had an FX5 and sump running 3000litre an hour pump. Flow rate of the pump was around 1/3 of the stated output due to low wattage. I replaced the pump with a eheim compact 5000, and within about an hour, the tank was particle free.

 

[boldtogether]

You could add a large sponge or filter sock to the return pump inlet. Added maintenance but cheaper than a whole additional set-up.
If you have a submersible you could almost place the whole return pump into a 180 micron sock...you could make your own out of 180-100micron or less filter felt...I have had very good success with this. Make several and rotate them out every day, week or whatever. You could also explore the filter sock idea at the inlet part of the sump, again, make your own out of filter felt. Anything finer than 25 microns, however, will clogg quik even in very clean water.
I have toyed with the idea of a diatom filter in the return chamber of my sump but they are more $$ and Im a cheapster. All in all I think a larger return pump may just complicate things especially if your over flow is undersized. A diatom filter used to polish the water once a day would also be effective, in a hang-on-the tank situation, but again, $$$.

 

[FSM]

Use bigger tubing for the return; the pump should be pushing a lot more water than that. Run it up over the rim of the tank if you can't accommodate a larger output in the drilled hole.

 

[jsodwi]

Yeah you need a bigger turnover rate. I would try that first. Second if you plan on using the house filter system, I would run it at the end of your system right before it pumps back into the tank, not as a secondary with a separate pump. That way most of the particles are already filtered out before even hitting it. Otherwise they would probably clog quickly

 

[gavigan1]

sump set up looks to provide plenty of mechanical filtration, I would increase the turn over rate before doing anything else. You dont seem to be getting as much as possible out of your sump. I am turning over 10x an hour and have the same issue but i dont have nearly as much mechanical filtration and a heavier bio load. ggod luck

 

[JakeH]

Wow...Beautiful tank & setup! Not near enough turnover, but beautiful! A small Koralia powerhead would help keep it all circulating a bit more.

 

[Dixon81]

I use a aquaclear powerhead with the quick filter attachment. Keeps my water clear.