Moving sump to basement.......maybe

90greefman · Feb 6, 2012

So I have a 120g rr tank. I currently have a 40g sump underneath it. The problem is the noise as its located in my living room. I am considering moving my sump to the basement to help reduce noise. The main question I have is how big of pump would I need to get the water back up to the dt. It would have to go up a total of 13 vertical feet and 15 horizontal feet to get back to the dt. My tank is located over my crawl space in the basement so I would be running a lot of pipe to get it to a room where I could set up a sump. Also energy costs are a concern as I currently use an eheim 1262 as a return pump. I figure a larger return pump more energy hence a higher energy bill. Any input would be appreciated to answer the aforementioned before I even consider starting this project.

soccerbag · Feb 6, 2012

While it would be a good project, you would never regret the extra work of moving it to the basement. I have my sump in the basement as well. I run a Reeflo Hammerhead Gold pump and love it. It is all you would ever need from a pump and could even run additional reactors off of it (if needed). It will not be as efficient as your Eheim, but you do have to get water up to the display. The Hammerhead Gold is about as efficient as you can get (for the head pressure you need). Hope this helps a bit.

90greefman · Feb 6, 2012

Helps a ton, plus motivates me to move it. Would help with the tank temp during hot summers too. Way more room for top off reservoirs etc.....

soccerbag · Feb 6, 2012

It is GREAT in everyway. Gets the whole guts of the system out of earshot. It's a beautiful thing to see a display tank and not hear anything else (maybe a powerhead or two but better than sump noise). Here is a similar thread from last week with some pics - they should help you out a bit more (visually). Let me know if you have any specific questions.

https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/eq...ssion/78783-external-pump-recommendation.html

90greefman · Feb 6, 2012

I just looked up that pump, 5555 gph. Seems like a lot or is that a good thing?

90greefman · Feb 6, 2012

Never mind just looked at your pic. It does it all. I love it.

soccerbag · Feb 6, 2012

Well, it is a lot. The link that I added above will show that I am using one pump to run eveything in my system. I'm guessing that you are using multiple pumps for reactors now or is everything running off of the Eheim? The Hammerhead will give you all the power you will ever need. You can dial it back if you need to. If you don't have anything else to run (and don't plan on starting a frag tank, reactors, etc) then you can likely get away with a Reeflo with a bit less power. But when it comes to turnover, I would rather a bit too much than a bit too little. And it sounds like to you will have some 90 degree elbows to get it where you need it. Each one of these degrades pressure a bit. There is some data on that somewhere. I am no pump expert by ANY stretch....lol. Just my recommendation as I have experience with the pump. Some others may have some ideas as well.

soccerbag · Feb 6, 2012

lol...was posting at the same time.

90greefman · Feb 6, 2012

So I found a reeflo sequence hammerhead pump 1.5 years old for 225. Is the gold version that much better or is this a good deal?

BHHOWARD · Feb 6, 2012

I assume that most of the noise is coming from your overflows.

I had an issue with the overflow noise with the sump upstairs and even more of an issue once I moved my sump to the basement on my 120g RR tank. I solved the problem by switching to a beananimal type of overflow. (BeanAnimal's Bar and Grill - Silent and Fail-Safe Overflow System) I could not drill my tank wall as I did not want to drain and move my tank, so I used all 4 of my RR holes as overflows and added my return over-the-top of the tank. I could have easily just used 3 of the RR holes as overflows and 1 as a return. You might want to try this approach before investing a large amount of time and expense of moving your sump. I kept my sump in the basement with this setup, but have also temporarily run this setup with a sump under my stand when I was rebuilding my fish room in the basement. Any noise from the pump can be reduced through pads to reduce vibration. I would also put a large pad under your 40g sump.

90greefman · Feb 6, 2012

Yeah, just brainstorming right now. And yes I would say the majority of the noise is from the overflows. That is interesting to hear how yours was louder after moving the sump downstairs. Appreciate the input greatly.

turfster26 · Feb 7, 2012

soccerbag said:
While it would be a good project, you would never regret the extra work of moving it to the basement. I have my sump in the basement as well. I run a Reeflo Hammerhead Gold pump and love it. It is all you would ever need from a pump and could even run additional reactors off of it (if needed). It will not be as efficient as your Eheim, but you do have to get water up to the display. The Hammerhead Gold is about as efficient as you can get (for the head pressure you need). Hope this helps a bit.

I agree with Craig. BEST MOVE I ever did was going into the basement with my 180-gl sps tank. The whole system performs so much efficiently and noise is not an issue any more. I used (2) Blueline 70's. One for my chiller and then retuns to the display and the other BL70 has a manifold for the other return and T's off for my skimmer & reactors.

HTH

90greefman · Feb 7, 2012

Hate to ask but what do you think all your big pumps add to the electric bill monthly? That's a very nice setup. This could possibly be a way bigger project than expected.

turfster26 · Feb 7, 2012

90greefman said:
Hate to ask but what do you think all your big pumps add to the electric bill monthly? That's a very nice setup. This could possibly be a way bigger project than expected.

You are correct....there are more efficient pumps on the market like the ReeFlo series pumps. Do some homework on pumps and you will be happy you went into the basement. And use Flex PVV...much easier to work with for your drains and returns.

LegoZ81 · Feb 7, 2012

The gold is the lowest wattage pump that i could find with a decent amount of flow, the return runs 24x7 so proper sizing is a must. My pump paid off replacing the 3 other pumps I had in power savings alone after 3 years, and it has a 5 year warrenty.

Check out my build thread in my signiture and the update thread here:
https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/large-aquariums-180g/71055-my-240g-updated.html

90greefman · Feb 7, 2012

Wattage is a huge concern so I wouldn't mind paying a little more when the time comes. Thanks

thedonva · Jan 1, 2013

Stupid question but do you have to drain the tank to move the sump? I want to move mine into the storage room which is on the other side of the wall from my tank.

LukeG · Jan 1, 2013

You just have to turn off you pumps and let your tank siphon into your sump. Once the siphon breaks, drain your sump and disconnect it. I'd glue on temporary caps on your drains as a fail safe until you get everything hooked back up.