I've been mulling over several different ideas for the filtration for the tank I'm planning (at this stage its going to be 260x100x70cm, roughly 1800 litres) but I figure seems how its not going to be super heavy stocked then simple is best. Mechanical filtration will be taken care of by four 180x750mm filter socks (probably 100 micron), and I'm about 98.7% certain I'll be using a Laguna MaxFlo 2900, which should give me around 9500LPH or 5x turn over at the ~110cm head it will be running. The part I'm being indecisive about is the biological side. In the past I've always tried to incorporate bioballs as trickle media as well as submerged ceramic noodles (and I have ~40L of each from when I dismantled my old 1400L tank), but after seeing the likes of Aldiaz23 and Jcardona1 (and others) just running bags of noodles or other such media sitting in the sump I'm thinking of taking the simplest possible route and only running submerged media. Obviously it works just having it sitting in there in bags, but would it be more efficient/effective/worthwhile having it in a large compartment to direct the water flow thru it as-per the pic?
[yes my MSpaint skills are awesome! this is just a crude internet-friendly rendition, all my proper planning is done the old-fashioned way with pencil and paper]
Obviously having the media just sitting there in bags would be far simpler, but I'm a bit sceptical as to how much water would flow thru it. My main concern with the above design is a similar one; would the noodles allow 9500LPH of water flow? The bove sump is based on a tank 160x50x60cm (LxWxH) with an additional 25cm tower to lift the socks further out of the water, and the compartment with the noodles is 50x50x36cm (LxWxH), around 87L (yes that is more space than I have noodles for, but I'm planning on adding/replacing some with pond matrix as soon as I figure out how to get my hands on it for a reasonable price!).
I'm guessing that 80L+ of submerged media is going to be plenty for the stock I have (especially if I can get the matrix), the question is really how to set it up; put it in a chamber where the water has to flow thru it and risk clogging/obstruction, or just dump it in there in sacks...
Disclaimer; yes I am well aware there are "better" ways of setting it up, but with the combination of a low tank height, long filter socks and only moderate stock I feel this way will work best for me. IF it doesn't, and as the fish grow I find its not doing the business I will simply build a 4' tall bio tower for the big bin of bioballs and Eheim pump I have sitting around spare...
[yes my MSpaint skills are awesome! this is just a crude internet-friendly rendition, all my proper planning is done the old-fashioned way with pencil and paper]
Obviously having the media just sitting there in bags would be far simpler, but I'm a bit sceptical as to how much water would flow thru it. My main concern with the above design is a similar one; would the noodles allow 9500LPH of water flow? The bove sump is based on a tank 160x50x60cm (LxWxH) with an additional 25cm tower to lift the socks further out of the water, and the compartment with the noodles is 50x50x36cm (LxWxH), around 87L (yes that is more space than I have noodles for, but I'm planning on adding/replacing some with pond matrix as soon as I figure out how to get my hands on it for a reasonable price!).
I'm guessing that 80L+ of submerged media is going to be plenty for the stock I have (especially if I can get the matrix), the question is really how to set it up; put it in a chamber where the water has to flow thru it and risk clogging/obstruction, or just dump it in there in sacks...
Disclaimer; yes I am well aware there are "better" ways of setting it up, but with the combination of a low tank height, long filter socks and only moderate stock I feel this way will work best for me. IF it doesn't, and as the fish grow I find its not doing the business I will simply build a 4' tall bio tower for the big bin of bioballs and Eheim pump I have sitting around spare...
