My 2m Tank

have you done a water test? the drain in that overflow is goind to make a LOUD gurgling noise. adding the the bioballs to that chamber will help reduce the noise, alternatively you should consider putting in a Durso stand pipe - google it - which will make it silent.

will you be adding CO2? my reason for asking is because the trickle filter will eradicate the CO2. But if you're planning on keeping un-demanding plants then there should be no issue with the trickle filter and you can then place the bioballs in the overflow - bioballs + durso will not be a trickle filter as the bioballs will be submerged like in the sump.

 

Or at least ball valves to slow flow into the sump. Good luck balancing 2 pipes, it gets to be a real pain in the rear

 

When I went to look at the tank I didn't notice the water noise. But I was super stoked at the time also

What I thought to do is try and make a mini Durso and grid, with the bio balls above the grid.

Luckily I can modify to this if the bio balls does not take the water noise away.There is also two pieces of glass on the side of the overflow that would splash the water onto the bio balls. So this will break the water flow to the outlet. Don't know if that would help?

 

Its not the splashing into the sump that makes the only noise. You get a flushing effect as water ebbs and flows through the pipes. That's why I use ball valves on mine, essentially backing the water up in the pipes

 

ideally you want to have a distribution plate on the top that distributes the water "evenly" over the bioballs...

 

Couldn't you get a big piece of coarse sponge and stick it in the top of the overflow so it would be an inch or two under the water line and about the same over the water line?

The way I see it it would give you great mechanical filtration that you could easily clean, it would stop the fish from ending up in your filter, and it might even give you better water distribution in the overflow.

 

It obviously also helps to know what the uplift pump would be.
It is a Laguna Utility Pump 7 and is suppose to do 8100l/ph
I'll have a decent waterfall into that overflow.

Dolphin can I use say a piece of perspex on the overflow box, drilled full of holes to make a distribution plate?

** The attached picture is one I could find on the internet. Mine looks almost new

 

You will most likely flood your tank if you dont drill enough holes as the water fed to the sump will be less than the return...the pump will ultimately pump more water from the sump to the tank than water being returned from the tank to the sump.

If you drill to many holes the water wont be spread evenly as most water will run through the first few holes. What do you guys think?

 

This is the pump the guy had on his Malawi setup, so I believe it should be fine?

 

That rating is the maximum, so it will go down quite a bit with the amount of head height you've got from sump to tank. And if it worked before it should do the trick now.

 

Chamber number 1 is where your tank water overflow (bio balls and filter foam(blue foam) bio first with your filter foam on top.

Chamber number 2 get yourself crush coral (keeps you water hard and ph) this will depend on what type of fish you would be keeping.

Chamber number 3 heater; outflow pump & bag charcoal.

You would also need to mark your sump tank with markings so that your sump tank does not overflow when the electric current switch off.

 

what do you mean by that?

 

Ace, congrats on the new tank! that is an awesome looking tank you got there at a steal of the price!! Sorry if I missed the post, but what do you plan on stocking it with?

 

perspex is ideal, just do some googling for DIY overflow boxes and distribution plates - especially look in the marine forums as there's lots of such diy info there on this subject. a correctly made distribution plate and overflow will not have clogging issues (even if it clogs there will be a safety overflow) - more so if the return pump, sump, tank waterline etc etc are all correctly designed and set with optimal flow rates. the return pump packaging should give you the optimal flow rates at different heights. the number of elbows (bends) in the return pipe also impacts flow rate by slowing it down...to avoid that you should use a re-inforced pvc pipe for the return - re-inforced so it doesnt kink...

and make sure the return outlet is not below the water line as it will siphon the tank if the pump stops...also check this out in diy pages...

 

When you switch off your pump you would notice that your tank water will still flow into your sump tank, but if you have a bleeder hole it would stop otherwise your sump tank will overflow.

 

Reverse overflow due to the siphon created. Not a big issue if you have the return as high as the overflow level and make sure your sump can cater for the additional water

 

Ok I've setup the sump and got all the spunges, bio-balls and rings clean and in there.

Today I want to go and see if I can get palm peat, chemicult and pool filter silica sand. (I guess I'm going to need about 80kg??)

Any suggestions of the Cape Town people where to go and search for these. :blink1: Please PM me. Thank you in advance

 

Ok got my palm peat and chemicult. (Stodels in Milnerton has 1 block left :blink1

Now it's just to get some sand

 

Here is a picture of the tank in it's current state.
I still need allot of plants... Any clippings welcome :blink1:

Just took a whole lot of swords and guppies and chucked them in there to get everything cycling. And everyday so far had to catch either a guppy or sword in the sump and throw it back to the main tank Don't know how they made the drop through the bio balls :amazed:

Even one of the guppy's dropped her fry. I count 4 of them in there.

 

looking very nice ACE, personally I prefer tanks which aren't heavily overcrowded with plants but that just my prefernce. Guppies must be in heaven in such a big tank!