Even without a filter sock this part of the sump is supper loud without a baffle. I run my sockless but I do run a little piece of foam there to diffuse the water to make it a lot quieter.
Need Some Drain & Sump Wisdom
- Thread starter ReyDeFarts
- Start date
MichaelB
Supporting Member
Got a Amazon link or recommendation on what type of filter floss?
derek_SR
Supporting Member
It’s all the same stuff - polyester fiber. You can probably pull it out of one of your kids stuffed animals.
MichaelB
Supporting Member
Cool I will give it another shot with this filter floss.I have the cup things but I pulled them out to try socks but the socks clog to quickly I'm noticing.
I've started with the filter pads in the cups but they are had to fit the size of the cups without using a lot (wasteful amount) of the pads.
Hopefully the floss works better in the sump cups.
I have seen those. I just hadn't ordered one yet.
I use filter floss in lots of my tanks. Normally after a WC and then I just yank it out after a couple days. I added a bunch last night and it's already made that area very quiet and cleaning up the sand cloud.
I get mine from the craft store when they have it on sale and when I have a good coupon. You can get a giant bag of it for super cheap. I use the Poly-Fil
Joanne’s hobby store sells in bulk, you can always find good coupons to stack with sales!
Yup! That's what I do too. I get the larger bag on sale and with coupons, I am out of the door for probably 50-60% off normal price.
Michael's and Hobby Lobby have poly-fil for pretty cheap a bag. A bag of it will last you quit a while
MichaelB
Supporting Member
Honestly I didn't know it was the same stuff, I've seen it around before but Iassumed it needed to be aquarium safe or something.
I posted a link above for you. But here it is again. It's on sale and you can use a coupon.
https://www.michaels.com/product/th...OE52qqvA7CIv6FOLpoH-vC9E6qViR_CBoC6hgQAvD_BwE
Here's the large box of it.
MichaelB
Supporting Member
Awesome ordered the box, I had a much smaller amount in Amazon cart for same price. Hopefully this box will last a while.
I didn't recognize that was a link thanks for reposting
How do you all feel about the plastic bio-balls? You like them? Dislike them?
Disclaimer, I added some underneath where the filter sock would go and it helped quiet that section down a lot. My initial thought was to try and get the fluidized media action like K1 media chambers. But it doesn't get enough movement to create that.
Also, how do folks here feel about pot scrubbers (e.g. scrub buddies from the dollar store) for added biological filtration surface area? Same concept except different material and much less expensive. I personally have used those to help seed new tanks. I added a couple scrubbers from my fluval into this sump for example.
I understand adding bio-balls or pot scrubbers can become an issue for some with a heavy bioload where it can become a detritus trap. Or as some call them, a nitrate factory. So I am curious to hear what you all think about these.
Is too much bacterial filtration a bad thing?!
Disclaimer, I added some underneath where the filter sock would go and it helped quiet that section down a lot. My initial thought was to try and get the fluidized media action like K1 media chambers. But it doesn't get enough movement to create that.
Also, how do folks here feel about pot scrubbers (e.g. scrub buddies from the dollar store) for added biological filtration surface area? Same concept except different material and much less expensive. I personally have used those to help seed new tanks. I added a couple scrubbers from my fluval into this sump for example.
I understand adding bio-balls or pot scrubbers can become an issue for some with a heavy bioload where it can become a detritus trap. Or as some call them, a nitrate factory. So I am curious to hear what you all think about these.
Is too much bacterial filtration a bad thing?!
derek_SR
Supporting Member
Remember that bacteria breathe, and too much bacteria can put downward pressure on PH. Probably not a huge issue in most cases but some well respected reefers have spoken about this.
Many (most?) very successful tanks don’t use any kind of additional “media” for bacterial growth so I think it’s nonsense…personally.
One cup of sand or one decent chunk of live rock is almost certainly more surface area than a bunch of plastic balls anyway right?
I didn't consider that at all. Thanks for that!
Fair enough. I've seen some tanks (not here) with fluidized media reactors. I'm not sold on the idea. I was mainly curious if it would be a good idea to even have it in there.
I suppose you're right. I appreciate the insights.
RandyC
Supporting Member
Sand is enough. I wouldn’t agree one live rock is always enough. It would really depend on the type. Sure, if it’s Pukani, Fiji or Tonga, yeah, a nice chunk would likely be sufficient, but some of the Marco rock is pretty dense and the man made stuff is awful from what I understand. Extra surface area won’t harm anything, only bacteria that will grow (usually) is what can be supported by the ecosystem so adding blocks isn’t a bad thing.
I have bricks/blocks in my tank mainly for seeding new tank setups and when I need quick hospital tanks set up. And swapping with reefers when needed.
Plastic balls will help with surface area, but it’s not much as much compared to sand, good porous live rock or good media. Plastic balls just aren’t used much in saltwater world because we have better things (sand, rock). Plus those plastic balls get pretty dirty from what I understand and can restrict flow depending where you put them.
I did forget to mention that I have a Brightwell Aquatics BioBrick at my disposal that I wanted to use. My thought was to put this in the return pump area. Would that be a good spot for it? They sent me the large version that is good for up to 1000 gal! It does say it can be cut for smaller volumes.
I also have a decent amount of crushed coral pieces that I was tempted to use in media bags also, in an attempt to increase bacterial surface area. One to benefit the tank health itself and to also have media available for seeding other aquariums or to help out other reefers. My first tank was turbo started by another reefer and some mature biomedia! I'd like to have plenty available so I can pass on that blessing.
MichaelB
Supporting Member
The crushed coral in bags would trap detritus i think. More so the bags themselves. If it was just the crushed coral prehaps you could blow them with power head to clean, bags would have to actually be removed for cleaning.
Not expert advice just my thoughts on the bags. They could work if you clean them at internvals if not they would do more harm than good.
PjFish
Supporting Member
Fyi not all poly-fil is the same most are treated chemically with fire retardant the same with some of the rolls of floss hobby stores sell..
The original Fairfield Poly-fil does not contain any chemical fire retardant. So double check if your using other brands!
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MichaelB
Supporting Member
Ordered this so should be good?
Thanks for the heads up. I will be mindful of the type I get.