25 Gal Sump

[kodaaa]

I’m still new to sumps but I’m sure I have it set up correctly cause it’s been doing great and running healthy and keeping my tank crystal clear with amazing flow for almost 2 weeks etc…
The question I have tho is why does my return pump side water level not stay consistent? I’ve checked for leaks and water flow and just about everything else but it keeps going back down to about a finger tip depth from the top of the return pump. Should I be worried or do you guys think that’s normal?

 

[T-J]

Post a full pic of the sump. There could be a number of reasons why the level is fluctuating. It could be as simple as the baffles are being flow restricted, or your pump is pushing more water than your overflow can handle.

 

[Eagle_Steve]

I’m still new to sumps but I’m sure I have it set up correctly cause it’s been doing great and running healthy and keeping my tank crystal clear with amazing flow for almost 2 weeks etc…
The question I have tho is why does my return pump side water level not stay consistent? I’ve checked for leaks and water flow and just about everything else but it keeps going back down to about a finger tip depth from the top of the return pump. Should I be worried or do you guys think that’s normal?

Do you have an auto top off (ATO)? Without one, the water level in the return pump chamber will drop slowly due to evaporation.

If not and this is the cause, adding an ATO will solve the problem, but if you have been adding fresh SW to replace the lost water due to Evap, then you need to check salinity, as it may be elevated. Also, top off water needs to be RODI water, as you are replacing the evap and most of it contains no salt.

 

[kodaaa]

Post a full pic of the sump. There could be a number of reasons why the level is fluctuating. It could be as simple as the baffles are being flow restricted, or your pump is pushing more water than your overflow can handle.

I can post a picture of my sump when I get home. My return pump is 977gph and we drilled a hole in the back for the gravity flow or whatever it is called I’m sorry I’m still new to this and could you also explain what baffles are? I’m sorry for all the questions I just want to make sure that I have a perfect tank and I’ve had salt water for a while now just no sump system

 

[kodaaa]

Do you have an auto top off (ATO)? Without one, the water level in the return pump chamber will drop slowly due to evaporation.

If not and this is the cause, adding an ATO will solve the problem, but if you have been adding fresh SW to replace the lost water due to Evap, then you need to check salinity, as it may be elevated. Also, top off water needs to be RODI water, as you are replacing the evap and most of it contains no salt.

I would like to get an auto top off but do you know which ones are good and how expensive they can be?

 

[Eagle_Steve]

I would like to get an auto top off but do you know which ones are good and how expensive they can be?

IMO Tunze makes the best one for normal tanks. They are bullet proof and mine have lasted for years and years. They seem to be out of stock almost everywhere. But I have the reef breeders on my 180 and like it as well. I am not pumping water very far, so the small pump works well.

Here is a link to quite a few.

Aquarium Auto Top Off Systems

Bulk Reef Supply - Saltwater Aquarium Supplies for Reef Tanks

www.bulkreefsupply.com

 

[kodaaa]

IMO Tunze makes the best one for normal tanks. They are bullet proof and mine have lasted for years and years. They seem to be out of stock almost everywhere. But I have the reef breeders on my 180 and like it as well. I am not pumping water very far, so the small pump works well.

Here is a link to quite a few.

Aquarium Auto Top Off Systems

Bulk Reef Supply - Saltwater Aquarium Supplies for Reef Tanks

www.bulkreefsupply.com

Thank you so much and I will be sure to take a picture of the sump when I get home thank you so much for being so helpful but as well as do you think my return pump will get messed up if the water level drops a little too low and it starts blowing water and air would that mess anything up?

 

[Eagle_Steve]

Thank you so much and I will be sure to take a picture of the sump when I get home thank you so much for being so helpful but as well as do you think my return pump will get messed up if the water level drops a little too low and it starts blowing water and air would that mess anything up?

I could cause the pump to overheat or cause damage to bearing in pump (if it has them). Always good to never let a pump run dry.

 

[\m/reefsnmetal\m/]

Don't let your water level get that low. You need to add RO water to keep the return chamber water level consistent. If you let the water level fluctuate that much, your salinity level will fluctuate as well and that's not healthy for the animals in the tank. Even without an ato, you can manually add the water.

 

[kodaaa]

I could cause the pump to overheat or cause damage to bearing in pump (if it has them). Always good to never let a pump run dry.

So would I have to put the ATO pump inside the display to run it down into the sump return resivor?

 

[Eagle_Steve]

So would I have to put the ATO pump inside the display to run it down into the sump return resivor?

No.

You will need to have the ATO pump pull from a freshwater container. A 10g tank, 20 gallon tank, small trash can or anything safe to store water in. A lot of people use 5 gallon water jugs, even.

The sensor will go in the return section of the sump, the level of the sensor should keep water level above the sump and at the level you want it at. When the sump gets low, the sensor will trip and the pump will put fresh water into that section until it get to the level set.

You also need to be sure that the tube/hose from the ATO pump is above the water level in the FW storage container. If not, it will siphon down. If for some reason your container is higher than your sump, no biggie. Just mount the ATO feed higher that the top of the container, take a small piece of pipe to get down to sump level and then have the ato feed dump the water down it. Pipe needs to be bigger than feed tube/hose, so the feed tube/hose can catch air to break a siphon.

 

[Eagle_Steve]

Quick video of an ATO and how it works.

 

[kodaaa]

No.

You will need to have the ATO pump pull from a freshwater container. A 10g tank, 20 gallon tank, small trash can or anything safe to store water in. A lot of people use 5 gallon water jugs, even.

The sensor will go in the return section of the sump, the level of the sensor should keep water level above the sump and at the level you want it at. When the sump gets low, the sensor will trip and the pump will put fresh water into that section until it get to the level set.

You also need to be sure that the tube/hose from the ATO pump is above the water level in the FW storage container. If not, it will siphon down. If for some reason your container is higher than your sump, no biggie. Just mount the ATO feed higher that the top of the container, take a small piece of pipe to get down to sump level and then have the ato feed dump the water down it. Pipe needs to be bigger than feed tube/hose, so the feed tube/hose can catch air to break a siphon.

So I could just get like a 25 gallon RO/DI tank with NO salt in the RO/DI just fresh water and have it pump into the return pump? And so get a RO/DI 25 that is taller than the sump so it doesn’t siphon out of the return resivor?

 

[Eagle_Steve]

So I could just get like a 25 gallon RO/DI tank with NO salt in the RO/DI just fresh water and have it pump into the return pump? And so get a RO/DI 25 that is taller than the sump so it doesn’t siphon out of the return resivor?

an rodi tank, like the pressurized one that goes under a sink? If so, I would say no, as every time it runs then the rodi system will run to refill and it will kill your di resin.

Best thing to do is to use a 5 gallon water container, Heavy Duty tote (home depot sells them), old 10 or 20 gallon fish tank, etc. Whatever will fit under the stand and can be easily refilled.

This is an old pic of my sump under my frag tank, before I joined 2 systems and used a 100 gallon rubbermaid tub as the sump. I still use the same ATO and container, but do not need to use the pipe, as the hose now sits above the container storing the rodi water.

In the below pic, the black heavy duty tote (arrow point to it) on the left is where I keep my FW for top off. There is a small pump in there that is tied into the float switches. I use 2, as this is a diy ato and I want redundancy, in case one float switch sticks on.

The pipe circled is a 1/2" pip that I have going down to the sump and the blue rodi line is my feed from the ato container (tote). The blue linejust barely sits in the pipe, but keeps the level of the feed higher that the container. It is also dead silent. If I was to just have the hose sit that high, you would hear the water hitting when it was working.

 

[kodaaa]

an rodi tank, like the pressurized one that goes under a sink? If so, I would say no, as every time it runs then the rodi system will run to refill and it will kill your di resin.

Best thing to do is to use a 5 gallon water container, Heavy Duty tote (home depot sells them), old 10 or 20 gallon fish tank, etc. Whatever will fit under the stand and can be easily refilled.

This is an old pic of my sump under my frag tank, before I joined 2 systems and used a 100 gallon rubbermaid tub as the sump. I still use the same ATO and container, but do not need to use the pipe, as the hose now sits above the container storing the rodi water.

In the below pic, the black heavy duty tote (arrow point to it) on the left is where I keep my FW for top off. There is a small pump in there that is tied into the float switches. I use 2, as this is a diy ato and I want redundancy, in case one float switch sticks on.

The pipe circled is a 1/2" pip that I have going down to the sump and the blue rodi line is my feed from the ato container (tote). The blue linejust barely sits in the pipe, but keeps the level of the feed higher that the container. It is also dead silent. If I was to just have the hose sit that high, you would hear the water hitting when it was working.

Ok so can I get a 10-25 gallon fish tank and put strictly RO/DI water in it with NO SALT with the ATO pump that will run directly into the return pump resivor whenever it is getting low ? Then all I will have to keep an eye on is the RO/DI tank and obviously still check peramiters weekly?

 

[Eagle_Steve]

Ok so can I get a 10-25 gallon fish tank and put strictly RO/DI water in it with NO SALT with the ATO pump that will run directly into the return pump resivor whenever it is getting low ? Then all I will have to keep an eye on is the RO/DI tank and obviously still check peramiters weekly?

Correct.

 

[kodaaa]

Correct.

Thank you so much!! And would this ATO work?

 

[Eagle_Steve]

Thank you so much!! And would this ATO work?

It would. I would go over to the equipment section and start a thread real quick asking for others users input on that one. I am not familiar with it, so do not know how well they work or what problems they may have. The only reason I say that, is due to 3.5 stars on the reviews.

 

[kodaaa]

It would. I would go over to the equipment section and start a thread real quick asking for others users input on that one. I am not familiar with it, so do not know how well they work or what problems they may have. The only reason I say that, is due to 3.5 stars on the reviews.

Ok sweet thank you!!