Sump pump & filter

To beat the heat  & algae problem, I was looking for a solution or a least a way to minimise the invasion.

Step 1: How others do ?

Being in Hong Kong also has its benefit: you have restaurants with fish tanks all around the place, and they also have to beat the heat & algae problem. So by having a look at their setup I found out that they have a quite simple setup including a mechanical filter and a UV lamp for most of them. Nothing fancy, nothing costly. And for sure, they renew the water quite often, which is impossible for a cost effective hydroponic setup.

Step 2: Internet is your friend (again)

After some research on YouTube & other blogs about aquariums (these guys have years of research ahead, and the DIY community is just massive), I found some interesting & cheap setups based on layer filters and also inline filters for pumps.

Step 3: The inline pump filter

First, the pump I used is 12V pump, placed in the bottom of the sump. But I secured the thing with the filter you can see in the video. It is composed of a cheap 25cl plastic bottle with the bottom cut, and the cap drilled to fit your pump intake. Then you add some water cleaners (from Fish market), and balls (in the aquarium/aquaponics setups they are supposed to host bacteria to consume the fish poop and turn it to nitrates), and a layer of cotton style foam (again, Fish market).
The pump by itself can clean your tank in 30mn... but the foam get clogged fast.

Step 4: The first layer

First, the pump I used is 12V pump, placed in the bottom of the bucket. It will take the water from the bottom, so you need room around. The first layer is composed of plastic balls to have a good flow of water.

Step 5: The second layer

You need to filter, as the first layer is just for the flow, the second has to handle some debris. So I went with cheap loofa from a local 1$ bazar. I took 10 of them. Some are free, some are left as a string.

Step 6: The last layer

All the sumps will go thru this layer, so you'll need to keep most of the crap here. It is based on floss filler. In fact, this is an experience, so I may add one coarse layer on top of this one. The floss filler comes from the Fish Market. You can buy bulk packs for 40-60 HK$.

Step 4: Final step

The pump is on the bottom, so I had to connect the flex tube to the 1/2" PVC tube that comes out from the top. The valve you see is just to drain the lower part, when it's charged with residues.