Ok I am in the final stages of setting up my Aquarium.

I have completed the plumbing, including the sump, and have check that everything is going to go as expected.

The Setup currently is as follows:

Sump = 3 chambers with an extra chamber on top.

Water goes as follows:

Aquarium --> Top Chamber (Spreader on top emptying onto a layer of wool type stuff, underneath is filled with things that look like elastic bands but aren't) ---> 1 large chamber ---> over barrier into second (thin) chamber --> Large (return) chamber with pump.

I have three questions:

1. What media would people suggest for where? (minimum replacement if possible)

2. Should I locate heaters in sump? If so ,where?

3. For any Australians on the forum - can people suggest any online suppliers for this (or any other general aquarium materials (food etc)?

Cheers guys

hi there...this is a very good online shop.... www.theaquariumshop.com.au/
hope this helps
cheers

How big is the sump?

If you are going to the trouble of installing something you might as well put your heaters and pumps in it.

The beauty of having a sump is that it will normally take a lot of media. I have two types of biological media in my sump. I have bac-balls, and alphagrog, both of which have a good surface for the bacteria to grow on.

OFL wrote:


It is about 50 litres I think.

I was thinking a few bio balls, maybe some sponges... stuff like that?

50 liters sump for what tank size are you aiming?
you should consider the relationship between the tank
size and the sump tank size for practical reason.

PAUL wrote:


It is somewhere between 50- 100 litres for a 450 litre tank.

It is a temporary arrangement while I design and build a larger one.

sump tank is ideally designed for bigger tank. this is to give ample
space for larger water volume and larger surface area of filter media.
most hobbyist requires minimum of 25% of their tank for the sump.

I can't comment on the sump but for suppliers in Oz I would recommend the following:

www.aquaticlife.com.au
www.aquariumproducts.com.au

Each has a different range plus postage rate is different - check both out and compare prices incl postage.

It's also worth trying your LFS as they may be able to do a deal plus you then get better after sales service.

Hope that helps

Thanks for your help so far guys.

Yet another question, does anyone know what the below stuff is and whether it would be suitable as media for the sump?




I stumbled across a huge amount of it and the inside looks porous. They rock is also very light (floats). Generally they are a round ball - but I broke one open to show you the inside.