Mattenfilter as a overflow prefilter?

[Bunsen Honeydew]

I currently have a planted 92 gallon corner tank with an overflow. I have a wet dry in the sump, which is an 80 gallon frag tank located in the unfinished storage room next door. My problem now is that I could use more mechanical filtration and would also like to get cherry red shrimp for the tank once the plants grow out more. This means that I will need to shrimp proof the overflow. I have been thinking that I could possibly address both issues by making a mattenfilter prefilter of sorts in front of the existing overflow. Would it be sufficient to simply push a piece of 2" ridge cut foam against it, or would it be better to build a frame to ensure that the foam is spaced away from the overflow wall? This is the type of overflow that I have and the ridge cut foam that I am talking about. Tank has a nominal flow rate of 500 gph.

 

[dougall]

I think you meant something along the lines of a 'poret foam prefilter' a mattenfilter would more suggest of filter mechanism itself, not the media.

I cannot see any sort of plumbing behind the overflow... does this mean that if there was a leak in a part of the overflow where it attaches tho the glass that the water would drain out of the tank to that point? The silicone there isn't necessarily of as high a quality as that used to create the tank itself.

my personal preference would be to just put a piece of foam there for now... if I wanted to put a matternfilter in the corner, I would want to drain the tank and install a complete corner mattenfilter, and use a drain or stand pipe type setup to control the water level in the tank. It should be possible to attach the filter to the tank with a couple of pieces of glass siliconed in to hold the filter media in place.

 

[Bunsen Honeydew]

I think you meant something along the lines of a 'poret foam prefilter' a mattenfilter would more suggest of filter mechanism itself, not the media.

Nope I said what I meant (and meant what I said). I am contemplating a sheet of open cell foam from top to bottom in front of the overflow. If that makes the wet dry just for show eventually, so be it.

I cannot see any sort of plumbing behind the overflow... does this mean that if there was a leak in a part of the overflow where it attaches tho the glass that the water would drain out of the tank to that point? The silicone there isn't necessarily of as high a quality as that used to create the tank itself.

The picture of the overflow is not of my tank. It is the same overflow construction though. It has the plastic wall with slots in the top and bottom, with a glass baffle behind it. I could just put foam behind the baffle, but I don't want that interstitial space accessible to CRS.

my personal preference would be to just put a piece of foam there for now... if I wanted to put a matternfilter in the corner, I would want to drain the tank and install a complete corner mattenfilter, and use a drain or stand pipe type setup to control the water level in the tank. It should be possible to attach the filter to the tank with a couple of pieces of glass siliconed in to hold the filter media in place.

I am not interested in shutting down and emptying the tank right now, just trying to improve on the fly. I am most curious as to if the empty spaces on the ridge cut foam (if ran vertically) would provide sufficient flow through the foam into the overflow.

 

[dougall]

Nope I said what I meant (and meant what I said). I am contemplating a sheet of open cell foam from top to bottom in front of the overflow. If that makes the wet dry just for show eventually, so be it.

A mattenfilter would not have something behind it... it is designed for the water to flow straight through it. if the overflow remains, you are going to only use a small percentage of the media.

To leave everything as it currently is, my personal preference would be something like a screen that could be easily cleaned that goes across the weir... if you want more mechanical filtration, I'd put it in the wet/dry or perhaps in the overflow.

 

[Bunsen Honeydew]

A mattenfilter would not have something behind it... it is designed for the water to flow straight through it. if the overflow remains, you are going to only use a small percentage of the media.

To leave everything as it currently is, my personal preference would be something like a screen that could be easily cleaned that goes across the weir... if you want more mechanical filtration, I'd put it in the wet/dry or perhaps in the overflow.

So, you don't think that it would work at all, even with a void space behind it? Seems fatalistic to me.

 

[dougall]

So, you don't think that it would work at all, even with a void space behind it? Seems fatalistic to me.

I'm sure you can get it to work, the efficacy will depend on how much space is behind it (before the plastic of the overflow), and how high the flow rate will be.

I'm not saying it cannot be used, but I think you will be losing enough tank volume with the overflow already in place, and you have a bunch of space outside of the display tank already.

Remember the effort needed to clean the in tank filter, if it's in the wet/dry then it can just be pulled out simply and then replaced.

 

[Bunsen Honeydew]

I'm sure you can get it to work, the efficacy will depend on how much space is behind it (before the plastic of the overflow), and how high the flow rate will be.

I'm not saying it cannot be used, but I think you will be losing enough tank volume with the overflow already in place, and you have a bunch of space outside of the display tank already.

Remember the effort needed to clean the in tank filter, if it's in the wet/dry then it can just be pulled out simply and then replaced.

I smell what you are stepping in Doug. Because there is a second filter though, filtration efficiency is not paramount. I thought that this may be a decent way to mech filter and shrimp proof at the same time. If I didn't have the little openings at the bottom of the overflow, I would be steering toward just a simple prefilter.

 

[OrionGirl]

I'd be worried about the return outpacing the overflow, and water spilling over the top or completely out of the tank. The ridges along the back side below the overflow areas will allow for silt/detritus build up that's going to be a challenge to clean, as well.

 

[Bunsen Honeydew]

I'd be worried about the return outpacing the overflow, and water spilling over the top or completely out of the tank. The ridges along the back side below the overflow areas will allow for silt/detritus build up that's going to be a challenge to clean, as well.

If I were to implement this, I would not run all the way to the top of the tank, allowing for water to spill over into the over flow instead of overflowing the display tank.

The more I read about the poret block, the more I want to pop some 4 inch slabs into the sump and scrap the wet dry. Doing so would allow for a better moisture seal on the sump for sure. The problem would then still be keeping CRS (and hopefully hatchlings) out of the overflow. It makes me wish that I had removed the overflow and installed a mattenfilter when I had the tank still dry.

 

[dougall]

If I were to implement this, I would not run all the way to the top of the tank, allowing for water to spill over into the over flow instead of overflowing the display tank.

The more I read about the poret block, the more I want to pop some 4 inch slabs into the sump and scrap the wet dry. Doing so would allow for a better moisture seal on the sump for sure. The problem would then still be keeping CRS (and hopefully hatchlings) out of the overflow. It makes me wish that I had removed the overflow and installed a mattenfilter when I had the tank still dry.

Having a screen over the overflow would prevent that... and be easy to clean (just wipe your finger over it)