That angled FSBF is a Frankenstein. (imho)
Its very engineering only serves to limit its actual usage (and by relation, its efficiency)
-Lbs of sand in filter
-Dead zones
-Vertical space for dispersion of sand
-list goes on but is not important.
He complains of sludge in his sand and how he has to clean this part and that, a lot of these problems can be avoided by setting one up properly. Vertically; square or round it does not bother me, but in building a few myself, i found they just could not function properly in odd shaped environments, dead zones and pockets of sand clumping.
Lets keep in mind, sand is SUPER efficient in these style of filters, Just one pound of sand, can expand to over 3 feet tall and handle 200 gallons of water easily when in the proper chamber.
Dont use rocks, drill a diffuser plate. break a few sheets trying, but it is worth it, i used a dab or 2 or silicone on the hard downpipe (which is a long siphon hard tube with the elbow cut off) and the baffle plate can be wedged into place.
ect ect ect. i have no pictures to go with any of this for now. all this was meant to be was a simple answer
"Thats FBF your thinking about"
"Yes, its super efficient when BUILT PROPERLY"
"Keep in mind its only biological filtration, so unprocessed (non mechanically filtered) tank water will no doubt gum it up bad, run it like you would a skimmer"
"Have a nice day"
-ChairmanWood
(other quickgoogle pics)
This is how i run mine, in the top and out the top, true unions + valves make it easy to remove from a hard plumb system (almost like replacing a cartridge come cleaning day)
Others like it from the bottom, i cant say anything for efficiency as i have not tested.
Mind you, there's something like, an infinite amount of configurations, hence the diY part.
Video quality is bulldonk but its the epitome of FBF's shows you how just a little sand goes a long way. i build mine off of this video, and could not be more pleased.
And yes, it really does look that cool in real life.
) I have to agree with the "top in, top out" approach... makes a LOT of sense to me.
why do you NEED to see it working ? as long as you use a clear OUT tube... which must be vertical for as long a distance as possible, you could monitor flow rate here (clear pipe, of course !) and then you are free to use cheap pipe from the DIY store, as well as cheaper adhesive and easier cutting.
