DSB In A Bucket

[Flobex]

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=595109

ive been reading this, and im not sure i quite understand it all...

first, im thinking of running this on my 20 gallon tank, insteasd of a skimmer...

i would build a small wood stand too elevate a bucket, or something above my sump, then have it filled almost to the top with sand, and then fill a few inches of water in, then i could run a mag 5 or whatever into a bulkhead in the bucket, and have another bulkhead leading out, that leads it back into my sump... is this basically how this works? if it really is as good as they say, i think its worth a try, it seems cheap and easy, but i sounds... too easy... any insight would be appreciated...

[GaryP]

It sounds like a gravity fed refugium to me. If you only have a few inches of water, that means the retention time in the bucket may only be a few seconds. Not long enough for much of the nitrates in the water to diffuse into the DSB where they would be processed. I don't really understand the purpose of having it above the tank though unless its to allow pods to be gravity fed back. That's the usual reason for gravity fed fuges. Howver, if its going back to the sump, then they will still have to go through a pump.

[BA]

so, basically have a 35 gallon trashcan (persay) fill it almost to the top with sand( any kind? like playsand, or the aquarium sand, aragonite?) and then have good water flow over it? well if it can be done with normal sand, i would be more than willing to try it out on my 375, but if it is aquarium sand, that could get expensive to fill a trashcan...

[Flobex]

its gravity fed back to the sump, so i dont need another pump.

i may do it in something longer thann a 5 gallon bucket,i may do it in a spare 5 gallon tank wich is 18" long...

[Flobex]

BA, they mention oolitic sand, but im not suree... i look more into it...

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/feb2005/short.html

this article shows that the oolitic sand has coper annd ironn and other trace elements it... so in the long run, it may do more harm than good...

[BA]

well i just read on page 3 they mentioned going to home depot and getting playsand, and Anthony calfo didnt advise against it..sooo i dunno

[Flobex]

hmmm... well imay just have to try this... i mean if it works, then ive spent 20-30 bucks on a pump, and a little on some sannd, and a bucket, and it reeallly helped my system, but if it dosent then oh well...

[BA]

yea sounds like a great idea, i would like to gravity feed it from the top of my 375, and then let it go through another spong like filter, and then into the sumps and refugiums.. wow, anyone know how many bags for a 35gallon trashcan?

[Flobex]

well, if a 5 gallon bucket holds 60 lbs, then i'd say around 420 pounds for a 35 gallon...

i had another idea... i could drill another hole in the back of my tank, and then run that line (with a check valve) into the bucket, then it will be 100% gravity fed, so no pumps to worry about burning out, or heating the water...

then another benefit toi this is that, in my little fuge section of my pump i wont need any sand, maybe a thin layer of live sand, but i could add mor rock rubble, and plants...

[BA]

why would you run a check valve? the water would never go UP from the bucket below...(did i miss something)? yea, i would like to get this made this weekend, so hopefully we can post some pics, and help each other out on the making if need be....i was going to put a line in, in one of the reef box over flows, and siphon it into the trashcan, and then have it gravity flow into my sumps...basically same thing

[Flobex]

woops, not a check valve, a ball valve, to controll the flow, sorry...

i probably wont get this made for ahwile, i cant set up my tank until we move, in july, so hopefully soon...

[BA]

well hopefully i can wake up early tom and do soe of this, b/c i have job training tom from 5-11, and fathers day is on sun, will be fishing sun...if no tthis weekend, deff next week

[Flobex]

awesome, keep us updated, and lemme know of anything that you might find out to do different...

[Flobex]

well, im getting closer to doing this, and i thought of another way to avoid the heat/cost of another pump....

could i put a "V"in the tube that drains water from my tank intto my sump, and have one end go into thhe bucket, then the other end into the sump... would this work, or would i have problems with my tank draining water to slowly...

i think it should work, because the the line goes to the bucket wich has a line draining water back to the sump...


orrr... could it be like a full blown in-line system, where my drain goes 100% into the bucket, then into my sump... this would get more water through the bucket, making it more effective, but i think that may slow that water down to much...


i may just have to try both ways, and see which works best...

[Mr_Cool]

I have a small sump and fuge under my 55 gallon tank. (I made them both because my stand is an irregular size.) Anyway, I split the drain from my overflow with a tee so that one line goes to the sump and the other goes to the fuge. I put a ball valve in-line to the fuge so that I could regulate the amount of flow to the fuge. The fuge is also on a little stand so that the water level is above the top of the sump. Then, with a bulkhead near the top of the fuge, water is gravity fed down into the sump and pumped back to the tank with the rest of the sump water.

I think this is what you have in mind. It works great for me.

[Mr_Cool]

I have a small sump and fuge under my 55 gallon tank. (I made them both because my stand is an irregular size.) Anyway, I split the drain from my overflow with a tee so that one line goes to the sump and the other goes to the fuge. I put a ball valve in-line to the fuge so that I could regulate the amount of flow to the fuge. The fuge is also on a little stand so that the water level is above the top of the sump. Then, with a bulkhead near the top of the fuge, water is gravity fed down into the sump and pumped back to the tank with the rest of the sump water.

I think this is what you have in mind. It works great for me.

[Flobex]

ok thats exactly what i wanted to hear :)

thank you.