[bearwithfish]

as i get the plumbing all smoothed out my thoughts turn to the wet/dry i am going to build... now the tank itself is not an issue and neither is the bio-tower (i will be using a lock top container instead of the buckets to save room and have a cleaner look)
i dont have a way to draft up anything and post it so please use your imagination as i describe the set up
the overflow runs to the top of the bucket and in through a drilled hole and PVC connection (for security)
inside will have a small tray for a filter pad
under the tray will be filled with plastic scrubbies
the bottom drilled for flow out
the bottom 2-2.5 inches will be submerged and there will be about 2-3 inches clearance under the container

eventually i wil have some substrate and possibly some ceramic noodles for added bio

after this "refugium" area will be a low divider about 3-4 inches high and then ther return pum area this will then pum back to a T and split the return for the middle and end of the tank opposite the overflow....

my container is about 3 or 4 gallons large so i am wondering if this will create enough bio-filtration set up as planned or should i consider a larger set up.... BTW its going to a 72 gallon tank and the sump is a 20 long..... i figure about 10-15 gallons actual water in the sump

 

[prov356]

I think the general rule I go with is 1 gallon of biomedia per 30 gallons of water, so you should be fine.

The only thing I'd consider with the scrubbies is that it sounds like they will be above the water line. Fine as long as your prefilter tray has plenty of holes to do a good job of dispersing the water. If you don't get good dispersion from the get go, then you may not get water trickling over as much of the scrubbie surface area as you'd like. Water tends to pour through them. Regardless of what you use, I like to use lots of smaller holes anyway to get dispersion off to a good start. No point in having all of that surface area, if water doesn't pass over it.

eventually i wil have some substrate and possibly some ceramic noodles for added bio

I don't really like the smaller biomedia's as they can tend to clog with whatever gets past your prefilter. Better that it ends up in the bottom of the sump where it can be siphoned out or feed the plants in the refugium.

 

[bearwithfish]

i was thinking to get good flow around in there i would only do a few holed in the middle and slightly more as i get out to the edges if youthink of a 1x1 inch block the first on in the middle would have say 3 holes the next ones around that would have 4 and so one out to the edge and these would be very small holes.....
the try will have plenty of pad and a layer of green scrub under it (i forgot that in the 1st post) but also high edges sealed in with a little silicone to prevent by-pass of the pads and such
as this is plastic the silicone will not bond well and will be able to be pealed out later if the need arises....

ok i hear ya on the small media .. i guess the question there was IF used would it be best mixed in the substrate or directly under the bio-tower? though i can clearly see why not to use it now...

just trying to get the best possible results out of it as i would hate to build a filter that does not perform LOL

 

[prov356]

Just leave yourself in a position to test and see. Make modifications as needed. That's half the fun. Regarding hole placment, size, etc. a lot depends on flow rate. That's pretty much trial and error. Maybe prototype with something easy and cheap to replace.

 

[bearwithfish]

thats why they have dollar stores my friend LOL