sump water level question

[cgoodman381]

it may seem like a dumb question, but I'm really not sure.... What should the water level in my sump be? its a pretty standard wet/dry w/bioballs. Should the water level be pretty much even with the bottom of the bio balls? Im just freaking that im doing something wrong... :mrgreen:

Oh and biff,fatman,yote,fishfan,daugherty and probably even hibye.....I WILL eventually get rid of the bio balls :grumble: Im just focused on getting it set up right. Plus im not even able to run it right now because of a small leak. (need to tighten up something, but need GF home to help do it

 

[cthegame]

Can you show a picture of your sump? Or describe the setup in more detail.

Thanks.

 

[cgoodman381]

drip tray and bioballs on the right, to the left is just open space.

 

[runningrandy04]

Ok...well the key is to have as much water in the system as possible without your sump overflowing when the pump stops. In order to do that, fill up your display tank till the point it starts to overflow into the sump (assuming you have internal overflows, for external overflows get it flowing and at the point it stops flowing is the level you want it. ) Now for the sump, fill it up as much at you can. Then turn the pump on! If the water level drops too low for the pump to run, you don't have a big enough sump. Other option if this happens is to add more water while the pump is running and run the risk of it overflowing if the pump turns off, not a good idea though. If you have a skimmer in the sump, you will want to remove water until the water level is equal to or lower than the desired water level in the skimmer. (do this while the pump is running) Hope this helps!! Sorry about the length.

 

[cgoodman381]

Sorry about the length.

Don't be sorry at all, I prefer long informative posts, I tend to make post a little long myself sometimes.

I do have duel built in overflows, it's a 150g with a 40g sump.I was able to stop the pump and everything worked fine. The problem I was seeing was there was a fair amount of water not flowing through the bio balls. Problem?

 

[runningrandy04]

like theres too much flow and its spilling away from the bio-balls?

 

[cgoodman381]

like theres too much flow and its spilling away from the bio-balls?

Pretty much.
I think the main problem may be that I need to replace the filter pad, as it may not be letting enouph water flow through it and instead of flowing down into the balls part of the water is flowing through the balls and the other part flowing to the side.

 

[runningrandy04]

Get rid of the pad and get a filter sock. Water can't flow around that sucker. Plus, you would have less filter pad to cause nitrates. As for the water flowing past the bio-balls, I wouldn't be worried. You're actually getting a move even distribution of water over the bio-balls, which is good.

 

[fatman]

Bio balls for maximum efficiency should be entirely out the sumps water. If the bioballs are under water the nitrifying ability is geatly reduced as the bacteria responsible for nitrification get much less oxygen when under water tahn when in free air. Typically there is around eight inches of space under the bio balls in a commercial trickle filter. This allow for plenty of water (8 inchs) for the return pump and still allows for lots of space for water system pipe and oveflow drainage in to sump when the power goes out. To increase the level of the water is to decrease the filtration. I have made altered and home made trickle filters where a bottonless box is built out of glass or acrylic with, a ledge to hold the grid supporting the bio balls, that sits in the tank on legs that raise the box up so that that all of the bio balls are above the water and so that the water level can be raised in the sump. The perforated plate if leveled up in the top of the bio ball area will evenly distribute the water without the use of filter pads. A plate is simple and easy to clean and does not need frequent replacement like a filter pad. I have also seen plastic containers such as a square or rectangular dish pans used to hold bio balls on top of a standard tank. Use a bulkhead or pipe fittings to get the water out through a single drain to the tank beneath. It does usually require that you make your own drip plate. Good luck.

 

[cgoodman381]

Thanks for the geat info fatman. Eventually (the next couple weeks or so.) I would like to change it to something like:

only problem is I have more open space and not chambers such as the pic. Should I add them and make something like that or would I be ok throwing the rock in the larger open space.

 

[daugherty]

i would just use the space that you have. and put sand in the bottom

 

[fatman]

Eventually (the next couple weeks or so.) I would like to change it to something like:
only problem is I have more open space and not chambers such as the pic. Should I add them and make something like that or would I be ok throwing the rock in the larger open space.

:bounce:I would not worry about adding more partitions but I would not use a prefilter sponge like shown in the picture. Actually I would not use any prefilter at all. Just the the sump, skimmer and the rock would work well, but it would work even better with a deep sand bed. Keep the levels of the rock low enough that they are completely submerged. You are aware that the rock will work no better in the sump than in the tank? It will however make more display tank space available for swimming fish.:^: