Shores of Lake Malawi

Stage 1 build.
Drain + clean up of tank about 4 hours.

SPECS
Tank: 315L
Sump: +/- 80L
2000L return pump on sump
Filter media:
Chamber 1 Bio stars, 2x 300w heaters + plants
Chamber 2 filter floss + matting
Chamber 3 Larva rock, ceramic rings + bio balls
Lights: 1 x 10000K, 1x Sylvania Grolux, 1 x Skywhite 8800K x 7hours
1 x 700L powerhead for extra flow but all pumps will be upgraded soon.

 

Stage 2
Clean up, Derik breaking bio filter at back, cleaning glass & starting install.

 

Nice thread keep it up ....

 

Stage 2

 

Stage 2 + sump

 

Stage 3
Starting setup. Washing the pool sand was not that bad. I let the filter do most of the work. Plus a couple of whiskeys to keep me going cause fish were battling in the tubs.

 

Why such a small sump? Looks about half the length of the tank?

 

The sump is 800Lx380Wx400H. The tank is 1250L x 500W x 600H(500 water).

 

I was off by 20cm then. Why didn't you go the full available length of ~1200 long on the sump?

 

nice re-build ,nice thread keep the updates going.

 

Stage 3 continued.......

 

Real interesting... keep us up to date.
@ neil - Just a question does it make that much difference between a 100lt sump and a 250lt sump? why I ask is because on some of my tanks they have those built in filters that take up about 10cm of the tank on the side. and I worked it out that it hold ruffly around 40lt ow water and it seems to do a really great job?
Just a question.... sorry for the Hijack.

 

I had a space limitation under the stand. 1.2m for a sump was bit over kill for the tank & I was also looking at installing being difficult under the tank.

 

When it comes to filtration, there's no such thing as overkill. I understand that your stand would get in the way, but if you have the space, use it. My Discus breeding setup's sump is only slightly smaller than the display tank. But that's your decision.

Had any issues with noise from the overflow?

 

I had a bio filter built @ the back which was +/-40lt & as time went on it couldn't handle. So I bit the bullet & went for the sump. The conversion costed me a packet but was well worth it. The clarity is amazing & you can add more filter media wool, filter matting, larva rock, bio balls/stars, ceramic rings, palnts that suck up nitrates & more.

Yes. It seemed like a toilet filling up. So Derik from fish fantasy world installed a durso in the overflow chamber. It just seems like a small waterfall which I don't mind. I will be adding in a Flotek 3100L pump to increase the flow in the future.

 

I understand that more filtration the better, but surely there's a point of marginal return? I've seen plenty of setups where the sump is only half the size (or less) of the main tank and it works fine i.e. ammonia and nitrites are zero.

Although my knowledge on sumps is minimal, I am planning on using my 100l tank as a sump when I get my 2.5m (1000l) tank up and running. My understanding was that the flowrate of the pump and the amount and type of filter material are important with sumps. If my 100l is a little too small to house sufficient quantities of filter material, then I will get a larger tank to facilitate a sump, but surely a 2.5m sump would be overkill?

 

Marginal returns yes. But it also depends on how heavily stocked your tank is and what you keeping. You could probably run a canister filter on a 1000l system and the Ammonia and Nitrites will be zero, Nitrate will probably be through the roof. Its all prefernce and remember, because its a 100l sump total dimension, it doesn't mean that it will be holding 100l of water

 

Stage 3 continued....

Filling up the beast.

 

@LanceP Why don't you go for a 4ft sump but 400H with 6 chambers. It should be sufficient for a 2.5m. Remember the faster the pump in the sump the less contact that you will have with filter media. Sump will be more efficient. Maybe add a 3000L pump in sump & couple of powerheads in the tank.

 

I hear what you're saying, but as you mention it depends on a number of parameters. It's not too say that a sump smaller than a main tank is a stupid thing to do.

Are there any guidelines as to the minimum and recommended size of the sump in relation to the main tank, assuming plants and live stock is of an "average" nature?