Filter questions, maybe a DIY in the future?

hotimportknight said:
I think I got this down, ill have to pick up some egg crate, or... at the hardware store today the guy recommended something to me and I went and checked it out, it was nylon or some synthetic plastic screen, like you would put in a window, but its got no metal in it at all... would that be a good alternative to the eggcrate? Or could I just stuff a bunch of that black foam stuff in between there with out the hassle of gluing eggcrate or other things in there, it would be easier to clean If i could just reach down and pull it out and rinse it out...
Click to expand...


Just make sure it isnt treated with chemicals to prevent mold and mildew. Those chemicals can desimate a tank.

Brian
 
Im down to the last baffle now, I cut it 3/4 inch shorter than the rest, how much room should I designate for the pump area? Everyone is saying that, that is where all the evaporation will take place at, so make it a little bigger... I took some pics of the project so far, someone please let me know if the pump area is going to be big enough.

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Could someone please let me know what you think about my pump section ASAP before I get anxious and silicone it in there... I think its turning out pretty decentely, not as cramped as I thought it would be, and the fuge is going to be a decent size...
 
No, not yet, ive been waiting for a good reply like that, consider it done in a few minutes, meanwhile I was rigging up my check valve and gluing some PVC into it and stuff, Ill go finish that off then. Thanks!
 
Nothing better than a good ole Pepsi when working your ass off.right?

I give the return area another 1'' more for added evaporation room.
 
Alright, sump is all done, 99% of the plumbing is plumbed (sounds funny) just gotta actually replace my hang on filter/skimmer with the overflow box and I think shes ready to go, but first I thought i would check and see the proper procedures for loading my sump. How do you start it out initially? how much water in the sump? Ive right now got all the compartments full to their capacities except the pump section is only full to about 3" over the level of the inlet. how full should the last compartment be? and how should i do this? start the overflow, then once that is going start the pump almost immediately after? I dont have any substrate yet for the fuge part, ill get that tomorrow when the pet store opens, I figure stop the pump and overflow and then get that stocked up, wait a few minutes for it to settle and start it back up. The last bag of live sand I got had NO cloudiness to it at all, so im hoping all the bags the LFS sells are that nice. The owner said he would be getting in a bunch of macro algeas this week some time, so i can get some then.
 
Anyone? Someone please let me know what I should do to start this sump up, I dont wanna screw anything up but its all ready to go, just gotta pull my old hang on filters and replace it with my overflow....
 
Fill your sump to it operational level and where the pump is under water.

Have the water just starting to go into the overflow chamber.

Make sure water is in the front and back chamber of the the overflow.Drop the U-tube in the overflow and stick about a 3' airline tubing in the top part of the u-tube.Now suck the air out,stick your finger over the end of the airline tubing and pull it out.

Start pump to see if the siphon started,if yes let it run and check for leaks,add any addition water if needed.If everything looks good than cut the power to the pump and make sure the sump can hold the additional water.

disclaimer-I didn't see what kind of overflow you were using so I was generalizing
 
Ah, alright. I got it up and running last night, but when I wake up this morning the water level is scary low in the pump section? Im thinking there is no way it could have evaporated.... I added another gallon or so at least, and i topped it off before i went to bed. What am/did I do wrong? is my overflow not under water far enough or something?
 
Aquarium101.jpg

Here is the water level in my pump section... Why is it so low? I keep filling it way up and it keeps emptying it into my display, my display is about as full as it can get now i think... Do i control this with my overflow or what? or is that the level the water will always stay at? its a good 2.5" from the intlet yet, but it seems to get down that far and then stop going down...
 
Post pic of overflow. Sounds like it's pushing water faster up then the return. These two need to be equal.
 
Im at school right now, ill take some pics of the overflow when i get home. It moves quite a bit of water out of there, but the back compartment of it only ever has like an inch of water in it...
 
Any ideas? Why is my pump compartment running low on water all the time? My overflow is 600 gph 1" tubing strait shot to the sump, my pump is 700 gph, but its going through like 5 feet of tubing 4 feet in the air...
 
I'm also thinking the return is faster than the drain.I would put a ball valve on the return end so you can throttle the flow back.
 
biff said that wasnt a good idea cause it could burn out your pump due to the increased pressure on that side, but ive seen several setups that are like that... from the looks of it, it doesnt need to be much, just a tiny little bit more pressure...
 
As long as you dont cut the flow back over half way you shouldnt have any trouble.
Most return pumps are designed to operate under some back pressure.
 

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