# Setting up new 120 gallon... sump design?



## Pdxmonkeyboy (Oct 17, 2016)

Hello gang, this is my first post on this forum so hopefully I don't completely embarrass myself 

Anyways, I am setting up my first Malawi cichlid tank. I have had aquariums in the past and a recent trip to a local aquarium shop rekindled my interest. I got a 120g arcylic tank from a friend (and spent like 4 hours removing scratches), built a stand for it and now I am on to filtration.

I purchased a fx6 and a 29g tank for a sump. I am thinking of doing fluidized media in the sump or a combination of a trickle filter that empties into the fluidized sump. My question is... if I can quiet down the air pump, will the fluidized media be loud? I have excellent hearing and don't like constant humming. I was going to build a sound enclosure for my air pump.

Any advice? I liked the idea of fluidized media because of less maintenance.

One more question.. I was going to build an overflow. Is there any downside to building an overflow that spans the whole height of the tank.. as opposed to just a small overflow up top. I want to kerp the back of the tank as clean as possible and like the idea of running the plumbing straight through the stand.

Thanks!!


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## Pdxmonkeyboy (Oct 17, 2016)

Wow. Don't chime in all at once.


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## nodima (Oct 3, 2002)

Not really sure what you are planning from your description, but I'll try...

With an FX6 alone you have almost enough filtration. I've never bothered with fluidized bed filtration, as it seems like there is more to go wrong than it is worth - sort of the opposite of your low maintenance goal. Instead, do some searches for Poret Foam. The sump does give you a lot of options for media, I tend towards using the space for mechanical and biological filtration. In your case, you might set up the FX6 with more mechanical filtration due to high flow rate, and think about using the sump for additional biological filtration. As such, you can get away with a lower flow rate which typically makes less noise.

As for building a top to bottom overflow - you will still need some way to ensure that all the tank water does not siphon out of the tank. The other downside is the loss of tank footprint. With creative positioning of the intake and outlet of the FX6, the bottom of your tank should stay pristine, reducing the need for a tall overflow. Think about a spraybar across the top of the back of the tank aimed directly at the front. This will create a circular flow and should push detritus around well.

Where/how does an air pump come into play?


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## Opulent (Jan 20, 2012)

Having gone through the process of designing and setting up a sump for my tank, I can offer my experiences.



> I am thinking of doing fluidized media in the sump or a combination of a trickle filter that empties into the fluidized sump. My question is... if I can quiet down the air pump, will the fluidized media be loud? I have excellent hearing and don't like constant humming. I was going to build a sound enclosure for my air pump.
> 
> Any advice? I liked the idea of fluidized media because of less maintenance.


Depends on what you intend to use for your fluidised media. I designed my sump to hold quite a large amount of K1 media, and I had to re-jig the whole setup within the chamber to get the media to move around nicely. Once the bacteria had started colonising the K1, it had a nice fluidised motion to it, but the noise drove me insane. I, Like you, prefer a quite setup and in the end, I got rid of the K1 because of the 'click clack' noise coming from the K1 knocking into each other and the glass walls of my sump chamber.

If you use a different medium to fluidise, like sand, then you may well find that you can get that silent. I've seen some videos of fluidised sand beds, where the main inlet pipe from the overflow leads down into a bed of sand. The water flow from the inlet pipe stirs up the sand causing it to move in a fluidised motion. Just a thought, and something you might consider looking into...



> One more question.. I was going to build an overflow. Is there any downside to building an overflow that spans the whole height of the tank.. as opposed to just a small overflow up top. I want to kerp the back of the tank as clean as possible and like the idea of running the plumbing straight through the stand.


No downsides that I can see - in fact, my tank (a marine tank by design) has a weir built in to one of the corners, and this works very well. You will, of course, need the bottom of the tank drilled, but this is a fairly standard method of having an overflow. I prefer the though of the weir, and the water overflowing into it, being on the inside of the tank. An overflow box on the outside feels like trouble!

If you look at my setup viewtopic.php?f=4&t=349058 you might get some ideas for your sump and setup. In the first picture, you can see the internal weir which is in the back left corner. There are some other pictures further down showing the pipework and the original K1 chamber I had set up.


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## Pdxmonkeyboy (Oct 17, 2016)

Thanks for the suggestions!! I planned on using the k1..well, I already ordered it so we will see how loud it gets. I made my stand from 3/4" ply so it will quit3 down the noise a bit. I also built a full lid for my sump. Ahhh, the joys of living 10 minutes from Tap Plastics

Thinking of the tank real estate I made a small weir along the top. It's a foot long, and of course I'm going to have to make the notches bigger after doing some weir flow calculations.. I am going to be pushing about 450 gph through the sump.

Other than that, pretty excited. Spent the weekend building the coolest 3d background EVER. Lol.


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## CeeJay (Aug 16, 2016)

I don't like or think fluidized bed filtration are need. Like some one else wrote there way more complicated then there worth. Just me pot scrubbers, bio-balls or bio-bale are just a lot easier and wouldn't have the die off a fluidized bed when the power went off. There also much simpler to build. I have heard of the sand blowing to the tank and just making a huge mess. I also wonder if you have a pump on the out put side of the fluidized bed if some how it could get in your pump.

On your over flow I don't think you need a coast to coast weir. I have some were around 900 gallon running thru a very small weir. With a 1" pipe running to my sump. If it to much water for your over flow you will no it pretty fast. Having a vale on your return pump will easy your start up and give you some adjustment.


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## Pdxmonkeyboy (Oct 17, 2016)

Thanks for the tips. I completed the weir and got everything uo and running. The sump amd overflow took a little fiddling but it works like a charm. I did go fluidized k1 as there is no way for it to get in the tank and ALL bacteria will die off in a long power outage. Scrubbers, canisters, sumps... no water flow eventual death. To be honest, the k1 is absokutely fascinating to watch. I even dyed one piece red so i can watch it make its way around the sump.


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## CeeJay (Aug 16, 2016)

I did a little more research on your K1 fluidized bed filtration. I have change my mine and think it a good way to go. My only problem is that there is another moving part that could go down. Other then that it looks like very efficient way to grow bacteria. To be honest I may go that way on my next tank. Thanks for opening my eyes. This forum is such good way to share ideas.


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