Can I See Your Fw Sump Designs Please?

[RipSlider]

Hi all.

Already starting to get annoyed with my 180l tank not having a sump. Too many wires and pipes coming out of the top, and I want to rebuild the hood for more light, and I can't be fussed with drilling holes in the new hood.

The tank is already drilled and it's got unions and bulk heads in so I'm not going to have to pull apart the entire tank apart, which is a blessing.

I've got an old marine sump which was designed as a big DSB/Cheato design, but I don't have my old FW sump anymore, so I need to build a new one.

I was wondering if I could get a look at the designs you guys are using and also what your using to get the water to the sump - overflow boxes, wiers, dursos etc?

Thanks

Steve

 

[OldMan47]

The main differences between a SW and a FW sump are that you do not need a skimmer on FW and the oxygen type tower is not needed on FW either. I would use your existing drilled connections and just set up the sump you already have with fresh media to avoid having too much salt in the system.

 

[RipSlider]

The main differences between a SW and a FW sump are that you do not need a skimmer on FW and the oxygen type tower is not needed on FW either. I would use your existing drilled connections and just set up the sump you already have with fresh media to avoid having too much salt in the system.

So you think a basic 2 baffle design making three chambers and use the sump as a big external filter?

I was sort of wondering about seeing what effect a Deep Sand Bed would have, would it work similar to a marine DSB? I also really like the idea of putting some Red Mangroves in the sump, which would work well with a DSB kind of concept as well I guess.

Something that I am thinking about tonight is that, after the first really warm day in York today, the tank has jumped by 4 degrees. I think I have a small chiller somewhere in the garage. Not sure if it would still work after getting salty next to a marine tank, and then sitting in a garage for a couple of years, but was wondering about chilling the cabinet the sump is in as a simple solution to cooling the tank.

Hmmm... it's too easy to over-engineer fish tanks!!


Steve

 

[OldMan47]

I have not seen anyone using a deep sand bed on freshwater but I don't see why it would not work. I assume you use it as a mechanical pre-filter to other media.

 

[Juggler75]

My limited understanding of how a deep sand bed works involves a clean up crew turning over the first few inches thus giving a home to nitifying bacteria which like oxygen and coat the individual grains, deeper down anaerobic bacteria coat the grains capilary action is used to draw the water down to that level where they convert nitrates to nitrogen gas and H2O.

I can see how they work in marine set ups where the clean up crew populate the top few inches but in FW what would you be using to turn over the top few inches? MTS?
I can also see the attraction in Marine where they help to keep nitrates down, however in FW we can utilise a lot more plantlife to feed on the nitrates and keep the levels down so am wondering if a deep sand bed filter is a little too over engineered for FW tank systems, especially given the risks (however small) of releasing toxic gases from the anaeobic levels into the water column?

Personally I would give a simpler system a try - maybe fill that chamber with moss and use that to keep the nitrates down.


If I have got hold of the wrong end of the stick (most probably) then I hope someone puts me right before you run with this.