challenge with a 2x canister vs a sump design for a new ~300gal nature aquarium

[aeneas]

Hi all,
I am planning to build a new ~300gal aquarium (~95" in length) which I would scape in an ADA-style planted nature aquarium; I'm am taking inspirations from Takashi Amano as well as some of the recent aquascapes, such as Josh Sim's Congo etc. Lots of roots and lots of cool plants - to create an eery atmosphere of the root systems in the upper amazon.

My key challenge right now is filtration. For such tank I need to go either 2x Fluval FX6 canisters or a sump. Canisters are simple and easy, sump would allow me more tinkering with water treatment and maintenance. Biggest challenge is what to do so that is aesthetically pleasing. With canisters I can get into the tank with some really nice glass lily pipes from ADA. With a sump I was not able to find anything that would be really pleasing to my eyes... I like the "bean animal" concept of a quiet overflow, but most of what i was able to find were really big overflow boxes on the inside of the aquarium, taking lots of space and not looking pretty and all the ready-made are, for some strange reason, made with black acrylic instead of transparent.

Is there maybe a thread / build or a link that would show some nice well designed overflow that is not only functional but also minimalistic and clean-looking (in an ADA sense... clean glass, minimal intrusion into the aquarium etc.)? I'd really appreciate some pointers... I've spent hours googling but I can't find anything that I like in terms of aesthetics...

...I made a couple of sketches of the possibilities... the aquarium is set against a wall (~95" in length) connecting dining area on the right and reception/living area on the left; I have a glass sliding door on the lefthand side which limits my hoses/piping at the back only to the rear part of the aquarium. behind the wall is a toilet and so I have drilled through the wall plumbing with fresh pretreated (softened, filtered and de-chlorinated) and heated water as well as a drain pipe going into sewage. Now with a sump design t seems I have two options for the overflow: (a) either make an external overflow box to the right side of the aquarium - small overflow box on the inside, drilled back wall and a bean animal box on the outside; or (b) install an overflow entirely on the inside of the aquarium and set it somewhere at the back to be covered by the roots and plants with the scape design. I've made two sketches of how that could look like. I worry that with option (b) I might need to make it black to cover the piping inside, which will make the whole thing uglier - and will likely need me to paint the entire back wall of the aquarium, which I would not like to do as it would make the entire aquascape even darker and gloomier...
Here are the sketches I'm thinking about:
overflow_position.jpeg
overflow_position2.jpeg
Any thoughts and recommendations of some really nice overflow designs that hide into the scape well and are as transparent / unnoticeable as possible?

Any general comments regarding sump vs 2x canister? I have two main objections: (a) minimalistic visual impact and (b) quietest possible operation with minimal noise in the room.

Any comments or advise would be greatly appreciated!

[pablos]

Sump is way easier to maintain than carnisters. If you have a choice go definitely with a sump. You might hide there heater, co2, whatever you like. 0359701D-9F8F-4A5F-A48A-05B12518E0D0.jpg
At the beginning I thought my intake placed in right corner is bulky, but now I don’t even se it.

[aeneas]

I've been looking at the ready-made overflows and it seems there are several decent options; Eshopss Eclipse L would probably be too small for a 1100L / 290 gal tank. Possibly the Synergy Reef Ghost 20" overflow would be best in size or the Modular Marine 3000gph one also looks very sleek. Any experience or thoughts on any of those?

[pastry]

My initial thoughts, canisters are not easy. This is coming from someone who has always used canisters and admitingly does not do maintenance every 2-4 weeks like I've read (more like every 3 months). I suck at maintaining it's the way I should because I have it underneath my cabinet and it's a pain in the butt to get out. I am actually in the process of making my own sump and I am a big believer and something more beneficial for play the arses like me.

So I've read your post a couple times but are you saying regardless of which one you go with they will not be visible? I also really want to see what you end up doing! Thanks for telling us! I love reading a bunch of examples since right now I'm about to begin my new plumbing initiative by hard plumbing tap to hidden aging barrel, barrel to tank, tank to sump (and return), and drain leading threw exterior rear wall of house to raised garden area (powered by a 2650 gph non-submersible/submersible option pump). I also love poret foam and plan to use the heck out of it in my sump... it's expensive but pays for itself over a short amount of time

[Shan_Evolved]

Sump is the way to go no question - IF its a possibility.

For overflows, use a shadow style overflow. I am using one in my future build. They take up the least amount of space in the tank while giving all the benefits of a full sump drain system.

asdasdasfSRADg.jpg

ghost9.jpg

[Shan_Evolved]

This is what it would look like in ur pictures

sof1.jpg

And you can move it to a corner too

[aeneas]

Thank you all for your inputs so far!
Sump it is! We'll do an overflow box with Bean animal piping; I will probably use either Exotic Marine Systems or Modular Marine for the overflow box.

Considering the 96" long aquarium - how should I handle the return pipes? What would you recommend to make the water flow well throughout the entire length?
Particularly if we consider that I am limited with any large external pipes and installations on the left side of the tank due the glass sliding door behind the tank...

[Shan_Evolved]

Cant go wrong with either of those choices. As far as the return pipes. I am inexperienced but I set mine up to be a Y loc line. One pushing into the corner and the other towards the center of the tank. For flow on a 300. hm. I honestly don't know but if I'd have to guess I I would go with 2400-3200 gph return pump

[pablos]

For my 190g I’m having 790g/h pump. In your case I would go with two 1k gph pumps

[Iminit]

I’m still stuck in the 80s . I’m using a wet/dry. AB9A555B-3415-4132-B5F5-13931C2502BE.jpgStill don’t understand a sump! Pablos I get yours. Yours looks to have a huge fluidized bed in the middle or some sort of media and sponges before it returns to the tank. So many sumps I see only have socks and some media with large open spaces with nothing in them. I don’t get it. Also I’m using this brand dc motor. BDCE3546-CA37-44CC-9EF6-A580BAB547D3.jpgComes in many sizes. Mine can move up to 1000gph. But it adjustable. I’ve got it set on 800. Being it’s a dc motor it starts slowly and builds up to full speed. So less likely to have a connection blow off from full power right away.

[pablos]

Few helpful link which I used for my design
https://expertaquarist.com/freshwater-sump-filter/
http://gmacreef.com/herbie-overflow-...method-basics/

Yes, Tom. First there are socks, than K1 rotation media, than two sponge mates. I put seachem purigen bags between two sponges. In return chamber I have co2 and UV.

https://aquariumscience.org/index.ph...-sump-filters/
https://aquariumscience.org/index.ph...luidized-beds/

[aeneas]

Thank you guys for the feedback / links for the sump. I have done much reading now regarding sump setups... Please help with some of the dilemmas below. Main aim: good performance and as silent as possible operation.

I am currently thinking of three possible designs - see the images below; one has 3 major chambers, one has 5 and one has 4 chambers with K1 media included. I also have no idea how to calculate the appropriate height of the baffles separating each chamber. Is there some recommended calculation?
Oh, and one comment about the "socks" - I would not like to use those... I've read that they need quite a bit of regular maintenance. I want to set up this tank so that it can be as automated and self-sustainable as possible. Socks would clog up too fast for that purpose.


Slide1.jpeg
Option 1:

- does the layout make sense?

- Any suggestion regarding the mechanical filtration in the 1st chamber?

- I noticed some people add glass strips on top of the baffle at an angle (see the small red coloured line on top of the baffle) which might make the water flow nicer and make less trickling sound. Does this make sense or is it unnecessary?

- how should I calculate the necessary height of the baffles?

- in 3rd chamber, are there any ideas of some additional coarse material I should use there - especially to prevent water trickling from the top of the baffle?


Slide2.jpeg
Option 2:

- this one has maybe even more "organized" flow... does it make sense? I think I like it even more than the 1st option

- any suggestion on the mechanical filtration in 1st chamber?

- chamber no. 2: should I continue with some more mechanical or should I add bio?

- same as Option 1: do these angularly placed glass strips (between chambers 2 and 3) make any sense in terms of quieting the trickling of the water flow?



Sump-design.jpg
Option 3:

- maybe best option??

- lots of people praise K1 media... I just do not want to add aeration pumps... this would make more noise and also lead to more loss of CO2. I could replace this with a couple of wavemakers instead? If yes, does this chamber make sense? What should be the height of the baffles? How should I calculate this so that I get correct flows?

- should I add some coarse filter to the chamber 4 before the pump, just to additionally protect the inflow there?



Any other recommendations highly appreciated!

I hope you will find the sketches useful and thank you for any inputs on this...

[pablos]

I did a lot of research as well before making my sump. After all I decide to have only one big chamber for K1 media. So basically I have your option 3 but with combined chamber 2&3 and only k1 there. I found k1 extremely effective. I don’t know for how long I should be running without water change to see some nitrate level.
In first chamber I have 3 socks. It takes maybe 5–6 day to cloge. I take them out and put into washing machines down replace with a fresh pair.
It takes 5 minutes.

BTW Aeration won’t drop your co2 level

[aeneas]

I did a lot of research as well before making my sump. After all I decide to have only one big chamber for K1 media. So basically I have your option 3 but with combined chamber 2&3 and only k1 there. I found k1 extremely effective. I don’t know for how long I should be running without water change to see some nitrate level.
In first chamber I have 3 socks. It takes maybe 5–6 day to cloge. I take them out and put into washing machines down replace with a fresh pair.
It takes 5 minutes.

BTW Aeration won’t drop your co2 level

Appreciate the feedback; however aeration for me is not an option - too loud. Also socks not an option: changing each week is no-go. I want maintenance-free for at least 1 month but preferably 2 months.

[AquaticNerd]

You can't really use K1 media without aeration - that's what makes it fluidized. It looses its efficiency if it's not fluidized. In this case, your best bet is going to then go with some biological media like the ceramic media made by MarinePure and others.

If you want to really help filter out particulate matter and keep maintenance to a minimum, you might want to consider a rollermat: https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/compa...-theiling.html