hi all i was contemplating setting up a small sump filter for my 100g tank and just have a couple of questions,

i am planning on having a feugium and am wondering what sort of substrate i need and what plants would be best?

my sump will be located under my tank and i am wondering if that has an effect on how much the return pump can pump out?

i plan on using necros pipe over flow system, will 1 1/4" pipe be large enough i want to be turning my tank water over about 5-6 times an hour.

i think that is all for now but i am sure i will have more questions later on


thanks guys...

dexter wrote:


Substrate - depends on water flow and where water entering/ exiting. If entering or exiting down the bottom use gravel, if both at top use sand.

Plants - depends on the intensity of the light. Reseach plants that are "weeds", I have personally got hydroglyphia and duck weed (works a treat for nitrate removal).

1 1/4 should be fine as a return - can always adjust flow of pump if needed.

the pumps return will depend on the height of the tank above the pump. higher means less flow, most pumps state the head height at what it will pump (usually around 1.2meters or above). My knowledge of plants is NIL my fish won't tolerate them and even give the plastic ones I have a hard time.)))

if your using a 1 1/4" overflow, the gravity flowrate from a pipe that size will be about 910 gallon per hour. so therefore you will have to get a pump that is close to the same.
since you have a 100 gallon tank and you are looking for a 5-6 time turover rate i would recomomend an overflow make from 1" (which will flow about 600 gallon per hour) pvc instead of 1 1/4 ".

when purchasing a pump for the return you should look for one that pumps a little more than 600 gph and is adjustable. pumps are rated at a head height of 0' so if you get a pump that is rated at 650 gph and has an adjustable output flow then you should be fine,

ok that helps heaps thanks guys.

this is the design i came up with not sure if it is right but basically the water come in from the water flow from the right goes through the sponge media and into the bioballs from the bottom,(should i maybe have it coming over to create more oxygen for the bio media?) then it goes into the refugium where i was planning on have a hob or power head with the co2 going through that and to create some circulatiuon in there, then into the return bay with the heater.

you could add bioballs to the return sump area too without hurting anything and add that much more surface area for beneficial bacteria to grow i would think without wasting that space.

i made a wet dry basically the same thing but super sized lol i used a 55 gallon plastic drum and a 5 gallon bucket of bio-balls. I cut a hole about the size of the 5 gallon bucket on top of the 55 gallon drum drilled holes in the 5 gallon. its pritt big but works great i used a sump pump for a return. with 10 foot of hose and pvc piping im pushing 1800 gallons a hour on a 250 gallon tank and since it put my tank in a corner the 55 gallon drum hides beind the tank. oyea i made my over flow box to 3 holes that at 1 inch will push out 1800 gallons. 1 inch hole = 600 gallons a hour

I like your idea,Dexter.
Goob-scooper is an expert on the matter, for he has a refugium running and he had some nice pics in a former thread.
I looked it up, I hope it's helpfull!
www.oscarfishlover.com/oscar-fish-advice...reshwater-sump#52222

And there's a guy named Dexter in the thread as well!lol
I missed that, sorry...
Oh, man ,I gotto go to bed!

now look whos not perfect noddy

But I've got an excuse, been working all night and it's really bedtime.
I'll be perfectly asleep in a few minutes!
See you soon!
Keep my chair warm, please!lol

dexter wrote:


The only thing I would think about is having the exit to your refugium at the top - this will prevent you from having floating plants in there which are effective nitrate removers.

What I did was have entry and exit at the bottom (with gravel between to allow sufficient water flow), with a half height divider in the middle to ensure water flow internally.