Reef Aquarium Filter Inlet Pipe

[adam_castell]

can any one tell me if it is absolutly necasary to have the filter inlet towards the bottom of the tank, i would like to have mine near the surface of the water so that in the case of a power failure only a limited amount of water could be syphoned out of the tank through the inlet. what are the disadvantages of mounting the inlet near the surface if there are any?

 

[BigC]

Hi Adam,
Cant really see any except detrius normally collects on the bottom of the aquarium and the pipe is positioned to take this away and also if evaporation is great it might mean your filter will run dry, worst case knackerd powerfilter, not so bad filter needs to be re-primed. I myself have cut my intake pipe to halfway down the aquarium to fit in with the rest of the equipment.
Regards
BigC

 

[adam_castell]

i am going to be using a level sensor for an auto top up system so the filter running dry should not be a problem to worry about. what can i do about collecting the detrius collecting at the bottom?

cheers

 

[BigC]

what can i do about collecting the detrius collecting at the bottom?

Just syphon or hoover at waterchange time.
Regards
BigC

 

[SkiFletch]

Agreed, you should be vaccuming your sand bed when waterchanging anyways