Filter Thoughts/Help

[jahorgos]

I have a make shift sump in the bottom of my tank but its not designed for any real filtration. I put a foam filter in it that blocks the path way to the pump to make all of the water pass through that. But it seems that its not getting it all and I have a descent amount of annoying debris that shoots out on my return side and all the little debris bothers me as I want a nice clean return in to my tank as to not take away from the beauty.

Do I buy a sump/refugium that has all the built in filters?

Or do I just add a seperate cartridge/pump filter combo to contiously cycle the water that cycles through the sump?

Or some other idea?

 

[mr_X]

you could put a sponge filter on the return pump(make sure you stay on top of keeping these filters clean btw). where is the debris coming from exactly?

 

[jahorgos]

you could put a sponge filter on the return pump(make sure you stay on top of keeping these filters clean btw). where is the debris coming from exactly?

In line with the return connected to the pvc? Any pictures/website of this product?

Where is the debris coming from is a very good question. I assumed it was normal debris kicked up by the aquarium life.

 

[mr_X]

well, is your sump drilled with an external pump or is the return pump submersible?

 

[jahorgos]

well, is your sump drilled with an external pump or is the return pump submersible?

Drilled with external pump. I have been thinking about using a filstar system and just cycling through the sump to help keep the water clear.

 

[mr_X]

filstar? you mean a rena filstar?
they are good cannister filters imo, but i wouldn't add one to your system. you don't need it. ok, it's drilled. they sell a screw in grate thing for the bulkhead, which you can put a sponge sock of sorts over- something like this-

http://www.aquaticeco.com/index.cfm/fus ... 4/cid/2086
. kinda like the sponge you get with magdrive pumps.
something like this-
http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem~ ... tab~2.html

 

[jahorgos]

filstar? you mean a rena filstar?
they are good cannister filters imo, but i wouldn't add one to your system. you don't need it. ok, it's drilled. they sell a screw in grate thing for the bulkhead, which you can put a sponge sock of sorts over- something like this-

http://www.aquaticeco.com/index.cfm/fus ... 4/cid/2086
. kinda like the sponge you get with magdrive pumps.
something like this-
http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem~ ... tab~2.html

Thats a good idea. I'm going to experiment with this. Thanks!

 

[jahorgos]

How many micron bag should I go with? 25, 55, 100, 150, 200?

 

[mr_X]

well..what i was thinking of wasn't a bag..more like a sponge. but i use 200 micron filter socks if that helps you. :?

 

[Anonymous]

I use a filter sock on my drain. I usually put activated carbon in it, so my water is crystal clear. The issue I would have with a sponge on my return pump, besides cleaning it, would be that it would prevent microfauna from my sump to return to the main display to feed my corals.

 

[jahorgos]

Interesting. Well I'm going to try the sock first and see how that goes.

 

[mr_X]

Interesting. Well I'm going to try the sock first and see how that goes.

where are you putting the sock? on the drain into the sump, right?

 

[jahorgos]

Interesting. Well I'm going to try the sock first and see how that goes.

where are you putting the sock? on the drain into the sump, right?

Well normally thats where you see them but I was going to put a pvc screen on my pump side and then cover it with a sock. This way the sock does not get sucked in to the pump but catches all the material before it cycles back up?

 

[mr_X]

well, that's going to do the same thing that seahorsewhisperer was worried about. as a matter of fact, a 200 micron sock will probably do it more effectively.

 

[jahorgos]

I see. Well I'm going to do some plexi-glass work today and see if I can setup a filter pad and/or foam sponge setup. Kind of like you would see on a sump/refug setup. Maybe this will be a better method and I will not need either.

Currently when my filter gets clogged it does not allow any water to get to my pump, so with the rework if the filter gets clogged the water will raise and just flow over the filter.

The problem with the sock on my drain side is that it would be too noisy with the water splashing.

I will try and take some pictures soon to get more feedback.

 

[mr_X]

the point she was making is that you want an open channel between the refugium and the display tank, so all the little critters make their way up there, and become food for fish and corals.

your filter should never be allowed to clog. wash it out every few days. you don't want the stuff that's clogging it, in your tank.


you really need to figure out where this floating debris is coming from.
animals in the refugium don't just stir up debris constantly. atleast it's not noticable to human eyes.

i'm thinking it's from the water coming down into the sump, that's creating all the mess in the water- for this, running the drain into a 200 micron filter sock as it's entering the sump, should correct it. you'll need to change these out about every 3 or 4 days though.
i don't suggest you leave them in until they clog up and overflow.

 

[jahorgos]

My sump has a really rigged filter system that I created because it had no filter before. I tried to work on it this weekend but I need to created walls and seal it. The problem is that its hard to work on something that can't be down for two days.

I believe I'm going to just buy a sump/mechanical filtration setup. I am going to buy something good enough for say 300 gallons. I can get one for between 2-300 dollars.

To give you an idea of my current sump its basically a tank with everything in one chamber and a foam filter blocking the path to the return pump to help filter. Which obviously gets clogged and then no water can get to the pump.

Do you agree I should just buy one?

 

[Anonymous]

I found that when I added a filter sock to the drain from the main display, it actually cut down the noise. Before and when I am washing the socks, it splashes into the sump, causing more noise.

I looked at your build thread. You do have a wonderful filter system inside the tank. Tons of live rock ( I love your aquascaping!), good substrate.

My sump is really just a big tank with the drain from the main display on one side and the return pumps on the opposite side. I have rock rubble and macroalgae in between so I have lots of tiny worms and pods spawning, which goes into the main display to feed the corals.

If you want to just try a clean sock (rinsed well) from your dresser drawer, I think you can jerry rig it so you can have more benefits from your sump, and just filter the water as it drains from you display

 

[mr_X]

hmm..if it was me, i'd make my own out of a 55 gallon tank. those sumps that claim they are good enough for 300 gallons- what do they base that on? the ones i see rated for 200-300 gallons look like 20 gallon tanks. :?

make sure if you go with one, you can fit a decent skimmer in it!

i also think- the less sponge filters and places for detritus to build up, the better. i just use a 200 micron filter sock. i use it to stop the massive amount of bubbles that's created from the water falling a few feet into the sump. if the bubbles weren't there, i wouldn't even use that.

 

[jahorgos]

I had a fear that the sock would would clog up and stop draining but then I realized that if it starts to clog towards the bottom the water can still rise and go out the clean top portion of the sock that is not normally filtering anything.

So I went with the sock. The other reason I feared the sock was when I looked at pictures it shows drains dumping in to the sock and that would create a lot of water noise. My drain is submerged in water to help with noise.

So now that I realize I can just wrap a sock around the drain with no worries and it handles air and debris thats perfect! I guess that is what I get for not voicing my fears.

I used a sock out of my drawer, when I get a chance to go to the store I will buy a 200 micron sock. Thanks, so far so good!