DIY Water polishing

[Treefer32]

I have looked at roller mats and as much as I would love one, I have like 5" of clearance above my sump because I mistakenly thought it was a good idea to put my custom 75 gallon sump on the floor and build a wood table over the top of it. Leaving only room for my skimmer to stick up and barely enough room for an algae turf scrubber.

I've tried filter socks on my returns and they just foam up within a day or two. So, I don't have the patience to be cleaning filter socks every 2-3 days. I do have a manifold off my return pump. I have too much flow going to my tank even with a UV and scrubber plumbed off the return, so, is there plans for a custom debris catching, water polishing remote filter basically. I've thought about a canister filter even, but I don't know if they would be powerful enough to filter 350 gallons of water and if so, how often do they need to be maintained?

I don't know if there's ways to create remote filter socks off the return pump instead of off the return plumbing? I think my water has a lot of fine particles floating in suspension (sand particles etc) that the skimmer and scrubber don't get out. So, looking for creative, cost effective, and efficient ways of collecting particulates in suspension. I've tried floating things like carbon, and purigen. I didn't notice any difference in water clarity and felt it was a waste.

What are creative ways to creating a remote particulate filter? Yes, I could place the remote water polisher filter above the sump (as long as it's not too big) so it would gravity feed into the sump (with some creative plumbing).

 

[Peace River]

A few ideas: replace filter socks with filter media cups filled with filter floss from your local fabric/craft store or you could add an inexpensive canister filter filled with filter floss to be used as a polisher (the filter floss can be discarded and replaced very inexpensively). Additionally, chemipure or any similar products that are used for clarification are most effective when they are placed in high flow areas.

 

[Treefer32]

can you do like a reactor filled with filter floss or a multi stage reactor. One reactor with filterfloss, another with chemipure or purigen or some other clarifying media. Basically doing like a 2 stage filter. I really think I need some type of filter floss media to grab larger particles then a polisher like purigen, chemipure, or something else that attracts debris.

 

[Peace River]

can you do like a reactor filled with filter floss or a multi stage reactor. One reactor with filterfloss, another with chemipure or purigen or some other clarifying media. Basically doing like a 2 stage filter. I really think I need some type of filter floss media to grab larger particles then a polisher like purigen, chemipure, or something else that attracts debris.

Sure, that is an approach that should work.

 

[Reef-junky]

Could use this however it’s not cheap

 

[Mastiffsrule]

Evening

You could try the Magnum with DE powder. I have never tried it on such a large tank. It is a temporary filter you can charge with DE powder that will clean that water 100%. With a tank that size you may need to get a few units, I am not sure how long it would take and how often you would need to recharge the DE. I am not sure also how long the affects would last as it is only a quick fix.

 

[Treefer32]

Is there any type of filter sock holder tray that is free standing? I don't have any type of filter sock holder right now and haven't seen any that I could just set in my sump and run my return lines into. That might be the cheapest option along with some type of filter floss media.

 

[homer1475]

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I have one similar to this, just hangs on the side of my sump, and the plumbing goes into it with a bulkhead.

And god why does everyone suggest those god awful filter cups? Worst thing I ever put in my tank. Got the high flow ones, stuffed a very small amount of filter floss in one, next day clogged and overfilling. It nearly overflowed the cup without floss. I'll stick to socks for the few hours a week I run them.

 

[Reef-junky]

Is there any type of filter sock holder tray that is free standing? I don't have any type of filter sock holder right now and haven't seen any that I could just set in my sump and run my return lines into. That might be the cheapest option along with some type of filter floss media.

I would run you about $100

 

[Treefer32]

I have 1.5" overflow lines. I suppose I could reduce to 1". errg. I converted from 1.5 hard pvc to 1.5" spa flex at my sump to have some flexibility into my sump - Lesson learned. . . 1.5" spa flex is not that flexible in short amounts. Might as well have used hard plumbing.
Any newfangled custom DIY filtration that could work?

 

[sonnus]

I think pleated canister filters are a decent option for a tank this size. I have been using the Waterco CC100 filter on a 650g tank for about 10 years. These are actually a pretty common piece of equipment on large commercial aquariums.

Nu-Clear 530 is also an option if you need something very compact. I have used these on smaller tanks but if you have the room the CC100 is a much better and cheaper option in the long run.

The CC100 uses common pleated pool filters, I get them from Home Depot for around $75. They last about 2-4 weeks and can be cleaned at least a dozen times so you can get by with 1-2 filters per year.

Ideally you could plumb the filter into a closed loop. I have my filter placed after my Reeflo Dart return pump, as it gets dirty the return flow does drop a bit but not too bad. If you let the filter get really dirty the return flow will drop significantly.

 

[Feet4Fish]

I second a pleated cartridge filter! I run pretty much the same filter marketed by Pentair. Only thing that could polish better is a Pool DE filter.

 

[Treefer32]

I think pleated canister filters are a decent option for a tank this size. I have been using the Waterco CC100 filter on a 650g tank for about 10 years. These are actually a pretty common piece of equipment on large commercial aquariums.

Nu-Clear 530 is also an option if you need something very compact. I have used these on smaller tanks but if you have the room the CC100 is a much better and cheaper option in the long run.

The CC100 uses common pleated pool filters, I get them from Home Depot for around $75. They last about 2-4 weeks and can be cleaned at least a dozen times so you can get by with 1-2 filters per year.

Ideally you could plumb the filter into a closed loop. I have my filter placed after my Reeflo Dart return pump, as it gets dirty the return flow does drop a bit but not too bad. If you let the filter get really dirty the return flow will drop significantly.

If it's external, I could easily do this. I have plenty of room for a closed filter. I have a reeflo hammerhead return pump. It has too much flow for my tank.

What would the housing pictured here cost?

 

[Treefer32]

I second a pleated cartridge filter! I run pretty much the same filter marketed by Pentair. Only thing that could polish better is a Pool DE filter.

I like this filter, nice and compact. I've spent 30-40 minutes trying to find the cost of the replacement filter cartridge for this to see what it costs compared to the filter itself. What cartridge works in this? I've seen everything from $45 to $350 and nothing that says specifically that it works with this filter.

 

[Feet4Fish]

This is the one I use, but you can also by the name brand PentAir one. Either way I typically just have two. That why I it can always keep running as for me cleaning the cartridge takes a day or two (if I am motivated )

 

[chicago]

just cought this one.. nice.. I was thinking of setting up the nu-clear with a iwaki pump on a doly for some monthly cleaning.. now I am thinking of maybe putting one permanently in line ?

 

[Treefer32]

just cought this one.. nice.. I was thinking of setting up the nu-clear with a iwaki pump on a doly for some monthly cleaning.. now I am thinking of maybe putting one permanently in line ?

I went with the Nuclear Cannister filter with 25 micron cartridge. I bought two cartridges so I can take my time in cleaning one while the other is polishing. I took my skimmer offline so I have room for filter socks now. I have, I think it's 300 micron filter socks running on both of my overflows. They have been filling up daily with junk, so, I've got a few socks now. Heh. And then the 25 micron cartridge should last longer with the filter socks picking up some of the work. So, I'm hoping to get it to last monthly.

Cannister filter also has options to hold carbon and / or purigen, or other media bags in the center of the cartridge. I've done both, ran purigen and carbon. I feel like carbon does more than the purigen. But, it's possible my purigen was exhausted and needed to be cleaned.

So, yeah, I'm a huge fan of the nu-clear cannister filters. I run it off my return pump, and now with the socks on my overflows, I feel like overall my water should be pretty clear, and I've already started to notice a huge difference. It doesn't help that my dragon wrasse likes to stir up sand storms. I've washed a lot of sand particles out of the nu-clear cannister... My sump has a layer of sand at the bottom of it. . . Which is probably o.k., but, I hate that it swirls in the display for a few hours during the day before it gets to the sump. . .

But yes, running the cannister filter will work on a pump, but, just be careful, because as it plugs up there will be a lot of back pressure on the pump. Running it off my return is really nice, that way if it gets completely clogged up, it just increases the water flowing into the display and through the overflows. It doesn't hurt or damage anything.

 

[chicago]

nice... i did a DYI roller mat.. but my issue is my gravel seems to get very dirty and once a month I am looking to do a gravel clean.. i have seen these with maintence companies. they have on a dolly rig a pump and the Nu clear housing.. Seems like a good idea.. I do like the inline idea also.. so with your setup Treefer32 you have it pushing into the housing and to the tank ?

 

[Treefer32]

I have it inefficiently setup... I have it pushing back to the sump. So the same water may be circulating through the filter. I don't know how much tank water vs. Same water goes through it. I do notice a huge difference when the flow through it declines, my display definitely has more crud swirling in it. So, I know it's making a huge difference. Is it 50% efficient vs. 80 - 90% efficient if it were pushing directly to the display? I don't know. I could T off my return line and run the cannister filter output to the return line. That would be way more efficient. I'm just lazy and don't want to rip my plumbing apart to it to the return. Then I have to have the display run on it's own for a 12-24 hour period while the pvc glue dries, etc. Just don't want to deal with that. . . I could run a hose to the display but, it's about 10 feet away and it'd be another pipe, etc. Don't like that idea etiher. So, for now it'll recycle some of the sump water through it. The nice thing is my sump has never been this clear. I can see top to bottom very clearly now. Between the filter socks and the 25 micron polisher, eventually all of the tank water gets polished, just may take a week.

 

[chicago]

very nice... i have a large 300 gallon horse trough sump... its almost like to tank connected as I have put fish in there for "jail time" when not behaving and they have never been paroled.. last question what pump are you running on it and how did you decide on the nu clear vs.. like a pool filter ? are these able to open and close without having to resiphone ect ???