Settling tank info

[mickeyfinn]

Has anyone here have a settling tank installed in their system? I'm talking about a container that will allow detritus and ? to settle and be either vacuumed out easily or drained out of the system on a regular basis.

I'm thinking of having the water go from my DT to the Settling tank and then to the sump/skimmer/fuge.

I recently finished a re-design for my system and have noticed a lot of "stuff" settling in my bare bottom frag tank. I usually just vacuum it out, but it's a PITA to get around all the egg-crate. I left a spot that I was thinking of adding one.

I saw a large one for sale a few weeks back, but that size would be too large to fit for me. I'm wondering if anyone has made one and what their designs looked like. No sense in reinventing the settling tank if someone already has a good idea.

Any input would be appreciated.

 

[naturebatslast]

I've chambered and baffled my fuge, so when the drain water hits the 1st chamber (with the skimmer) most settles out before moving on.

 

[mickeyfinn]

I've chambered and baffled my fuge, so when the drain water hits the 1st chamber (with the skimmer) most settles out before moving on.

I do that as well, but I'm still seeing an aweful lot of stuff on the bottom of my frag tank.

Do people run their frag tanks with a substrate or bare bottom?

 

[Psychographic]

Why not just run filter socks?

 

[mickeyfinn]

I ran filter socks for a while. I didn't plan my sump to use filter socks when I made it so I was kinda "fitting" them in and wasn't happy with the way they worked. I had them overflow a few times when they got a little dirty and the water splashed on the wall.

Maybe I'll revisit a way to get them to work before making a settleing tank. Maybe run the socks on a seperate container?? hmmmm