External Skimmer inside my sump.

[Dylan]

I've started piecing together my 120 gallon from used stuff. I am picking up a Reef Octopus XP2000 External tomorrow. I found a used sump with great dimensions... but it will take up the entire length of the sump. Can I put the external skimmer inside my sump without any problems?

Thanks,
Dylan

 

[luke33]

Yep, it'll work just fine internal as that pump can be run internal or external.

 

[dave90ztt]

yeah i run my external octo in sump no issues

 

[Dylan]

Okay, stupid question but... How do I hook up an external skimmer outside my sump? This is one of those questions everybody figures out, but I can't find it with the search button.

 

[stunreefer Verified Sponsor]

You place an internal feed pump in the sump and plumb it into the skimmer (with drain plumbed back into sump or just dumping back in sump), or place an external feed pump outside and plumb through a bulkhead, or feed the skimmer with the drain from your overflow.

 

[Dylan]

You place an internal feed pump in the sump and plumb it into the skimmer (with drain plumbed back into sump or just dumping back in sump), or place an external feed pump outside and plumb through a bulkhead, or feed the skimmer with the drain from your overflow.

I guess my question is... how do I get the water out of the sump into the skimmer? I understand the pump in the sump and plumbing it to the skimmer, but how do I get it over there? With another pump? :squigglemouth:

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

You can use a another pump inside your sump that will feed your skimmer. Or you can just tee off your return plumbing as it comes from the overflow to the sump and feed that into the skimmer.

 

[Dylan]

You can use a another pump inside your sump that will feed your skimmer. Or you can just tee off your return plumbing as it comes from the overflow to the sump and feed that into the skimmer.

The Tee sounds simpler, since the XP2000 already comes with the pump. Is there a likelihood of the plumbing not supplying the skimmer enough flow?

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

Here is a crude drawing for you. If it is a standard 120g then it will have two overflows. Something like this is what you will do. The balve valves will allow you to control the flow to your skimmer.

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[Dylan]

The tank will have a single corner overflow, which is somewhat tricky. The sump I found for cheap allows me room to run it externally, but still in my sump.

 

[Dylan]

There's the sump. One corner overflow. What would be the easiest way to position the sump and skimmer?

 

[Troylee]

a easy thing you can do and eliminate the extra pump all together is take the union with the elbow off the front of the pump and get a new union and cap it on the skimmer and just let the skimmer pump feed it like a enternal....

 

[Dylan]

a easy thing you can do and eliminate the extra pump all together is take the union with the elbow off the front of the pump and get a new union and cap it on the skimmer and just let the skimmer pump feed it like a enternal....

Would it be easiest if I just used it internally on a bigger sump?

d'ohhh this it confusing...

 

[Eggs]

Not as hard as it sounds - you can use it on what you have.
If you set your skimmer in the sump, how would you feed it? I use a pump that is sitting in the sump with a hose feeding the skimmer.
If you didn't want the skimmer sitting in the sump, you would still have the pump sitting in the sump, and the hose would still feed the skimmer (which isn't in the sump). Just make sure your skimmer will drain back into the sump (via hose, pvc, etc.)
What the others suggested is different ways to set this up - you would need holes/bulkheads in your sump, or change the plumbing that feeds the sump, or change the plumbing from your return pump.

If you have the room for a larger sump, that would help your system by having a larger water volume, and providing room for additional equipment you may want down the road.

 

[aquafrags]

its always safer to run any skimmer inside the sump, especially if you have some nice flooring

 

[Justin Johnston]

I've got a 75g with 7 fish and just a few coral. I just got the sapphire 34 trigger sump and was given a Reef octopus classic 110 EXT 4" recirculating skimmer. I don't know much of anything other than it's good to have a skimmer for coral to remove the organics.

I'd like to know in detail how exactly I can use this inside my sump, I didn't know it was external, but was told it can be use internally.....