Making a Sump

[Bigsnappa]

Hi all - I have just refurbished a breeding setup, it has 6 tanks of 260mm wide x 520mm long x 320mm (water depth) high. This gives a total capacity of 260 litres.

The setup came with a basic sump. I have zero experience with sumps so I would like to know if it is adequate and how I could baffle it in an attempt to make it more efficient.

The sump dimensions are 600mm x 600mm x 350mm high. Currently I have the outlets from the 6 tanks running into 2 x 50mm PVC pipe collectors (3 hoses into each).

The collectors are above a shallow tray that I have peppered with 3mm holes (drip tray?). There is a layer of dacron on top of this tray. The tray below contains 4 litres of Seachem Matrix, the tray below that has more dacron and the tray below that has Bio Balls.

All of these trays are on top of a small clear plastic tub that is also filled with Bio Balls. There are 3 or 4 x 1 inch holes in one lower side of this clear tub that water is draining from into the sump tank. The water level in the sump is about 100mm (therefore currently there is around 36 litres of water in the sump).

Can I get some feedback/suggestions on this from those who know more than me.

Thanks John

[Hellboy]

Just a little tip for you mate. Keep your plastics like gutter guard and bio balls above the water surface. These mediums require lots of oxygen to be effective. They populate with aerobic bacteria and if submersed will just build up nitrites. This was a costly lesson I learn. Best is with water splashing over your gutter guard.

Im sure someone on the forum maybe able to elaborate more.

Overwise your sump will do the trick.

[mif]

Hi John,

I am also in the process of building a sump, so I have come across quite a bit of good info. This site I found is a good starting point in the basic design:

http://www.cichlidmania.net/index.php?pid=16

HTH