You can buy check valves for your airlines extremely cheaply to use as an extra security measure.
Lets see what's in your stand! mechanical photo's
- Thread starter tcarswell
- Start date
Not the same thing. A check valve only lets air/water flow one way. Also they fail. I got rid of all my check valves years ago. If there's a way to not use check valves then do it. Put the pump above the tank if possible. I keep mine in my canopy or just resting on the lid. Check valve is a good option, and I recommend it as a minimum. Or you can just run your air line up a foot or so above the water line. Trouble happens when the air line curves right over the side of the tank and down to the stand base. This is the normal set up so it’s a very common mistake. If your airline loops up a foot higher then drops down to the stand you should be fine.
Forget check valves and put your pumps on top of the tank to avoid any potential issues. Not only can a back siphon ruin your pump, but given enough time, you may come home to a completely drained tank...but back to the topic of the thread. I haven't updated since post #65...those were my old tanks. Here's the new:
150G sump
(3) 2" overflows into 7" filter socks
40 Gallons of Bio Balls
9" of Matala Bio Sheets
5.3 Gallons of Seachem Pond Matrix
Reeflo Super Dart Gold Return pump doing roughly 2,000GPH at 9' head (most likely to be replaced soon by a Laguna Max-Flo 4200 and 2900).
150G sump
(3) 2" overflows into 7" filter socks
40 Gallons of Bio Balls
9" of Matala Bio Sheets
5.3 Gallons of Seachem Pond Matrix
Reeflo Super Dart Gold Return pump doing roughly 2,000GPH at 9' head (most likely to be replaced soon by a Laguna Max-Flo 4200 and 2900).
McMaster-Carr makes filter bags (100 micron) for 5 gallon pails
http://www.mcmaster.com/#catalog/117/382/=fqs1gg
View attachment 734920
You'd need a lot of fish to need to even use one of those 5 gallon socks. Your filter socks only need to last a week, so you can change them when you do a water change. One of the ideas behind why filter socks are so great is, since they're so easy to change and clean is you can change them often. That way you're removing the waste trapped in them completely out of the system, so it's not adding nitrates. Compared to a canister for example that doesn't get cleaned regularly that adds unnecessary nitrates.
McMaster-Carr makes filter bags (100 micron) for 5 gallon pails
http://www.mcmaster.com/#catalog/117/382/=fqs1gg
View attachment 734920
Keep in mind that these are a polyester mesh bag, not a felt filter sock. They don't hold near the load that a felt sock of the same size will.
Thanks. Yeah, I change mine every week and just throw the dirty ones in the laundry and bleach them. Then I turn them inside out and rewash them. It makes it really simple to clean compared to if someone tried rinsing them in the sink.
I only mentioned these filter bags because someone mentioned that 7" was the largest size.
I only have two fish. But I will be using a large holding sump. It would be silly to use small filter socks with this sump tank.
With the large grids on my external overflow boxes, any uneaten food will go straight into the sump.
I'm aware of that. Am considering doubling up on them. Want to make my own bags, but haven't found the appropriate material. Plan on using four or five in my sump. The main purpose will be to catch any debris passing through the overflow boxes. My main mechanical filtration will be from six Pentair Rainbow RTL-100s. There will be seven 1 1/2" uptakes in the tank which will hopefully, pick up the majority of the debris.
I was planning on using the sump as strictly a holding tank until I saw these large filter bags. In addition to using these 5 gallon filter bags, I'm now going to throw in 20 L of Pond Matrix for some redundant biological filtration. After thought filtration
I only mentioned these filter bags because someone mentioned that 7" was the largest size.
I only have two fish. But I will be using a large holding sump. It would be silly to use small filter socks with this sump tank.
With the large grids on my external overflow boxes, any uneaten food will go straight into the sump.
I'm aware of that. Am considering doubling up on them. Want to make my own bags, but haven't found the appropriate material. Plan on using four or five in my sump. The main purpose will be to catch any debris passing through the overflow boxes. My main mechanical filtration will be from six Pentair Rainbow RTL-100s. There will be seven 1 1/2" uptakes in the tank which will hopefully, pick up the majority of the debris.
I was planning on using the sump as strictly a holding tank until I saw these large filter bags. In addition to using these 5 gallon filter bags, I'm now going to throw in 20 L of Pond Matrix for some redundant biological filtration. After thought filtration
I would use 7x32 polypropylene socks - they have close to if not the same surface area as the 5G paint strainer bags but are made of a much better material.
