Looking for some suggestions on sump possibilities..

goathead · Apr 6, 2014

Hello again, everyone. I have a standard glass 55 gal. set-up that is currently sump-less. I was hoping to increase my water capacity by adding a sump but I don't think I have enough room to do this. The available area under my tank consists of 2 seperate cabinets that measure (Length) 14" (Width) 15" and (Height) 28" each. These areas are seperated by some drawrers and knocking them out doesn't make sense, as I use them for chemicals, food, test kits, etc. I don't have an overflow or anything plumbed into my tank, so I don't know where to start. I was considering the use of a fresh water holding tank (30 gal.) that I picked up from work, which is food grade U.H.M.W. plastic. It has 3/4" fittings (1 in and 1 out) that I thought I could use for increasing my overall volume by using a inline pump to force the water through it and back into the main tank. Does this sound like any kind of benefit to my system or am I going in the complete wrong direction? I would ultimately like to build a sump (somehow) in the area I have available in the 2 cabinets but the space restrictions lead me to believe that this may not be a possibility. Anyone have a similar situation that they have found an answer for or are there any suggestions as how I can proceed?? This is a picture of my cabinet so you can see what I am talking about...

Reefing Madness · Apr 7, 2014

goathead · Apr 11, 2014

Thinking that a cube sump may be my best option here... Anyone care to help me come up with a logical design??

TwistedTiger · Apr 11, 2014

Are you just trying to increase volume or do you want to use the sump for something? Also if you're talking about pressurizing the holding tank, that sounds like trouble waiting to happen IMO.

Bad Company · Apr 11, 2014

You could take two of the holding tanks, cut them in half and connect them near the bottom with bulkheads and large dia tubing. Your skimmer could go in one side, and the heater and return pump could go in the other side. alternatively you could remove the drawers, and glue the faces back on the cabinet... Netting you enough room for a real sump. the advanages of a sump ae pretty big, mostly to do with cosmetics, maintenance, and stability... But they aren't necessary.

Good luck!

goathead · Apr 11, 2014

Bad company, I never thought of that but its a great idea. Thanks.

goathead · Apr 15, 2014

So what I don't understand is...
How do you keep the return pump from sucking out more water than the siphon can supply - or - how do you keep the siphon from supplying too much water to the sump? Seems to me like this will always cause an issue. I must be overlooking something. I know that an inline ball valve would regulate it to some degree, but is that the whole answer, or are there other things in play here?

Reefing Madness · Apr 15, 2014

The return pump is actually the answer. The overflow waits for the supply from the return pump, if there is no supply, it waits for some. Thats why you to get as close to the overflow gph as you can without going over it, the overflow is rated at a certain gph, so you get a pump that will match that, or close to it, so the overflow isn't always waiting for supply water.

http://www.melevsreef.com/allmysumps.html

Bad Company · Apr 15, 2014

If you exceed the overflow rating, the water should overtop the overflow, and still make its way back to the sump. Whenever you design a system, you should make sure that it doesn't leak when the following happens:
- Power outage
- Pump fails
- Drain clogs (use an additional emergency drain and intake strainers)
- Pump needs servicing/replacement
- Plumbing need to be replaced
- etc. etc.

Think through all the possibilities...