Sounds something like this.
an example of a small, commercial plastic sump.
water is pumped over mechanical media (right) flows the bio media underneath.
And the pump is in the chamber on the left.
I encourage algae and floating plants to grow in that chamber to help mitigate nitrate (normal biofiltratiion does not mitigate nitrate).
Although it worked for a while for, , I found it inadequate for my concept.
I just don't like shallow sumps, to easy (if something goes awry) to drain the sump, and burn out the pump.
Because your tank is drilled on the bottom, you will probably need a stand pipe, the stand pipe help from draining out the entire tank, if one of those awry moments happen, it will also hold water, not allowing he tank from overflowing the sump, in the occasion of a power outage.
Below is an example of a standpipe, you'll notice, I added an arm with an extra overflow port, in case the main port became plugged.
And as you see, on the right, plant material can serious impede flow if plugged with leaf litter.
As you can see below with my current sump, a 125 gal gal, with no permanent chamber, run almost full.
Instead of a lot of bio-media, I allow plants to do hat work. There is a little bio-media in the dark section on the left side, that is also where I keep the pump.
Most of my plumbing is 1". but the sump is not directly under the tank, it is set off two the side, to make access less of a pain, easier than trying to work in a cramped space area directly below the tank, in a cabinet.
I also hard plum using PVC pipe.
Easy to access at any hardware store, screws into threaded bulkheads, and is inexpensive compared to vinyl tubing. It is also easy to replace, if a new concept, or piece of gear is o be added.
Below, the surface of the sump, covered in floating plants, and lilies that suck up nitrate and other deleterious nutrients like a sponge.
an example of a small, commercial plastic sump.water is pumped over mechanical media (right) flows the bio media underneath.
And the pump is in the chamber on the left.
I encourage algae and floating plants to grow in that chamber to help mitigate nitrate (normal biofiltratiion does not mitigate nitrate).
Although it worked for a while for, , I found it inadequate for my concept.
I just don't like shallow sumps, to easy (if something goes awry) to drain the sump, and burn out the pump.
Because your tank is drilled on the bottom, you will probably need a stand pipe, the stand pipe help from draining out the entire tank, if one of those awry moments happen, it will also hold water, not allowing he tank from overflowing the sump, in the occasion of a power outage.
Below is an example of a standpipe, you'll notice, I added an arm with an extra overflow port, in case the main port became plugged.
And as you see, on the right, plant material can serious impede flow if plugged with leaf litter.
As you can see below with my current sump, a 125 gal gal, with no permanent chamber, run almost full.
Instead of a lot of bio-media, I allow plants to do hat work. There is a little bio-media in the dark section on the left side, that is also where I keep the pump.
Most of my plumbing is 1". but the sump is not directly under the tank, it is set off two the side, to make access less of a pain, easier than trying to work in a cramped space area directly below the tank, in a cabinet.
I also hard plum using PVC pipe.
Easy to access at any hardware store, screws into threaded bulkheads, and is inexpensive compared to vinyl tubing. It is also easy to replace, if a new concept, or piece of gear is o be added.
Below, the surface of the sump, covered in floating plants, and lilies that suck up nitrate and other deleterious nutrients like a sponge.
