Settling Tank

Just another thought... almost completely off topic, but I know a number of folks who just use a shop vac for sump cleaning. They suck out 10 gallons or so to get all the wastes when they do water changes. Not near as elegant as a settling tank, but easily as effective. Just something to think about.
 
I've been using an MJ 1200 and hose to siphon but with my sump encompassing 3 different tanks (2 20L and a 40L) and the 40 L being difficult to get at, I was just thinking of trying something different. Also, the 40L has a lot of LR in it, which causes more problems.

That tends to be my downfall in life….thinking. :D

Thanks for the suggestion though crvz.

Everything really works fine now, I just can’t leave well enough alone. :D
 
This will give you an idea of the cramped quarters I'm dealing with. Old pic and changes have been made but you should get the idea.

179058Fish_Room_2.JPG
 
what about using one of those brute "horse trough" style tanks. You could pump water in near the bottom on one side (not too close so that it stirs up the bottom...) - and then for the output, just use a vertical stand pipe. This way, the particulate would ahve to travel up (against gravity) and the trough would be be enough that the velocity should be quite low. Not sure if you have room there or not.
 
Alas Pbrown, room is not something I have in great abundance. I’m pretty pleased that I could fit 3 20L’s, a 40 L and 2 24 gal Rubbermaid’s under the stairs and still have room to walk. I don’t think that a horse trough is in the picture. I was thinking of a complete redo of the setup but am not sure that I want to mess with it right now.
 
you could replace your entire sump with one of those guys though...

Anyway, if that doesn't work, you could put in a huge 50ft circular tank in the back yard with a stirring bar (like you see at sewage treatment facilities). :)
 
Ok, I’ve converted my frag tank to a temporary experimental settling tank to see how the 20 L dimensions work with my systems flow in allowing debris to settle. Basically, I diverted my entire DT overflow to the frag and then the flow splits from there to the fuge and skimmer section.

I’m still fiddling with the ball vales to get the flow right for this new configuration but it appears the 20 L may allow for some settling. I will monitor this setup and see if there is enough settling to warrant further experimentation.

Wow, that almost sounded like I knew what I was doing.
 
Ok, what are the thoughts on egg crate horizontal to the bottom of the tanks raised 1 inch off the bottom of the tank? Would this help slow the flow on the bottom at least? If so, what about a second piece of egg crate midway up in the tank?
 
The 20L will definately collect "some" debris. The interesting question will be to see if it collects enough to warrent taking the space in your system.

I think the egg is unnecessary. The egg crate will act sort of like a solid wall as far as the flow goes. This will again make the cross sectional area for flow smaller and thus, will increase velocity - opposite of what you're trying to do.

One thing you may consider is to have the output of the tank as an overflow type. THis will give you a little extra help (having the output at the very top). ALso, for this type of tank to work properly, it needs to be very slow flow - this lends itself to cyano and other nasties. So i would try to "shade" this tank as much as possible. ALso, the low flow will cause lower O2 saturation. So i would be sure that all the water runs through a skimmer before heading back to the main tank.
 
I dont know if its been mentioned but alot of Pond guys use Vortec style (SP?) filters.
Think of a cone sitting on a box. Water enters where the box and cone meet. Dirty, heavier stuff goes around and around till it falls to the bottom of the cone to be cleaned out. Clean water is taken from the very top of the box.

If thats already been mentioned, then I am sorry.
 
Good point Swing, I was thinking about that last night as I was working on upgrading the pipe in the dust collection of my wood shop from 4” to 6”. My plan is to upgrade my dust collector to a cyclone system, similar to what you are suggesting, and it got me thinking on whether it would work for the settling tank.

Would the cyclone effect just keep the debris suspended?

That’s what I was afraid of Pbrown, I thought it might create a lower flow area under the egg crate allowing the debris to settle but evidently not. As far as output, while I was sitting there a midnight staring at my sump and the 20L (yeah, I’m a big goob) I thought that the output from the settling tank would have to be a surfacing skimming mechanism.

I’m starting to think this might not be the best of ideas.
 
What about just putting a small power head in your sump to keep anything from settling? Ideally, you would want to remove the waste from the system, but the next best thing would be to keep it suspended.
 
Filter socks worked great for me. They do remove some beneficial things, but not a significant amount in my experience. This biggest issue for most is the added maintenance. I had 5 socks that i rotated. I would change them every 2-3 days. I would throw the dirty ones in a bucket and when I had none left, I would run them through the washing machine.
 
The added maintenance is what got me thinking of the settling tank. It doesn't look like the 20 L is catching too much debris which led to my question on the filter sock.
 
I have been thinking of using a Brute can and having the water enter about half way down. The outlet would have a 90 on it to swirl the water. I would then take the water from the center of the Brute as high as possible to return back to the sump.

This should make the water swirl sending the detritus toward the outside of the can were it can swirl along until it gets to the bottom. The water in the center should be clean.

Need an illustration?
 
Sounds like a cyclone dust collector. I've thought about this as well but am not sure how well it would work with water and not air.

cyclonediag.gif
 
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