What do i do with this sump?

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Ian21777

Gambusia
MFK Member
Jun 16, 2012
860
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18
England
Sump-tank_750.jpgI know this has come out a little small, im not sure how to make it bigger. CTRL+ should make it clearer... So this si the sump i am getting with the tank I have ordered. Before i go any further i should tell you that im running a fresh water tank... Tank will be 72x24x24. Weir in each corner and 1 return hole. Sump is 50x18x17. Trouble is I have no clue what to do with it... I realise marine setups will be slightly different, but i do hope all you marine keepers will chip in with your opinions all the same :). First question? Should the water flow from left to right or right to left? What should I put in each compartment? I may or may not add an external to the mix, but best assume not to be safe. Thanks for all the help :)

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poret foam in one section - pond matrix and alfa grog in the other. with the exception of the bubble trap it's pretty darn close to how I designed mine.
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I would do the same as gill blue suggests but add some poret every 6inch of matrix or so like a baffle wall.

I believe you would get better contact time this way. adding some restriction to the passing water in the 18" wide space forcing it to spread among the matrix greater. It will also add a bit more mech filtration to the setup. You wont need that area filled tight with just matrix anyways, it will still be perfectly capable to handle the bio load of a heavy stocked tank that size if some matrix is taken out of the area.
 
Cool, thanks for that. ANd merry christmas :) I was looking at something called jap-mat, is that similar to poret? I cant seem to find poret online, although I am half asleep still lol. Where would I put the heaters? Part of the attraction of the sump was having nothing in the tank itself. In the section with the pump? I use purigen in my externals at the moment. Is there a good way to incorporate that into the sump? Sandwiched in between the foam somewhere i would guess? Last question (for now anyways) maybe a stupid one... but how much water goes into the sump? Not volume, but water level? Would it be just enough to overflow the second partition from the right? Or can it be filled all the way? Thanks again for your help, Id never heard of pond matrix or al***rog, Id have ended up spending a fortune on the regular matrix or something similar! Have a great day everyone!!!
 
The type media is not important (in the end they all do the same thing), what ever you can afford is fine, be it mat, or pot scrubbies, or plants.
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And water level is also what works for you.
Some people use low water level and have a slow flow that drips, some use high level, high flow.
The most important consideration with depth in the sump, is that you have enough room so that the sump doesn't overflow on to the floor during a power outage.
 
Thanks for all the input, cleared a few things up for me. Oh, other than the heater issue? I have a month or so to get everything together. I need to reinforce the floor before the tank comes, a lot of water fall through the floor if it all goes wrong lol. Thanks again :)
 
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