# Need help on building sump or using sponge filters.



## FirstStateCynos (Nov 25, 2012)

So I decided to set up a mini fish room in my basement. Going to build 2 racks which hold 10 30 gallon breeders. So was wondering if there is an air pump strong enough to power sponge filters in the tanks or should I build a sump. Thanks.


----------



## BillD (May 17, 2005)

One small air pump such as the Eco 1 commercial which sells for about $30 will power all the sponge filters for that many tanks and a few more. Personally, I am not a fan of central systems as I prefer to keep the tanks separate to prevent the spread of a problem from one tank to the next. if you go for something like the Hydrosponge, you might as well go for the biggest, for the couple of extra dollars. You could also go with Hamburg/mattenfilters in those tanks and reduce the amount of filter maintenance. Depends on how much you want to spend on the set up.


----------



## FirstStateCynos (Nov 25, 2012)

What is the hamburg/mattenfilters


----------



## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

Hamburg mattenfilters or HMF's are a 2" thick sponge that usually spans the short end of the tank and uses either air lifts supplied by an air pump or individual powerheads in each tank.

You can use the Search feature to look for some great examples on this forum or check out swisstropicals website for more information.

I use this style filter in my fish room and am very pleased with the results.


----------



## FirstStateCynos (Nov 25, 2012)

Thanks for the info. I checked out the site just seems like a lot of money to spend for each tank. I'm getting 20 30 br 10 15 gallons and 2 20L. So going to look into a good air pump and run sponge filters.


----------



## CrypticLifeStyle (Dec 14, 2009)

What are you going to keep in them? Is this a breeding project?


----------



## FirstStateCynos (Nov 25, 2012)

Eventually would like to start breeding. Any reason why you ask.


----------



## CrypticLifeStyle (Dec 14, 2009)

Just curious...


----------



## FirstStateCynos (Nov 25, 2012)

Ok. The only thing now is how to heat up all the tanks.


----------



## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

Your choices are individual heaters for each tank, heating the room to the preferred tank temperature or choosing species that don't require higher than ambient room temperature.

I know a few fish keepers that don't use individual tank heaters and keep their homes at 72°F and thus the fish room at the same temperature. They keep many species of fish including Malawi, Tanganyika and other non-cichlid species and their fish regularly spawn.

As far as the HMF filters, the initial costs are higher than the traditional sponge filters usually used in aquariums but the advantages with HMF's are that it is easier to catch fish since you don't have to remove the filters, they give a cleaner appearance in the tank and they offer much more surface area for colonization of good bacteria and they last a long time. The only downside I've had with HMF's is that maintenance of the foam is a bit of a pain because when they need to be removed from the tank, they are heavy with water and some of the debris is redeposited in the tank. I find it easiest to drain the tank so there is only a couple inches of water, remove the HMF to a large tray, clean it, replace it, and refill the tank with water. Some slight vacumning will remove any sediment that has escaped during the procedure.


----------



## BillD (May 17, 2005)

One of our club members, who has 30+ tanks using mattenfilters, and has done presentations on their use to numerous clubs, found a local manufacturer that would sell whole sheets, that were about 4' x 10' for around $180. They would custom cut if you bought a whole sheet.


----------



## FirstStateCynos (Nov 25, 2012)

The tanks are going to be in my basement which is unfinished. Gets cold but water temps this winter got around hi 50s low 60s with no heater. I'm hoping they can survive these temps for the winter months.

Bill pm sent


----------



## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

I don't think any tropical fish will do well in the low 60's so I suggest using individual heaters in the tanks or partition off the basement where the tanks will be and use an appropriately sized room heater.


----------



## FirstStateCynos (Nov 25, 2012)

How about heating the tanks from underneath with heat tape. Anybody ever do it like this.


----------



## jeffkro (Feb 13, 2014)

If you used a sump system you could just use heaters in the sump instead of a heater in each tank no? A large sump with a UV sterilizer for the return line seems like the most professional setup to me, but I could be wrong. It would also make water changes a lot easier since you could just do one water change at the sump.


----------



## FirstStateCynos (Nov 25, 2012)

That's what most likely I will have to do is build a sump. I am building a 2 level rack and want to have the sump next to the bottom row of the tanks. The only thing is I don't know how to build one lol, so my question is can the sump be level with my bottom row of tanks or do the tanks have to be above the sump in order for it to work. The 30br are all drilled in the bottom and the 15gals and 20L are top drilled.


----------



## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

The sump needs to be below the bottom row of tanks otherwise the tanks won't drain into the sump. It will also need to be large enough to accommodate the volume of water that needs to be drained from the combined aquariums without overflowing. It can also be tricky to get the right volume of water to different size tanks using one return pump in the sump. You also need to avoid clogging of the aquarium overflow strainer or drain by plant leaves or other items that could cause the return water to overflow the aquarium.

I've never used heat tape for heating aquariums so I can't advise on the efficiency of that method. I am assuming you are referring to the products that are normally used for heating reptile tanks. I don't know if they are an appropriate use for heating aquarium water.


----------



## FirstStateCynos (Nov 25, 2012)

I'm stuck don't know what to do. The rack is going to have 2 levels with 5 30br each, so if I build the sump it would have to be 3 level rack which is not what I want to do. I'm looking into those oil filled heaters to use to heat the basement instead of building a sump. It's an unfinished basement so want to do this the best cost effective way. Thanks


----------



## spotmonster (Nov 23, 2006)

Junito said:


> Thanks for the info. I checked out the site just seems like a lot of money to spend for each tank. I'm getting 20 30 br 10 15 gallons and 2 20L. So going to look into a good air pump and run sponge filters.


I'll throw in one other way to look at this. I used to have 1 rack that housed around 6- 10's 2- 5.5's and 4- 20 longs and they all had to be heated individually. I felt this was a waste of space, water and electricity. I revamped the entire rack so that it now holds 2- 40 breeders and 4- 30 breeders. I now have more gallons of water, less tanks to clean, and only need 6 heaters. The way to do this is to use dividers in the tanks. If you make them removable you can re-configure them on the fly as stock changes. I haven't got around to making my dividers yet, but one very easy way to do it is with foam. Or plastic with holes drilled in it.

What I'm getting at is less , larger tanks will reduce amount of heaters needed.

For sponge filters, I advise making your own. Like this.... 



.

Although this is an excellent video, it can be made much simpler and less costly. You need the sponge, pvc, airline and a lead sinker. No tiles, no extension tubes, and no air stones needed. I am making my own my using 1 AC110 sponge. One sponge cut in half will provide 2 sponge filters. Drill a hole in the sponge but not all the way through. Drill holes throughout the pvc like in the video. Drill one hold towards the bottom at an angle. Put a lead sinker in the bottom of the sponge. Insert the airline through the hole in the pvc that you drilled at an angle. Insert the pvc with airline into the hole in the sponge and you're good to go.

I read online you can wet the sponge, stick it in the freezer and then drill a perfect hole with a drill bit. I haven't tried it, but it sounds like a solid idea.


----------



## FirstStateCynos (Nov 25, 2012)

I've made sponge filters before just like in the video.

PM sent


----------

