settling tank/chamber [Archive]

Henry

Fri, 23rd Dec 2005, 02:31 AM

Has anyone ever thought of using a settling chamber on their aquarium to remove floating solids from the water?

I'm thinking of building one, but was looking for any input before I do.

Thanks

GaryP

Fri, 23rd Dec 2005, 08:45 AM

A sock filter or a Magnum filter on your return line may work a lot better. The problem is that the solids are so fine that you wouldn't have enough settling time in something the size you are probably thinking about. If you are push 200 gph through a 20 gal. settling tank, that's about a residence time of 6 min. That amount of flow may also be enough to keep it stirred up. On top of that, there is going to be some channeling. Water will flow from the entrance to the exit and your actual residence time will be a lot less.

Another thought is that a well stocked refugium will settle alot of solids. The macro such as Chaeto will act like a filter to collect the solids. Of course there are a lot of other benefits to a refugium as well.