For those who haven't seen the thread about the tank and whats going in it, its here: http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=319793
I did a search and have spent the last couple of hours reading various threads in this forum, and the main thing I learnt is that there are far more knowledgeable people than me on this subject!
I am by no means a sump-newbie, I've been using them for about 10 years, but they have always been fairly typical designs (like this), this is the first time I've tried thinking outside the box about designing one for such a large tank. At this stage I'm going to go for a custom made glass sump, the tank maker I use is pretty flexible and happy to build one-offs.
The tank has two 32mm drains (drilled at the top to give as much height as possible for the filter), the bottom of the pipes are 975mm off the ground. The tank is in the fish room, and the drains will run through a hole in the wall into the garage where the sump will be.
Actual space:
The timber on the left can/will be shifted. The shelves are about 600mm wide, and I'm planning on building an insulated cupboard for the sump, the whole thing probably shouldn't stick out any more than a metre or else I won't fit the car in.
One problem is that the sump will be running away from the tank, so to minimise the distance on the return I was thinking of making it look something like this when viewed from above:
btw the grey things are heaters, not submarines.
Questions:
I'm undecided about the mechanical filtration side of things, haven't really looked into socks but haven't ruled it out. Am I right in thinking things like filter wool and sponges work best when submerged rather than having water sprayed/dripped onto them?
How do I calculate how much media I'll need? Submerged, above water or both? I was thinking of having a second pump pumping water up to a couple of bins full of bioballs that sit directly above and trickle back into the sump.
Long term I'm planning on running a continuous drip system, and I'm still toying with the idea of running an FX5 (also hard-plumbed through the wall), so I'm undecided if the sump will be the only source of filtration. I should probably make my mind up on those things first I guess......
Lastly, I am unable to find "pot scrubbies" or "rubermade tubs" here, I've searched high and low as they both seem ideal for building sumps but found nothing, so don't tease me by suggesting them!!!
I did a search and have spent the last couple of hours reading various threads in this forum, and the main thing I learnt is that there are far more knowledgeable people than me on this subject!
I am by no means a sump-newbie, I've been using them for about 10 years, but they have always been fairly typical designs (like this), this is the first time I've tried thinking outside the box about designing one for such a large tank. At this stage I'm going to go for a custom made glass sump, the tank maker I use is pretty flexible and happy to build one-offs.
The tank has two 32mm drains (drilled at the top to give as much height as possible for the filter), the bottom of the pipes are 975mm off the ground. The tank is in the fish room, and the drains will run through a hole in the wall into the garage where the sump will be.
Actual space:
The timber on the left can/will be shifted. The shelves are about 600mm wide, and I'm planning on building an insulated cupboard for the sump, the whole thing probably shouldn't stick out any more than a metre or else I won't fit the car in.
One problem is that the sump will be running away from the tank, so to minimise the distance on the return I was thinking of making it look something like this when viewed from above:
btw the grey things are heaters, not submarines.
Questions:
I'm undecided about the mechanical filtration side of things, haven't really looked into socks but haven't ruled it out. Am I right in thinking things like filter wool and sponges work best when submerged rather than having water sprayed/dripped onto them?
How do I calculate how much media I'll need? Submerged, above water or both? I was thinking of having a second pump pumping water up to a couple of bins full of bioballs that sit directly above and trickle back into the sump.
Long term I'm planning on running a continuous drip system, and I'm still toying with the idea of running an FX5 (also hard-plumbed through the wall), so I'm undecided if the sump will be the only source of filtration. I should probably make my mind up on those things first I guess......
Lastly, I am unable to find "pot scrubbies" or "rubermade tubs" here, I've searched high and low as they both seem ideal for building sumps but found nothing, so don't tease me by suggesting them!!!
