WILD DISCUS SUMP QUESTIONS

[mattjm1121]

hello everyone,
i am planning a wild discus biotope between 125-150 gallons.

i intend on having a sump for filtration, but i dont really know where to go from there. i'm not too sure what size or what i should have inside of it (links to discus sump builds would be very helpful).

i would appreciate some input from experienced aquarists with something similar to what i have in mind.

i know it can be a little boring to answer questions from "discus newbies" as myself, but any advice would be appreciated (even suggesting another approach to filtration).

thanks in advance :D

[Chinaman]

I would get one that can use most of the space under the main tank.

check out this post

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?t=82553

cheers

[boxters]

i have a 600 litre wild tank at the moment. I run a 250 litre sump and an eheim profesional. The sump has wool and seachem matrix. the eheim has peat moss to keep my water soft.

[CajunAg]

I know SD member diablocanine has built a 30 gal sump for use on his 110 wilds tank. Here's the link to the SD thread (it's a sticky in the Planted/Show Tanks and Biotopes section):
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?t=49139

and here is the same thread on a different forum, but it goes further and documents his addition of canisters:

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/equipment/28332-110-gallon-discus-tank-sump-w.html

He has inspired me to do something very similar, it's a great read! Good luck :thumbsup:

[mattjm1121]

thanks a lot for the info guys. maybe i can put a HOB filter on the sump with some peat moss or something?

does sump size influence what kind of water change routine? what sort of routine would you guys reccomend?

and i was also thinking about having an auto top off system with RO water. any thoughts on that?

[CajunAg]

You could use a HOB with peat moss, but I am going to try building a compartment in the sump the water will have to flow through. Inside the compartment I'll make some sort of flow-through container, made of eggcrate or something, that contains filter floss. When the floss gets dirty, all I'll have to do is lift out the container and wash or replace the floss.

I know that for my setup I'd rather not have to take water from the main tank, I'd rather just take and add water to the sump. So, depending on the size of your sump, if you empty only that (assuming you are shutting off the input and output of the sump) you will only have some percentage of water that you are able to remove. The bigger the sump, the larger the overall volume, but also the larger the percentage you can change straight from the sump. For instance, say you have a 90gal tank w/ a 30 gal sump, for a total of 120gals. If you change just the sump water (and magically get every drop of it) you will have changed 25%. If you had the 90gal and a 50 gal sump, you can change up to 35%, and so on. I don't have any recommendations on frequency, I haven't established my tank or sump yet.

Check out the Reefkeeper Lite/Elite or the Neptune control systems, you can set float switches that work with the controllers to automatically add and drain water from your system based on the water level or timing programs. Someday I'll have a setup like that...