What kind of filtration is right for me?

Bertie07

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Aug 27, 2017
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My understanding is that this style of drain should exit at least 1" below the waterline of the sump; a couple mm won't cut it. I suppose an option would be to have the wet dry tower in a second chamber after an initial baffle where the water exits the drain, but I've never seen that kind of setup used, and have no idea whether it would work particularly well.
It could work in the second chamber but it would mean the next chamber would have to have low water level to leave the media exsposed to air
 

twentyleagues

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If you want to get crazy get a tote to have the water drain from tank into and then plumb that to the wet dry from above and there you go. I'm pretty sure your neighbors womt here it either way.
 

DIFish

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Jul 30, 2015
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Did some decibel readings with my phone for the k1 tank. Should be noted that the tank is inside a separate room with all filter and plumbing, with just one panel showing through the wall. That being said-
52 Decibles outside in the viewing room
58 Decibles in the fish room
62 Decibles right between k1 and water drains
57 Decibles noise of the 40LPM air pump on its own

I think you should also take into consideration as others have posted, K1 and wet/dry are not your only 2 options. I love K1 for its large load capacity and no maitnence approach. But every tank and situation is different so make sure to do your homework before you decide. Bottom line, if set up correctly almost every filtration method can be quiet and efficient.
 

InfinityARch

Exodon
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Apr 1, 2018
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Did some decibel readings with my phone for the k1 tank. Should be noted that the tank is inside a separate room with all filter and plumbing, with just one panel showing through the wall. That being said-
52 Decibles outside in the viewing room
58 Decibles in the fish room
62 Decibles right between k1 and water drains
57 Decibles noise of the 40LPM air pump on its own

I think you should also take into consideration as others have posted, K1 and wet/dry are not your only 2 options. I love K1 for its large load capacity and no maitnence approach. But every tank and situation is different so make sure to do your homework before you decide. Bottom line, if set up correctly almost every filtration method can be quiet and efficient.
It definitely seems like most of that noise is coming from the air pump though, and browsing pumps in the 10-16 LPM range it seems like you can get some units that are if not dead silent, quiet enough for my purposes. Obviously K1 and Wet/Dry aren't my only options, but I'm attracted to them because of how much of the space in the sump would still be available for media reactors and a protein skimmer if I decide one day to convert it to saltwater; I conservatively estimate that the biological media chamber will take up about 10" of the sump's total internal length of 35", with another 6" taken up by the drain outflows and mechanical filtration, and around 7" taken up by the final two chambers (one for the heater and one to isolate the return pump from the rest of the sump). That leaves a full foot of space where I could put additional equipment.

I'm planning on getting around the issue of noise by closing up the back of the stand (leaving cut outs for some ventilation fans) and adding sound proofing; I have family who work in the film industry and will likely be able to get a great price on studio soundproofing.
 
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ragin_cajun

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The efficiency of K-1 is irrelevant. You won't have 10 times more fish in your 120 than anybody else has in theirs, will you? You gonna put stingrays in your 120? You can support the bio-load of a 120 gallon tank with a handful of pumice stone in a small canister filter. With a few pot scrubbies. It is very possible you can have a healthy tank with no bio-media at all.

You're making this way harder than it needs to be. If you like building exotic filtration systems in sumps, then go with K-1 and let us know what tricks you came up with to get it quiet. K1 is cool.

But, if you want a low-maintenance reliable filtration system that keeps fish healthy in your tank, K1 is unnecessary. Drop a bag of pumice stone, seachem matrix, pond matrix, or some lava racks in the bottom of the sump and enjoy your fish.
 
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InfinityARch

Exodon
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Apr 1, 2018
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The efficiency of K-1 is irrelevant. You won't have 10 times more fish in your 120 than anybody else has in theirs, will you? You gonna put stingrays in your 120? You can support the bio-load of a 120 gallon tank with a handful of pumice stone in a small canister filter. With a few pot scrubbies. It is very possible you can have a healthy tank with no bio-media at all.

You're making this way harder than it needs to be. If you like building exotic filtration systems in sumps, then go with K-1 and let us know what tricks you came up with to get it quiet. K1 is cool.

But, if you want a low-maintenance reliable filtration system that keeps fish healthy in your tank, K1 is unnecessary. Drop a bag of pumice stone, seachem matrix, pond matrix, or some lava racks in the bottom of the sump and enjoy your fish.
You caught me red-handed; the DIY aspects of this hobby are a big part of why I'm into it, and I'm interested in trying K-1 because it sounds cool, while at the same time trying to see if I can keep it relatively quiet.
 
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ragin_cajun

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LOL.... K1 is very cool. It's double the fun. You have a fish tank, and then K1 in the sump. I get it.
 

InfinityARch

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Okay then, I now have a working version of the diagram drawn to scale and complete with measurements. I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to put in the part of the sump labeled "equipment chamber", and I still need to work out how the return lines will be set up, but I think this is how the drain lines and sump will be set up (the tank has two peninsula overflows, so I'm going with double herbie drains)

If anyone has advice on how to improve my plumbing or other suggestions for this setup I'm all ears.

Sump_Design.png
 

twentyleagues

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I'd loose the baffle between e&f and make them 1 chamber. Put your heaters in this chamber, if you have a controller for the elements put the thermometer in the d chamber. That way your heaters and what controls them are the farthest apart, better heating that way. So when the water is at the thermometer it's at its coldest.
 
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