Need help with sump for 180

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
A

aaronb

Candiru
MFK Member
Mar 20, 2011
635
0
46
Cawker City, KS
I'm working on acquiring all the necessary parts to set up my first sump on a 180 gallon aquarium. The tank will have an external overflow on the back left side. I'm using the bean animal style setup. I recently bought a 40 gallon breeder to make the sump out of.

I plan on using filter socks. My question about this is should I use the 4 or 7 inch ones? I was planning on using 7 x 16 size. Also, should I split the drain into two at the bottom, so they don't dirty aa quick? What micron is suggested? 200 seems the most common.

I plan on using matrix or pond matrix. Which would be better? How much should I use? It says 4 liters will treat 400 gallons, so I'll probably use 4 or 8 liters just to be safe.

I forgot to ask with the filter socks should I buy a holder or make one? Any suggestions on a good one to buy or how to make one? I was thinking about using some egg crate and breaking out a hole big enough to put the sock in.

Last thing is a pump. I'm considering a quiet one 5000, quiet one 6000, mag drive 12, or mag drive 18. Which do you think would be best? I also plan to use an fx5 on the tank.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks.
 
swk said:
I use a mag 12 on a nearly identical setup. Only difference is that I use an eheim 2262 instead of a fx5.
Click to expand...

I was planning on using the mag drive 12, but I saw the 18 was only 10 dollars more. I didn't know if I should just go for the bigger one considering that.
 
i would use a single 7inch sock. I use one on my 350g setup. if you are handy, make your own holder. A lot people just hang them and then run the pipe from then overflow into them. 200 micron is good. I always put filter floss in the bag to catch debris and keep the sock from clogging so fast.
 
Two reasons why I went for the 12. One, is that I like a slower contact time through my main bio filter, especially with a beast canister to help with mechanical filtration. Two, here in california I pay a lot of money for power and I believe the 18 uses much more wattage than the 12. Either way will certainly work, but I just don't think the 18 is mandatory when you plan on running a large canister in conjunction with the sump. My tank is really heavily stocked as well and I've had zero issues.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom