mechanical filtration help?

[Acura_RSX]

alright. my 225 has been set up for about two weeks now. expecting my order to get in this wed then i can pick them up anytime after sat at lfs so i'd like to get this problem figured out asap.

right now i have a 9" oscar in there who wont be staying in the tank when my new fish arrive but hes in there now also for cycling purposes. well its nothing new that oscars are sloppy eaters etc so i've noticed different types of debris around the substrate etc the past week or so.

my filtration is a 50 gal wet/dry with scrubbies for bio. (the floss will be here tomorrow or wed) but for now its just running straight into the drip tray. either way the pump has sponge around it etc so shouldnt be anything going back into the main tank anyway. its running with two drains and two returns .. behind two overflows int he back corners. the overflows are designed to take water from across the top as well as middle slots which bring that water to the top as well.

anyway. the debris is still kicking around .. because of teh aeration i notice most of it started getting moved up around a bit more today when i re-arranged the tank and placed the stones in better locations. i'm hoping this will fix the problem a bit but still assuming it wont do the full trick ..

question is, whats my best route to go about cleaning this up? other then buying another filter? is getting a powerhead or 2 for some extra flow my only other option? i'm looking for an effective but most inexpensive way to do this as paying for the ray etc has my pocket book drained now. still comming up witht eh money for my glass tops before the aro gets in there so cost is an issue. any ideas how to do this better? ill have a look again in teh morning to see if this new layout moves the circulation around a bit better but if not what are my options?

 

[JAFRIAS]

its trail & error try to get debris to a spot that your intake can simply reach

 

[KaiserSousay]

its trail & error try to get debris to a spot that your intake can simply reach

He’s right, no magic formula anywhere.
Doubt you will ever get all the debris to the intake, no matter what you do.
If you can get a bunch of it to go to the filter and what’s left to any easy place to siphon it out..
You would be way ahead of most.

 

[Acura_RSX]

yah im just not sure how to get this effect too much. the aeration puts current through the tank a little bit. enough that i noticed stuff comming up a bit but not quite enough. powerhead would fix the problem by adding some bottom current but money .. as i said. also the returns from the w/d don't do much for this cause. 950 gph pump split between 4 returns .. and a 30" tall tank with the returns at the top. they add current but deffinatly not enough to effect the bottom of the tank

 

[siebertn]

Invest in a powerhead, it will give you allot of current on the bottom and get those particals up so your filter can suck them in.
A friend of mine recently bought one of these new "sunsun" powerheads it wasn't expensive and it gives ALLOT of movement.

 

[Acura_RSX]

Invest in a powerhead, it will give you allot of current on the bottom and get those particals up so your filter can suck them in.
A friend of mine recently bought one of these new "sunsun" powerheads it wasn't expensive and it gives ALLOT of movement.

yah but money is an issue. i can get a 40 dollar powerhead but with paying off school (barely working because of it) .. car etc etc the 40 or 50 bucks isnt so easy to come up with. i'll have just enough to pick up my new arrivals when they come in but still have to figure out how to pay for lids before they get in .. lets alone the powerhead. i eventually will pick up a powerhead but for now i was wondering (other then siphoning everyday si there any temporary way to get the debris up and floating?

 

[JakeH]

The fish will help kick some of it up, so I'd say just go with it for now & pick up a powerhead when the funds allow it...

 

[Acura_RSX]

The fish will help kick some of it up, so I'd say just go with it for now & pick up a powerhead when the funds allow it...

wow .. true, i forgot about the factor that the fish will play. the oscar in there now doesnt spend much time towards the bottom but with the ray in there etc and probably the bichirs the same time. they will probably help stir up alot of it till i can get a powerhead.

 

[tcarswell]

My bichirs kick up anything that can settle in my tank (a bare bottom) theres no point in siphoning anything.. ever which is pretty cool.

 

[nfored]

yah im just not sure how to get this effect too much. the aeration puts current through the tank a little bit. enough that i noticed stuff comming up a bit but not quite enough. powerhead would fix the problem by adding some bottom current but money .. as i said. also the returns from the w/d don't do much for this cause. 950 gph pump split between 4 returns .. and a 30" tall tank with the returns at the top. they add current but deffinatly not enough to effect the bottom of the tank

I have this same setup kinda, I have a equal pump with one return line to the top of the tank but the its split into 3 directional outputs. I get enough flow across the whole tank, to keep the stuff in one corner but not enough to kick it up to the top where the intake is.

Invest in a powerhead, it will give you allot of current on the bottom and get those particals up so your filter can suck them in.
A friend of mine recently bought one of these new "sunsun" powerheads it wasn't expensive and it gives ALLOT of movement.

I have really been thinking about getting one of these, does your friend like it? is it loud? can it be directed? I saw a 3200gph for like 30 bucks.