I've always been a cannister and HOB filtration kind of guy. I also like sponge filters but in spite of more than twenty active years in the hobby I've never had a sump. I guess I'd rather use any container big enough to be a sump to keep fish!
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All good ideas have their moment however and it was simply a matter of time until I needed the bio-filtration power that only a sump with wet/dry flow capability can offer.
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I recently put together a fry growing module for three species of Aulonocara in my fish room. The setup was simple enough; three 110 gallon stock tanks arranged in series filtered by a Fluval FX-5. Rated at 900 plus, gallons per hour, I figured the filter could handle the bio load no problem. As the population of juveniles and sub adult Peacocks approached 500 or so, I realized that with the amount of food I was using, I needed more filtration power than my original setup could provide.
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I found a powerful submersible pump rated at 3000 gph. By running the tanks in parallel rather than in series, and collecting the discharge in a sump through separate drains, I could have ten turns per hour in each tank-plenty of filtration!
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My fish room is located in the unfinished corner of the basement of our house, usually known as the furnace room. This is only the real estate that 'she who must be obeyed' has allowed me, unencumbered, to indulge in my hobby. Its become very crowded and finding room for a traditional sump design big enough for a 330 gallon system would be difficult. In fact I only had an area 2 ft square to work with, between my water heater and my new system.
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I decided the only logical approach would be to build a stacked system; a biotower above a sump, with a return manifold fed from the 3000 gph submersible pump, located in the sump.
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I settled upon a 50 gallon sewage basin as my sump. If your considering using one keep in mind they are pricey but there is lttle chance you'll be tempted to use it as a fish tank and scrap your sump project. They also have the added advantage of having a 4'' hub for a drain and a 3" threaded opening that can bushed to any size you want. There is also a 2" schedule 40 pipe clearance hole for the discharge line, a removable bolt down access cover, and a bung hole for heater and pump power cords. All in all it is a very neat package, ideal for the application. I got mine at Home Depot for $145 but you may be able to do better at a plumbing supply house.
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For those who like to skip to the end to see how the project turned out, I've attached a picture of the (nearly) finished product.
>
All good ideas have their moment however and it was simply a matter of time until I needed the bio-filtration power that only a sump with wet/dry flow capability can offer.
>
I recently put together a fry growing module for three species of Aulonocara in my fish room. The setup was simple enough; three 110 gallon stock tanks arranged in series filtered by a Fluval FX-5. Rated at 900 plus, gallons per hour, I figured the filter could handle the bio load no problem. As the population of juveniles and sub adult Peacocks approached 500 or so, I realized that with the amount of food I was using, I needed more filtration power than my original setup could provide.
>
I found a powerful submersible pump rated at 3000 gph. By running the tanks in parallel rather than in series, and collecting the discharge in a sump through separate drains, I could have ten turns per hour in each tank-plenty of filtration!
>
My fish room is located in the unfinished corner of the basement of our house, usually known as the furnace room. This is only the real estate that 'she who must be obeyed' has allowed me, unencumbered, to indulge in my hobby. Its become very crowded and finding room for a traditional sump design big enough for a 330 gallon system would be difficult. In fact I only had an area 2 ft square to work with, between my water heater and my new system.
>
I decided the only logical approach would be to build a stacked system; a biotower above a sump, with a return manifold fed from the 3000 gph submersible pump, located in the sump.
>
I settled upon a 50 gallon sewage basin as my sump. If your considering using one keep in mind they are pricey but there is lttle chance you'll be tempted to use it as a fish tank and scrap your sump project. They also have the added advantage of having a 4'' hub for a drain and a 3" threaded opening that can bushed to any size you want. There is also a 2" schedule 40 pipe clearance hole for the discharge line, a removable bolt down access cover, and a bung hole for heater and pump power cords. All in all it is a very neat package, ideal for the application. I got mine at Home Depot for $145 but you may be able to do better at a plumbing supply house.
>
For those who like to skip to the end to see how the project turned out, I've attached a picture of the (nearly) finished product.
