need ideas for trickle filter

[slicksta]

Lance...
...the smaller one fits perfectly in the larger with no support under it.. It's lip rests on the lip of the larger one on three sides. I have a piece of PVC with a notch on each end which locks into the lip of the larger snugly and prevents the bioball container from moving. It also helps the larger one from speading to much when it fills with water durring a power failure..

[slicksta]

'nother pic.....

the X-10 module is the timer for the lights. It also lets me control the light by universal remote. I am happy with it's operation.
As a timer it works flawlessly....on the remote and a few macros that I have it included in, its operation is acceptable....over 95%....X-10 isn't a perfect yet....

Dottie........thank you.....


John

[daninthesand]

Regarding drip plates.

I used to have an external sump for my 80 gallon. Heck, that was about 12 years ago! In it I used a two stage drip plate. The top plate had "coarse" holes. I can't remember (sorry :-\)exactly but i think they were around 1/4 inch in size and spaced about 1" apart in a grid pattern around the entire plate. This top plate was actually a tray with about 1" high walls on it. The walls forced the water through the holes rather than spilling over the edges down the insides of the sump and missing the bioballs.

At one corner the wall was slightly lower, to allow for water to overflow directly into the sump (thereby bypassing the filter media) should the filter media ever get clogged.

The tray sat about 1/2" above a layer of coarse sponge filter, sort of like the sponges in the Aqua Clear filters I use today. This layer filtered out the larger particles.

This coarse filter media sat on top of a finer filter sponge. These two layers of filter media sat on top of a second stage drip tray. It was made exactly the same as the top one, EXCEPT, the holes were 1/8" in size and spaced in a ~ 1/2" grid pattern. The walls were higher to allow for the thickness of the filter material.

These two trays sat on top of the bio balls.

The idea is that the first tray distributes the water to certain extent and the finer second tray distributes it even further. It all worked rather well and I got very good distribution of the water flow onto the bioballs this way. The trays were easily accessible and lifted out for easy sponge cleaning. I had a LOT of room under this particular tank, so access was not a problem.

Like I said, this was a while back but hopefully you get the idea. And of course I do not have a picture to post because that filter is long gone. (I sold it because I stopped keeping fish when I moved overseas)

Feel free to ask for more detail. It just might jog my memory for some useful information. :

Daniel :P

[Lance_Krueger]

John (Slicksta)
Again, your explanations and photos excell my expectations. Good idea on the PVC pipe across the top. Thanks so much. Now I've just got to go out and find the pieces to make my own. One last question, do you have a lid on the overall larger rubbermaid (it looks like you have one on the smaller bio chamber, and how do you keep the sprinkler head in place above the drip plate?
Thanks Lance

Daninthesand,
Good idea. Thanks for your helpful info. I will probably incorporate several ideas I've seen on the internet, and make my own that will fit my needs best.
Lance

Hey Gary if you need any bio-balls, I have 20-30 gals of them in storage left over from my saltwater days. I'm sure we could work something out..............


Randy

[gary1218]

Thanks for the offer Randy, I'll keep it in mind. It will depend on how large a filter I end up with. I have probably enough to fill 35-40 gallons myself. I may need a few more if I make it as large as I hope to.

GARY

[slicksta]

Lance

Yes I do have a cover on the larger one...I cut the cover in half so that it fits over the open end right up to the PVC brace.
The spray-bar just sits on top of the plate. It's a about 1/4" smaller all around and slides in and out easy.....but snug enough to stay in place.

John