Dual Pumps in Sump

[W1ngz]

Oh wow. That's really helpful! Thanks so much for your help. I'll look into it before I set up the sump. Just looking at it on Amazon, it has two holes on the front of it. I'm assuming one pulls the water/air and the other one is the exit?

That's exactly it.

And about your comment earlier about all the 'smart people'... really no one here is smarter than anyone, we've just had longer to screw more things up

 

[SinkyShippy]

That's exactly it.

And about your comment earlier about all the 'smart people'... really no one here is smarter than anyone, we've just had longer to screw more things up

Haha. Thanks for all your help. I'm going to set up the ATO system but not the sump until after vacation. I wish I could get away with not setting up the ATO yet but I need to put in about a gallon every two days because of the fan and the size of the tank.

 

[Brett S]

A couple of thoughts... as others have said, changing things right before you go on vacation is always a bad idea. It sounds like you do need the ATO (unless you can have someone come by every day or two to check the tank and top off manually, which might even be better) so what I would do is get the ATO set up immediately... as in right now, so at least you can monitor it for a few days days before you go on vacation.

You don’t want to be adjusting it every day and trying to fine tune it over the next week. You want it set up to the point where it is functional, even if it’s not perfect, and you can leave it without touching it for the next few days so that you will have confidence that it will continue to work the same way while you are on vacation. If you need to adjust it or tune it every day then how do you know that it will be good when you’re gone?

After you come back from vacation you can set up the overflow and the sump and move the ATO to the sump and get everything fine tuned there. As far as your original question, I do run two return pumps in my sump, which are connected to outlets on two different circuits. I also have two heaters, again connected to two different circuits. About a year and a half ago I had a case where the GFCI on one of the circuits tripped while I was on vacation, but one pump and one heater kept operating and the tank was fine for several days before I was able to get back and correct the issue.

But like I said, now is not the time to be making big changes like that... get your ATO set up immediately so you can monitor it for a few days before you leave and make the big changes after you come home.

 

[SinkyShippy]

A couple of thoughts... as others have said, changing things right before you go on vacation is always a bad idea. It sounds like you do need the ATO (unless you can have someone come by every day or two to check the tank and top off manually, which might even be better) so what I would do is get the ATO set up immediately... as in right now, so at least you can monitor it for a few days days before you go on vacation.

You don’t want to be adjusting it every day and trying to fine tune it over the next week. You want it set up to the point where it is functional, even if it’s not perfect, and you can leave it without touching it for the next few days so that you will have confidence that it will continue to work the same way while you are on vacation. If you need to adjust it or tune it every day then how do you know that it will be good when you’re gone?

After you come back from vacation you can set up the overflow and the sump and move the ATO to the sump and get everything fine tuned there. As far as your original question, I do run two return pumps in my sump, which are connected to outlets on two different circuits. I also have two heaters, again connected to two different circuits. About a year and a half ago I had a case where the GFCI on one of the circuits tripped while I was on vacation, but one pump and one heater kept operating and the tank was fine for several days before I was able to get back and correct the issue.

But like I said, now is not the time to be making big changes like that... get your ATO set up immediately so you can monitor it for a few days before you leave and make the big changes after you come home.

Will do. Thanks bud. First order of business is I need to get a bucket of RO/DI water filtered.

 

[ryeguyy84]

I'm not a huge fan of the sponge on the overflow, a strainer should be fine but a sponge that's not cleaned regularly will clog and overflow. Unless there's a hole on the top as an emergency bypass, I can't tell from the pics

 

[SinkyShippy]

I'm not a huge fan of the sponge on the overflow, a strainer should be fine but a sponge that's not cleaned regularly will clog and overflow. Unless there's a hole on the top as an emergency bypass, I can't tell from the pics

There is a hole through the whole thing.

 

[malacoda]

You're worrying, and overthinking it way too much. Just put the ATO in your sump.

Put the ATO sensor in your return chamber so it will turn on the ATO when the water level in the return chamber gets low.

Use one pump for the ATO (most come with one) to pump water from your ATO reservoir to your sump return chamber. E.g. no 'second' back up pump for ATO..

And do not bother with installing a second return pump either.

The likelihood of pump failure is extremely low.

And don't worry about putting the ATO on battery back up. If you're power is out long enough for that much evaporation to take place, your livestock will die of suffocation (lack of oxygenation of the water via movement) or temperature drop.

I use the same Marine Depot overflow box (the nano size) on my 24g and it has worked perfectly for the past 3 years. Restarts every time without fail. I've left my tank on autopilot without any backup for up to 1 month at a time.

It's a 20g. If by some 1-in-1,000 chance something should fail, it will cost less to replace the livestock and it will to buy all that backup equipment.

And, the MORE equipment you have the more potential points of failure you create.

Yes, you sometimes see stories of vacation 'breakdowns' on the forums. But for every 1 story of a tank that just happened to fail that some posts about, there are thousands of vacations you never hear about because nothing went wrong.

Keep it simple.

Let the equipment you already have do its job.

Have a little faith in it.

And most important of all, have a great vacation!

 

[SinkyShippy]

A couple of thoughts... as others have said, changing things right before you go on vacation is always a bad idea. It sounds like you do need the ATO (unless you can have someone come by every day or two to check the tank and top off manually, which might even be better) so what I would do is get the ATO set up immediately... as in right now, so at least you can monitor it for a few days days before you go on vacation.

You don’t want to be adjusting it every day and trying to fine tune it over the next week. You want it set up to the point where it is functional, even if it’s not perfect, and you can leave it without touching it for the next few days so that you will have confidence that it will continue to work the same way while you are on vacation. If you need to adjust it or tune it every day then how do you know that it will be good when you’re gone?

After you come back from vacation you can set up the overflow and the sump and move the ATO to the sump and get everything fine tuned there. As far as your original question, I do run two return pumps in my sump, which are connected to outlets on two different circuits. I also have two heaters, again connected to two different circuits. About a year and a half ago I had a case where the GFCI on one of the circuits tripped while I was on vacation, but one pump and one heater kept operating and the tank was fine for several days before I was able to get back and correct the issue.

But like I said, now is not the time to be making big changes like that... get your ATO set up immediately so you can monitor it for a few days before you leave and make the big changes after you come home.

Woof. Glad I set up the ATO now. Turns out if I keep the u tube below the water line, the water pumps back into the bucket. Nearly had it spill all over my floor lol

 

[Brett S]

Woof. Glad I set up the ATO now. Turns out if I keep the u tube below the water line, the water pumps back into the bucket. Nearly had it spill all over my floor lol

Haha, yeah... definitely want to leave a little air gap there.