Stock Aquarium As Sump--Mechanical Filtration Needed

I'm wondering how to adapt my new sump, a 20 gallon long, so that it contains mechanical filtration of some sort. I suppose filter floss is out of the question, as I have no means of mounting a tower (such as utilized on a wet/dry) atop a 20L tank. I've pondered a filter sock, but have no experience with them.

Is there a convenient way to mount a filter sock on a simple descending piece of 1" PVC? Of course, it would have to be in such a fashion that removal would be trouble free, as the sock would be changed at least every 5-7 days.

My suspicion is that it's simple enough, but I've not seen it done in a DIY scenario.

Any opinions are appreciated. Pictures are even better, whether they be your own, or shots of products from vendors. I'm most interested in the method by which to attach the filter sock to the pipe entering the sump.

 

I don't know if this has ever been done but hear me out. I literally just thought of this!!

At the end of your 1" PVC you have a union and you some how incorporate the filter sock into the union where you screw it in along with the sock. There could be flaws, seeing as how I just thought of this. But it's something to think about!

 

you can use a sponge in one of the baffles.... But the problem that I ran into is it was "clogging" causing my skimmer section to rise, which I didnt want since I was trying to maintain that constant water level.

I resorted back to the sponge that came with my mag 9.5 return

Filter sock isnt a bad solution sparky. Might be the best. As long as you maintain it bi weekly or monthly.

 

Mounting a filter sock on that is a piece of cake. The filter sock I occasionally use has a nylon strap that goes over the top. I put a piece of wood through the strap and put that like a cross bar over the sump. Or if that wouldn't work, you could even wrap a rubber band around the filter sock so it holds tight against the pvc.

Sorry I can't provide pictures I am not running the sock right now. I generally never run it, my protein skimmer, and biological filtration cover my needs.

 

You could silicone acrylic or glass strips to the side walls rest egg crate on. You could then lay filter floss (the blue stuff) on top of the egg crate.

 

Berlin Sump Acrylic Mount with Filter Sock

 

That's not a bad idea. Thanks.

Thanks, tatted. I'm not too big on sponges. IME, they filter until they clog, and I find that removing them is never a clean process; and in the end, they're impossible to clean thoroughly. I always appreciate the input, though!

Thanks, stepho. I can't quite envision what you describe. :-/ If and when you ever set it up again, snap a pic. if you could.

Thanks, ReefDaily. Do you have any ideas on how to make such a setup splash free? I need a minimum of splash, since there's going to be no protective tower. I know it's going to be noisy either way, but I can't have the salt spray down there.

This might be the ticket, pgreef! I might do away with the rack portion, and just use the clip for the pipe and holder for the sock.



If anyone else has any ideas, please chime in. My current setup is perfect in that provides mechanical filtration, and is noise free. It's a wet/dry tower, that I just converted to a sump. There's a handfull of bio-balls in there just to deaden the waterfall sound. Thing is, changing the floss is convenient. Unfortunately my current setup is too small for my new skimmer.

My perfect solution would be something similar to what I have now, in that it combines means for mechanical filtration while it's quiet, keeps splashing isolated, contained, and prevents salt spray. The sump that I'm getting rid of was more than $200. The 20 gallon long I'm going to buy is going to be $30. I'm not willing to spend high dollars on an acrylic sump, so I'm going to have to get creative here.

You guys rock, and I'm sure I'll get a solution that works.

 

All I can tell you Sparky is that I have been over this before. In my mega flow I used filter folss. Then went to that thin sheet stuff that is super fine. Had to change it every few days. Then found some other floss at the fabric store that was in between the two. Point being is that I wanted crystal clear water and I filtered aggressively.

Well when I made my sump, I was done with sponges and filters and all that stuff. I wanted the most maintenance free, unclogging stuff I could do. I had already done away with the floss.... my skimmer just picked up the slack.

My reasoning is that yes I do like crystal clear water, but now that I have a fuge, things change. I'm trying to feed pods which feed corals and all the stuff in the water column feed all those. So aggressively filtering sort of defeats all that. I let the skimmer do it's job and what it pulls is what it pulls. You skimmer is going to do much better and it is going to pull much more out.

The only thing I would do is use a sock. I tossed around putting a sock in my sump just to catch some of the detrius and keep things clean. Worried about my fuge collecting too much. Well my water is pretty clean. My sump does not get much and is easy to clean, and my fuge is much cleaner than I expected. Actually worry that it isn't "dirty" enough. I would use one if I needed too.

The thind is, that it is just one more thing to maintain. I asolutely love only having one cleaning task.My skimmer cup. Nothing else to buy and maintain. Nothing that will get clogged. Nothing that demands my attention. Corals are very happy. Have a metric !$#$ ton of pods. sump is clean.

I would see if you have a need first, and then use a sock if need be.

 

I normally don't run any sort of mechanical filtration. I would occasionally use a sock to hold carbon but I'm done with that now since it caused a minor flood. Anyway the only mechanical filter I have is a huge ball of chaeto in my fuge. Only a small percentage of my total sump volume passes into the fuge because I wanted to keep the flow low. However, what I have now is a huge mechanical filter teeming with pods and bristle worms that eat everything that gets caught. Therefore, I essentially have a self-cleaning filter pad.

 

My very first build with this 90 crashed because of lack of mechanical filtration (I think). If you're willing to read about 100 pages worth of posts, opinions, suggested sources and solutions and the end result, you can find it here.

As far as I'm concerned, my min'd made up and I'm going with at least some type of mechanical filtration. Like Powerman said; I'm looking for the most maintenance free solution too. I think a filter sock fits the bill. I'll have a half dozen or so on hand, and swap them out as needed. I'll wash them in the laundry with no soap, as I've read others do. That doesn't add much as far as tank maintenance goes IMO.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone, and keep them coming.