Fish Tank Sump System

Our tanks here at Aquadream come in two pieces, the tank itself and the cabinet/sump system. For many customers this is the first time they are purchasing a tank that doesn’t need an external filtration system. In this blog we are going to explain how the sump system works that comes with your tank and what filter media you can use.

How does it work?

The sump system comes in one piece with multiple sections, each section is labeled and has a specific place for filter media, submersible pump and a 360 water rotation box.

Water comes in through the spiral silencer and gets pushed through a tube into the filter media box. Depending on the filter media you place in this box it will catch all the big items in the water, such as algae, fish feces etc.

As the water comes out the filter media box it gets pushed through another section in the sump system which filters the water again, and it gets transferred to another section box(the amount of filtration boxes in your sump system depends on the tank size you purchase)  with the filtration system of your choice to filter other things in the water(this all depends on the tank you set up)

There may be different types of filter media you can use but in general the follow of filter media should be Mechanical, Biological , Chemical Media. Below is a list of different types of media that can be used for each type of media.

1. Mechanical Media

• Filter Wool
• Floss
• Bonded Pads
• Sponges

      2. Biological Media

• Cermaic Rings 
• Sponges
• Pads
• Bio-Balls
• Sand
• Gravel

      3. Chemical Media

• Activated Carbon
• Peat
• Zeolite
• Hydroxide

A common question customers have is “what happens if my pump stops working or if a power outage happens? Will the sump system overfill?”

The answer to that is no, the water has to go through the spiral silencer, if there is no water going through it no additional water will be placed into the sump system. As long as you keep the sump system at optimal levels and it will never overflow, so you don’t have to worry about it leaking onto your floor.