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Written by Leon Huang
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Tuesday, 26 July 2005 |
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Page 8 of 9
Sump filters
If you got the space for another smaller fish tank below your main
tank, a sump filter is the best filter you can get! But only if you
require that much filtration power of course. If you do not keep large
fishes or messy eaters, it'll probably be an overkill.
How it works
The “sump”, or the smaller tank below, is being fed water from the main
tank. The water then goes through a series of filtration media, and
finally a pump returns water back into the main tank.
Take note that water has to be fed from the surface of the main tank,
not below. Reason being if the pump that is returning water back to the
main tank is turned off or malfunctions, the water would continue to
flow down from the main tank, causing serious flooding of the tank area!
"One great advantage of a sump filter is its potential of increasing your tank's water volume."
Pros
One great advantage of a sump filter is its potential of increasing
your tank's water volume. By using a sump of the size as your main
tank, you are effectively increasing your tank's water volume two
times! And we all know the benefits of having larger water body. Less
fluctuation of water parameters, and lower concentration of impurities.
You can also setup a wet/dry filtration system at the place where water
enters the sump. By filling it with bioballs, you provided an excellent
place for beneficial bacteria to colonize, due to the oxygen-enriched
environment.
And for the equipment-obsessed, your heaters, fans, protein skimmers,
thermometers, monitoring probes, can all be placed in your sump and out
of the main tank. And you hide your sump in a cabinet and voila! Nice
and neat!
Finally, plants like water hyacinth can be placed in the sump for even more nitrate absorption!
Cons
Space is the greatest concern. Not everyone wants their filter to take
up such a big space! And setting it up is rather involving too. Thus
even with all the benefits of using a sump filter, I would only
recommend it for dedicated hobbyists that demands powerful filtration.
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