Tank plumbing

[slicksta]

I totally agree... But the point was that bio_balls will last forever, cost even less and never clog :-D

I'd also add... With an all foam setup especially in the vertical, unless properly fit and maintained you can easily end up with bypass and/or dead spots.

[JamesW]

Sumps get pretty opinionated, but here's my favorite layout: http://swisstropicals.com/Web%20pict...p%20filter.pdf

Sheets of foam with gradually decreasing porosity (you don't need eight). This system is pretty low maintenance, as it relies on communities of microorganisms to process waste. Better than constantly swapping filter socks or polyester batting imo.

Second this. On a 90 gallon with 9 discus planted with 3 b/N plecos and a school of cardinals I have 3 x 3" pieces of foam, a 10 ppi, 20 ppi and 30 ppi with the foam from swisstropicals. Not sure who the supplier is in Oz but I'm sure you can find one. I've cleaned the foam pads exactly 1 time in almost 2 years of running there is no measurable drop in water height from one side of the foam to the other. Also no evidence of foam breakdown, Poret foam is remarkable stuff. It sheds mulm and I vacuum that out at each water change.

[slicksta]

That's great, actually better than I expected foam to perform.
But I've cleaned my bio_balls exactly 0 times in 12 years with no change in flow and a much higher bio_load.
And I believe Jason had some budget concerns.


I apologize..For full disclosure let me add that I do have a 12 x 15" floss pad that I replace annually on the sump that is the first piece of media and a 8 x 4 floss pad pre-filter at the top of my Overflow that I replace twice a month.