[SBDTHUR]

I've always wanted to try my own filter. Some day..

[PiranhaBoss.dk]

Yeah, sumps are ideal for increasing the system-volume making it less vulnerable to sudden changes. But you still need to know what you're dealing with. The crash of an over-sized filter may play as equally tragic as a tank overloaded with fish.

After all, the biomass of an aquarium is not just fish and plants, you need to take the colony of bacteria in with that count, especially if something seems off balance.

Allow my to give you a practical example.
I've had a tank with only one fish in it, and with a huge filter-setup running with it, as piranhas sure can be messy eaters.
Therefor a great number of bacteria containable seemed perfect, 'till I, for personal reasons, didn't get about the normal feeding-schedule for a few weeks..
The fish didn't seem to suffer visible from the momentary cut in food, but the filters must have had a bad time, 'cause, when looked at in the aftermath, they did of cause adopt to the decreasing numbers of organic matter in the watercolumn.
How do you get to find this out? You get back to normal and proceed with the feeding-routine, and BANG!
You no longer have an aquarium, rather more something like a cesspool.

Waterchange, waterchange, waterchange,!

The exact dimensioning of the filters to the expected task ahead, may be a rather important factor in the planning of the whole setup.

This post has been edited by PiranhaBoss.dk: 02 November 2008 - 03:31 AM

[lulurida]

i like my Emperors for my small tanks and home made wetdrys/

anyone know where a good write up for home made wet/dry filters is

[bitteraspects]

FX5
AC110
EHEIM 2217
AND big DIY sumps.

[ExPeNsIvE HoBbY]

In one of my 135g tanks I run:
Fluval FX5
Fluval 405
50g tall DIY sump w/ 8.8g wet/dry w/ biomedia(scrubbies) & Remote Deep Sand Bed
Deep sand bed in tank as well
1600gph pool pump for a return
Eshopps PF-1800 overflow box modded w/ extra syphon tubes(it's safe trust me)
2x Korilia 1400gph circulation pumps

Still not enuff filtration for my little freahwater inhabitants...

[Morledzep]

since this got dug up..

i run 2 FX5's on my 210 plus 2 foam filters.
on the 180 i have 1 FX5 and 4 foam filters and a bubblewall.

on the 800 (not set up yet) i have a 300 gallon sump that came with it. i've purchased so far a case of scrubbies and 2 gallons of bio-balls. and i think instead of using the wet/dry that the guy gave me with the tank i'm going to use a couple filter socks and a drip tray in the top of the sump for mechanical filtration.

but none of that is going to happen for awhile, i still have the big move to Alabama ahead of me.