Ian's 400 Gallon Marriage Test
- Thread starter Anim8me2
- Start date
sfsuphysics
Active member
I love your fish choices, the colors they have seem to really pop in the tank.
Anim8me2
Member
It took us hours and we still missed a lot of stuff so be prepared. Still totally worth it.
Anim8me2
Member
That's a drip plate. The idea was to use filter media rather than socks to make it easier to maintain. The graduated hole size was to make sure the flow through the filter media was even. I am getting a lot of "Nopes" on that idea.
Here is an animated exploded view of the latest iteration.
<iframe src="//player.vimeo.com/video/74605550" width="500" height="375" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen></iframe> <p><a href="http://vimeo.com/74605550">Untitled</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/anim8me2">Ian Eisenberg</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>
Here is an animated exploded view of the latest iteration.
<iframe src="//player.vimeo.com/video/74605550" width="500" height="375" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen></iframe> <p><a href="http://vimeo.com/74605550">Untitled</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/anim8me2">Ian Eisenberg</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>
owenspackman
New member
Videos didn't work for me, but I'm on my phone?
Anim8me2
Member
For some reason the Vimeo videos aren't loading properly on mobile
dave.m
Active member
Nope. The filtered drip plate was used for several years on the old wet/dry sumps and they were a constant hassle for clogging and overflowing. That's why everyone went to socks; so much simpler and easy to change out.Anim8me2 said:
The animation worked fine for me but I'm on a desktop (and very uncomfortable it is, I might add).
Dave.M
Anim8me2
Member
Nope. The filtered drip plate was used for several years on the old wet/dry sumps and they were a constant hassle for clogging and overflowing. That's why everyone went to socks; so much simpler and easy to change out.
The animation worked fine for me but I'm on a desktop (and very uncomfortable it is, I might add).
Dave.M
Well, given your experience I will go back to socks. That was my original plan anyway.
Mr. Brooks
MASVC Member
Hey man, great tank build.
What a cool animation!
Regarding your sump design, I've built two sumps now, one of them had a similar drip plate standing up vertically kinda similar to yours. I think if you made the holes big enough and made them all the same size it'd be fine. I'm talking like 1/2" at minimum. Probably bigger.
Here's something to think about though. I eventually gave up on filter socks and filter media altogether and have had a lot of success growing SPS corals without them.
For me, they're too much hassle, if you forget to clean them they can become nutrient traps.
I prefer to let everything pass through (including Copepods) and let my skimmer tank care of it.
What a cool animation!
Regarding your sump design, I've built two sumps now, one of them had a similar drip plate standing up vertically kinda similar to yours. I think if you made the holes big enough and made them all the same size it'd be fine. I'm talking like 1/2" at minimum. Probably bigger.
Here's something to think about though. I eventually gave up on filter socks and filter media altogether and have had a lot of success growing SPS corals without them.
For me, they're too much hassle, if you forget to clean them they can become nutrient traps.
I prefer to let everything pass through (including Copepods) and let my skimmer tank care of it.
AquaticFins
Premium Member
I think your sump design will work out quite well.
Were I altering the sump in any way, it would probably be moving that last set of baffles back towards the rear of the sump to increase the water volume in the chamber the pump draws from.
I assume you'll be using an auto top-off system, but it's always nice to have a little more run-dry protection for the main pump while you're on vacation in my experience. It's hard to get a sense of scale to the design - that chamber may be large enough already that it's not a concern for you.
Between filter socks and a flat chunk of filter media, I personally prefer the flat piece of media, so long as there is an adequate way for the water to bypass the media if it becomes clogged. In my experience, few people clean their mechanical filtration media often enough, no matter what kind of media they use...the socks are simply easier to ignore when they need to be cleaned!
Personally, I take a middle-ground. I always include a mount for a mechanical filter in my sump designs, but only occasionally actually run any media in it.
Depending on your stocking plans, the oxygenation benefits of the drip-tray style mechanical filters may or may not be helpful as well. Most reef systems have adequate air exchange already between their overflow and protein skimmer, but if your plans include several large tangs or other open-water fish, that may be worth considering.
Hope that helps!
Were I altering the sump in any way, it would probably be moving that last set of baffles back towards the rear of the sump to increase the water volume in the chamber the pump draws from.
I assume you'll be using an auto top-off system, but it's always nice to have a little more run-dry protection for the main pump while you're on vacation in my experience. It's hard to get a sense of scale to the design - that chamber may be large enough already that it's not a concern for you.
Between filter socks and a flat chunk of filter media, I personally prefer the flat piece of media, so long as there is an adequate way for the water to bypass the media if it becomes clogged. In my experience, few people clean their mechanical filtration media often enough, no matter what kind of media they use...the socks are simply easier to ignore when they need to be cleaned!
Personally, I take a middle-ground. I always include a mount for a mechanical filter in my sump designs, but only occasionally actually run any media in it.
Depending on your stocking plans, the oxygenation benefits of the drip-tray style mechanical filters may or may not be helpful as well. Most reef systems have adequate air exchange already between their overflow and protein skimmer, but if your plans include several large tangs or other open-water fish, that may be worth considering.
Hope that helps!
Mr. Brooks
MASVC Member
+1 on this
I don't see any need for the baffles in the middle of that last long section. If you're worried about bubbles, I'm confident they will have floated to the top by the time the water reaches your pump. Better to have more water volume in the last chamber in case your auto top off fails.
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