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re:BACTERIAL FILTER

>From: Allen Sandifer <ibi007 at lion_connect.more.net>
>
>How are you getting the water to the sump? I use a DYI trickle filter and
>have thought about removing the bio media, but when I removed the bio tower
>the water rushed into the sump with such force that I was sure that it would
>deplete the CO2 which I am adding. Also what are you using to divide the
>sump into "dead water pockets"? I have 2 sections in mine which is divided
>my an open cell sponge held inplace with 2 pieces of egg crate. I have
>sponge filters in the prefilter to keep the leafs and such from getting into
>the tower.
>
>I woud be interested in more detials on your design.

I don't have any egg-crate laying around, so I just placed a few smooth
silicate stones down to help reduce the current along the bottom of the
settling tank.  I used a modification of my tank drain designs to handle part
of the air-mix and noise problems.  I also have my drain tubes extending
underwater in the settling tank, nearly to the bottom to help discourage air
transport.  I may work with this some more, by drilling a hole in the tube just
above water level or something along these lines.  

To account for potential problems with water level and overflowing my tank
should an apple snail decide to get stuck in my drain, I placed a divider box
in the sump tank for the pump.  If the water level in the sump tank gets too
low, it stops overflowing the divider's edge, and the pump begins to suck air.
I have two siphons, so the pump won't run completely dry under most
circumstances.  In my 20g, I also use a cheap pump since my sump is at nearly
the same level as the tank.  If it does run dry and ruin the pump, I'm only out
the money for a new Maxi-Jet powerhead instead of an Iwaki, Eheim, or other
expensive pump.  I use a carved-up AquaClear sponge along the top of the box to
reduce the amount of debris that makes it to the pump.  This component needs
some more work, because I occasionally have to catch fish out of the pump box.

I scanned photos that I took of my designs when I was setting them up and
testing them last month and am trying to find time to write captions for them
so I can put them up on the web.  I've been working on this design for a while
and it has a number of different components, some of which are specifically
designed for plant tanks.  I'm currently setting up my 55g again and will take
pictures of it and my finished 20g setup soon also.

David W. Webb
Enterprise Computing Provisioning
Texas Instruments Inc. Dallas, TX USA
(214) 575-3443 (voice)  MSGID:       DAWB
(214) 575-4853 (fax)    Internet:    dwebb at ti_com
(214) 581-2380 (pager)  Text Pager:  pgr at ti_com Subj:PAGE:David Webb