Mechanical filter for Sump between baffles (ideas?)

[lost_at_sea]

my sump is a standard 3 part sump, in order of water flow from drain to return:

Skimming area > refugium > return

My problem is I put some chaeto and such in the refugium and my Algae growth in the sump is out of this world but the chaeto and other bit are starting to clog the return section so I'd like to put some sort of macro filter in teh sump baffles to pickup loose bits of chaeto or other algae and looking for smart designs or ideas.

Right now all I can really think of is a big wod of filterfloss and stick it in there, however I could see isseus with cleanup.

[Vincenzo.]

egg crate wall.

[Saltcreep]

Quite a while ago someone here recommended all-nylon pot scrubbers. Dirt cheap at the dollar store. I've got about 50 stuffed into one section of my sump. Besides the large surface area for bacterial growth, they make a pretty good coarse filter. Super easy to clean too, just scoop them out and give them a rinse. You could even go with Vince's idea of the egg crate to get the bigger bits and have the pot scrubbers as the next stage.

[dan2x38]

I used floss and would rinse it a few times then disgard.

I've read many articles on this though. They said to rinse the floss in tap water to kill off the bacteria. What? The theory here is that it becomes a nitrate sink. Just think about it? What happens to NH3 > NO2 > NO3. I rinsed mine in tap water. But I stopped doing it because after a few weeks the floss becomes clugged up even after rinsing it. Then it would just float out of baffle. It also slowed the flow and even rasied the level of water in the skimmer chamber so it went over the middle baffle passing bubbles into my other chamber.

Not sure what others feel about this good topic.

[lost_at_sea]

Thanks for the suggestions!

I had EggCrate running, but the broken chaeto bits just flow through.  Maybe eggcrate with a large fishing net type scoop that would go down into the baffle.

My concern with teh floss was exactly what you said, slow down flow and mess with water levels as it gets more clogged...

I'm about to start running a MJ400 in my return section that simply pulls water up and dumps it right back down through a second filtersock.

I'm also running my SUMP completely lights out for a while, all my chaeto is dead and gone so can't see any harm in that. thoughts?

[Vincenzo.]

what if you buy a filter sock, cut it, and zip tie it to the egg crate.... easy to remove, easy to clean

[JetJumper]

The best thing so far I have seen for this is the plastic bug screen for windows.  Wrap that around the egg crate and you have a macro filter on the cheap.

[lost_at_sea]

The best thing so far I have seen for this is the plastic bug screen for windows.  Wrap that around the egg crate and you have a macro filter on the cheap.

That's exactly what I was thinking.  I'll have a look down at the hardware store this weekend and post a nice DIY (if it goes nicely) haha.

thanks.

[dan2x38]

Can also cut up a pair of panty hose from buck store for $1. Tie it to the egg crate with fishing line. Easy to clean... might try this myself... thanks...