What to put in sump?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
DB junkie said:
Charlie and the fish tank factory used to be the best source for ceramic rings.

What media is "best" is highly debatable. Since everyone seems to agree to disagree about it I found it easiest to just incorporate several means of bio.

I'd use ceramic rings in the 1st and last chamber and pot scrubbies in the center in a wert/dry configuration fed off a "T" in the return line so some of the water that would be returned to the tank flows through the wet/dry.

Best of both worlds. This is exactly how I set up my last sump and I'm pretty happy with it, except I just built the wet/dry part out of a 20 gallon tank and set it on top of the sump.
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What ever happened to him? I still need about 509lbs of ceramic media. LOL He disappeared about the time I was ready to order.
 
Pond matrix.

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Pharaoh said:
What ever happened to him? I still need about 509lbs of ceramic media. LOL He disappeared about the time I was ready to order.
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Oh no!!! I really hope he's still around. Is he maybe still in business just not here? I can try to track down an email addy for you if that would help?

I feel sorry for you if that's not a typo..... 509 lbs? Either way if Charlie isn't around I'm not sure where would be the next best place to get them.... Charlie was crazy cheap!

Back to the topic..... Friendly advice, I'm not sure I'd rely strickly on submerged media if you have hard water. Deposits can wipe out the surface area of stuff like rings. Personally, I'd go wet dry before submerged, but then again if I had really soft water maybe it would be different, but the increased oxygenation of using a wet/dry isn't debatable.
 
Hey everybody, judging by your comments. Im going to my aunts house today too look at the sump. I hope i could figure out a way to make the first chamber a " wet/dry chamber" with pot scrubbies and the second as well as third with pond matrix... However she does have filter socks in case im unable to change the first chamber into wet dry


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Pazzoman said:
Hey everybody, judging by your comments. Im going to my aunts house today too look at the sump. I hope i could figure out a way to make the first chamber a " wet/dry chamber" with pot scrubbies and the second as well as third with pond matrix... However she does have filter socks in case im unable to change the first chamber into wet dry


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Click to expand...


Nope. A wet/dry chamber is filled with air. The matrix chamber should be filled with water. In order to have both the matrix chamber filled with water has to come before the wet/dry chamber.
 
Hey everybody, I'm over my aunts house now...I'm confused. Well first off her sump in my opinion is backwards.. its going right to left instead of left to right.

Is it possible to just put in pond matrix in each of the chambers?

My aunt is trying not to use a filter sock anymore however I don't know what other media to put, I would like to put pot scrubbies for her in the chamber but I think they dont work as well when thier submerged?

Any ideas I have a video of the tank flowing if needed... maybe I'm just confused just because we have been doing saltwater where it required skimmer, refugium, sponges....
 
Ok I see after doing more research between scrubbies or pond matrix.... pond matrix works as scrubbies cant be submerded as well as it doesn't have as much surface area for BB. Ok so I got that compartment covered for her, now for the compartment that is taking in water is thier other mechanical media that could be used besides a filter sock as she doesn't really want to use it and also if you notice in the picture the water is already high so when the filter sock is in it is basically already overflowing with water...

Thanks everybody btw I could just put more pond matrix in the compartment with the external pump right? For added filteration?
 
Ok we have come to the conclusion of using pond matrix along with the filter sock.
We will be purchasing seachem stability to the media. Do you guys think I should add ammonia to the tank to start the cycle then add the seachem stability?

Also anything about needing to put an air bubbler underneath the media?
 
Pazzoman said:
Ok we have come to the conclusion of using pond matrix along with the filter sock.
We will be purchasing seachem stability to the media. Do you guys think I should add ammonia to the tank to start the cycle then add the seachem stability?

Also anything about needing to put an air bubbler underneath the media?
Click to expand...

The media will work very well without the air bubbler. I like adding an air bubbler to increase the oxygen exchange and off gassing. I have no proof that it really adds anything... but I always do it anyway as it makes sense to me. :)
 
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