2ft Aquarium Sump

Disclaimer: This project was done due to blogger's boredom. At the time of this post, a month has passed. Blogger will not be held responsible should readers attempt to follow what he has done which includes broken glasses, cut fingers due to glass, wrong size glass panel purchased, wet floor, sticky silicone on fingers etc. At any point, blogger is not trying to show off, show he's the expert of this project or in this field. Blogger mere attempt is to share his project and have readers throw in ideas and feedbacks on the project.

 

I was feeling bored and wanted to play around with a sump. I went to Y618 and the sump they had cost a bomb! I was surprised it cost so much. I went to research it online, reading and watching videos on diy sumps and freshwater sumps.

 

I had three options which I can pursue.

 

1) Send my dimensions for a 2.5ft acrylic tank to Dama (a huge company that does acrylic of all kinds)

 

2) Send my dimensions for a 2.5ft glass tank to a glass manufacturer in Defu.

 

3) Use the spare 2ft tank I already have and just buy the glass panels and fix it myself.

 

I chose number 3.

 

Plan

A 2ft tank with a) trickle chamber b) refugium chamber and c) return chamber.

 

There is a chance I might remove the refugium chamber in future and add a glass panel and turn it into a media chamber where I can place media, corals, peat or carbon. Let me know what you think.

 

This sump will not be attached to any main tank. It will just circulate within.

 

Tank

I have a used 2ft glass tank that I once used for my planted scape. It had serve me well and was in process of doing a hamster diy mansion of sorts. It was for my fiance but she decline as she didn't want it to be glass. So the 2ft was up for the dustbin. Luckily enough due to my boredom, I found another purpose for it.

 

Glass Panels

I bought my glass panels (5mm thick) from Kwong Fatt Glass Merchants Pte Ltd located @ Blk 10 Defu Lane 10. Provide them a drawing and measurements and whether you want it polish or not. As I was anxious I didn't have it polish. (Handle with care)

 

For those who wish to have this done, I recommend that the glass to be at least 8 to 10mm thick. The latter will be ideal.

 

 

 

Silicone

Make sure that the silicone is safe for your aquarium. Selleys had a lot. Wet areas etc. But all that I checked states "Not for Aquarium Use" I had fear of this as I once had disaster with such unsafe for aquarium use silicone. Even when I waited 2 days for it to settle.

 

I found this silicone call DAP Aquarium. Cost about SGD$14. Yes it's a bit expensive but I wasn't gonna take any chance.

 

PVC Pipes & Joints

Using 16mm PVC for return and back to trickle.

 

Process

Chamber 1 - Trickle Chamber (kinda)

This chamber is roughly 36cm (H) 15cm (L) x 30cm (W)

Using pieces of glass which will hold an egg crate, I silicone them in.

The top portion will hold my filter wool. 2nd portion holds my bioballs which will have some above water and the rest submerged. 3rd are my Mr. Aqua media. The bottom is just a course filter pad.

 

Chamber 2 - Refugium

I know reef keepers uses this area to cultivate micro organism to feed their main tank and I was wondering what purpose it then have for freshwater. My research shows that folks place plants that absorbs nitrate such as duckweed etc. I'm still observing whether it will be better to convert it into a media chamber by adding another glass panel to have the water flow through the media.

 

Anyway, I added sand and plants for this area. And since then have added a couple of fish.

 

Chamber 3 - Return

I have an unused submersible pump from Dymax. Using it for this project.

 

After, I silicone the glass panels and waited for 24 hours (48hours ideal), I placed the pump, fix pvc pipe to it and it goes back to the trickle chamber. The pvc end I actually place a T Joint with a short pipe at each end with an end cap. I then drilled holes so it kinda rain onto the filter wool. Yes, I'm bad at describing things so the pic will tell you what I mean.

 

I flooded the sump. And watched. Success! I added the medias, filter wools and pad, carbon, sand, plants etc. One month later, I added a couple of fish from my other tank. Oh the water is used water from my other tank.

 

As you can see the filter wool has turn black. Exactly what you want. Bacteria being cultivated blah blah blah. Fish are doing okay and flaring their fins around. My lights are switched on 7hrs a day. Plants looking green and I will be doing a water test later on.

 

I'm pretty happy that it turn out great. Future, I might be doing plumbing to my 10 gex tank to this sump. What do you think if I turn my individual tank and placed aquasoil and some easy plants? Beats having an empty looking tanks right? Will think about that.

 

Using wood and clamps to hold the panels in place.

Carefully putting the silicone and filling gaps in between.

Yup, I suck at this. Real messy eh? Using my fingers didn't help.

The trickle chamber

2hours after putting the silicone

Picture taken about 56hours later.

 

<<Final Pictures Pending>>

 

Anyway, if you have any comments or feedback, do drop me a few. Would love to hear what you think.

 

Cheers!

 

 

Fluval C3 Hang On Power Filter

Disclaimer: Please note that you should do your own research before committing to any piece of equipment for your aquarium. The review is based on my own preference and maybe bias to other equivalent equipments in the market.

 

Introduction

Late last year, I stumbled upon the C4 Hang On Filter (HOF) online. I had already purchase an Eheim Pro 3 cannister but just wanted something to try out. Below are a couple of reviews that I stumbled upon on YouTube.

 

Fluval C4 HOF Review 1

Fluval C4 HOF Review 2

 

As my current C4 is being used right now; I'll show the C3 instead; the smaller version of the C4. Fluval HOF C Series comes in three sizes, C2, C3 and the mother of all HOF, the C4. I can't find a C1 on the shelf; not pretty sure if they are being sold. I don't think it is on the market either.

 

Anyway, if you compare the other HOF in the market like Gex and Eheim Liberty, Fluval C series is unique. It's the only HOF in the market that comes with a trickle chamber.

 

The C3 is recommended for tanks between 75L up to 190L and filters about 580L/Hr.

 

Equipment

When you purchase the HOF, it comes in a square box and is sealed with a plastic. Ensure that it is.

These are the items if I remember correctly is what you get.

1. Filter Cover
2. Filter Case
3. Leveling Device
4. C-Nodes
5. “U” Tube
6. Telescopic Intake Tube
7. Bio-Screen
8. Mechanical Frame
9. Chemical Basket
10. Impeller Cover Assembly
11. Impeller
12. Biological Trickle Chamber with Cover
13. Poly/Foam Pad
14. Activated Carbon
15. Motor Unit with Seal Ring

 

5 Stage Filtration

The first thing you'll notice with this HOF is it's sleek design. Its one of the main factors I chose it to be honest. The HOF provides a 5 stage filtration system.

2 Mechanical

1 Chemical

2 Biological

 

The first and second stages which is Mechanical is the Poly Foam pad. The pad has two sides, one is finer than the other. Though it is not necessary to have it change to the same poly foam provided by Fluval, it is recommeded. It's less than $10 for 3 pieces. Beats having to cut the size of the pad in order for you to fit it in. The slot which houses the pad is easy to remove as it slides out easily for cleaning or changing. There is a clever device on the sides that pops up which tells you its time for cleaning/changing.

 

3rd stage is Chemical. In this slot is where you have your activated carbon. I didn't put it in though and instead replace it with Biohome media. This slot is great as you can customise and put whatever media you want. I don't use carbon or charcoal on any of my filter. Only use it when I want to remove medication from the tank. It is also use for my hospital tank. So you can put that away and place your own media.

 

4th stage is the Bio Screen. This is where your Beneficial Bacteria (BB) will colonise. If you bought this filter new, just use it. Once its too dirty, throw away. It's not necessary or a must have item to replace. The filter works fine without it.

 

5th stage, below the Bio Screen is the trickle chamber. The Bio Screen which not only acts as a place for your BB, it also blocks debris from entering the trickle chamber. The trickle chamber is where you place your C-Nodes. You can of course use your own media. But the C Nodes works just as fine. Don't overfill the chamber. As this will result in the cover to bend. Water will not distribute evenly.

 

You can adjust the hof a little to control its flow. Other than that, I ensure the water level in the tank is just slightly above the lip (where the water comes out) The reason why I do this is that if you have space between the lip to the water level, the water drops and this causes the bottom to stir and you don't want that to happen. It happens to me as I chose the filter which is larger. Say I can use a C2 but instead I go for a C3. It's stronger of course. But the surface agitation is fantastic and I love it. More gas exchange; more oxygen goes in. For planted, you might just need to increase the bps a little. Perhaps by an additional 1 just in case but adjust accordingly to suit YOUR needs. You don't want to kill your fish.

 

Pros: Unique, sleek, easy to clean, silent, customisable and its the only HOF in the market with a trickle chamber.

Cons: Expensive compared to other HOF on the market.

Conclusion: I love this filter a lot and I strongly recommend it. Fluval doesn't have a big market here in Singapore as compared to Eheim so you might run into problems down the years if you need to replace certain things. You can however get the poly pads and bio screen easily.

 

PS: My apologies as I might have missed out some details about this product, if so, please ask and I'll answer base on what I know and my own personal experience on the product.

 

Or you can go to this link which gives a more comprehensive detail of the product.

Amazon - Review of Fluval C Series

The box the equipment comes in.

Left Pic: Shows the side of the box showing the items in the filter.

Sleek and clean design.

Inside the box, you'll find this.

The first & second stage. The poly foam pad. When you put your filter on the tank,

the finer part of the pad should be facing you.

The chamber where you place your carbon or any other media you like.

The trickle chamber. Container to hold the media, the bio screen,

the cover with holes and the CNodes

I placed the water line above the "lip" This causes waves and more surface agitation.