Connecting Separate Sumps

Squirrel_reefer · Mar 7, 2016

Just wondering if anyone has ever connected two sumps without drilling bulkheads.

I have a wet dry system that's not cutting it. I built a refugium to support pods and allow me room for a skimmer and accessories. Has anyone ever successfully connected two sumps with siphon style hose?

I was thinking a 1" pvc pipe or a 1" drain hose, similar to a water bridge, I am just worried about flow rate. I'm running a Mag 7 on a 55g aquarium with the wetdry and soon the 10g refugium.

143MPCo · Mar 7, 2016

IMO in order to siphon water from one to the other the sumps will have to be a different hights for a gravity siphon to work in the first place, that will also be at the heart of the problems you might see as it will have to be matched exactly to the flow of water entering and exiting from one sump to the other. A passive pass through via bulkheads will allow the sumps to have a water level at a constant height in both sumps and would be a better option with less headaches.

Squirrel_reefer · Mar 7, 2016

143MPCo said:
IMO in order to siphon water from one to the other the sumps will have to be a different hights for a gravity siphon to work in the first place, that will also be at the heart of the problems you might see as it will have to be matched exactly to the flow of water entering and exiting from one sump to the other. A passive pass through via bulkheads will allow the sumps to have a water level at a constant height in both sumps and would be a better option with less headaches.

So the wet dry is a good bit taller than the refugium (~17-18" tall) since its just a 10g regular tank (13"). Would running the wet dry at a higher water level cure this? as it is my (admittedly limited) understanding that the siphon would try to keep the water level even amongst the two tanks when they're level?

There is also not enough room in the stand to add bulk heads to each system, there is not any room. the stand was built by someone else and I got it used. Clearly the previous owner was not intent on a large sump... the stand has braced corners that only allow for 10" of horizontal space on the inside corners. At the widest point in the middle there is about 11" width and 30 inches length. I actually had to cut out some of the stand with a dremmel to allow the wet dry and the 10g to butt up against each other. I cant think of any way to explain it with words, wish I had a picture... but just imagine a wetdry and 10g squished together and thats what Im working with. the 10g is glass and wetdry is acrylic and I'd rather not have to pay to drill the glass.

Pdandy · Mar 7, 2016

I have two sumps connected. But I drilled them.

Squirrel_reefer · Mar 7, 2016

Pdandy said:
I have two sumps connected. But I drilled them.

I wish I could make that work but there just isnt any room on the sides. Over the top is the only thing I can manage. The only thing I could come up with is two siphon hoses connecting the tanks or bitting the bullet and getting a pump to send water from one to the other...essentially ruining the concept of having enough room in the wet dry to drop in a skimmer

143MPCo · Mar 7, 2016

Squirrel_reefer said:
Would running the wet dry at a higher water level cure this? as it is my (admittedly limited) understanding that the siphon would try to keep the water level even amongst the two tanks when they're level?

Unfortunately no I don't think that would work, for one you'd have to throttle the gravity siphon to maintain the water level higher in the first sump. If the return pump empties the second sump (mismatched flow rate from one to the other sump), it will cause it to break the gravity siphon and the added volume of water from the 2nd sump will flood first sump and might makes its way onto the floor.

Squirrel_reefer · Mar 7, 2016

143MPCo said:
Unfortunately no I don't think that would work, for one you'd have to throttle the gravity siphon to maintain the water level higher in the first sump. If the return pump empties the second sump (mismatched flow rate from one to the other sump), it will cause it to break the gravity siphon and the added volume of water from the 2nd sump will flood first sump and might makes its way onto the floor.

with each passing post this is looking more and more like FOWLR tank

My previous 40g tank had a nice sump that I built and I never had to worry about finding room for accessories, and now this tank can't even fit a skimmer

143MPCo · Mar 7, 2016

Squirrel_reefer said:
with each passing post this is looking more and more like FOWLR tank

silver lining; Upgrade time?

Squirrel_reefer · Mar 7, 2016

143MPCo said:
silver lining; Upgrade time?

This was the upgrade lol! :mad:

22 days into its first cycle

Squirrel_reefer · Mar 7, 2016

So at this point my only option is to hope that I can drill a bulkhead into the wetdry to allow a passive drain pipe to the shorter 10g?

143MPCo · Mar 7, 2016

Could always make a bigger stand?
Pull all the water into holding tanks, change out stand and sump, add water back.

143MPCo · Mar 7, 2016

Squirrel_reefer said:
So at this point my only option is to hope that I can drill a bulkhead into the wetdry to allow a passive drain pipe to the shorter 10g?

That would be another option.

Squirrel_reefer · Mar 7, 2016

143MPCo said:
Could always make a bigger stand?
Pull all the water into holding takes, change out stand and sump, add water back.

Building a new stand seems like the best option at this point. hopefully 50 bucks can get me pretty far LOL.

Its just hard to get motivated to do all the work, plus the stand is REALLY nice, solid wood construction, totally sealed waterproof, not to mention its on casters.... *sigh*

Squirrel_reefer · Mar 7, 2016

@143MPCo

the only CON I can think of is pump failure will cause 10g to over flow

143MPCo · Mar 7, 2016

The overall concepts should work, the water line will be subject to placement of its drain so placement will determine water height in the bio-ball sump.

Squirrel_reefer · Mar 7, 2016

143MPCo said:
The overall concepts should work, the water line will be subject to placement of its drain so placement will determine water height in the bio-ball sump.

should I match the drain into the 10g with the diameter of the main drain hose as well?

this seems a cheaper fix than building a new stand

143MPCo · Mar 7, 2016

Squirrel_reefer said:
should I match the drain into the 10g with the diameter of the main drain hose as well?

this seems a cheaper fix than building a new stand

Yes and yes.