Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey there

I have 105 gallon tank with African Cichlids. I want to try and create my own trickle filter system for this tank but need some advice and (hopefully) some specs.

How powerful of a pump do I need for a tank this size? (GPH), How big of a sump area do I need?
I know the water from the tank goes to a drip plate...(What is this and why is it important? and then through some kind of floss media, then to egg crate, then to bio balls (how much do I need? then to another sponge, and finally to the pump which returns the water to the tank.

Have I got the gist of the construction? Is there something else I'm missing?

Any and all help will be greatly appreciated.

Your fliter should be able to "turn over" the volume of your tank about five times each hour. Thus, you'll need a pump that puts out 525 gph. Slightly more would be better, since there will be some loss of efficency due to the media you're pumping it through.

A drip plate is a plate with a bunch of holes in it. This will cause the water to "trickle" through the media, so that most of the filter media will alternately be exposed to air, and water. This is VERY, VERY important, because the most efficient denitrifying, and nitrifying baceria (the good ones that do all the filter work)live best where there is access to air, and water.

Bio balls will work. Lava rocks, or anything else with a lot of surface area will also work pretty well. As for how much, the more the better, although most people prefer to have a filter that is smaller than their actual tank.

I have a 50 gallon tank, and the commerical filters I use hold a total of about five gallons, so I guess that a filter needn't hold more than 10% of the tank's volume.