Running Multiple Tanks on One Sump...

[Ratherbeflyen]

I have a 250 and a 130 gallon plumbed into one sump. I had the luxury during the construction of my house (single level) to put all my plumbing under the concrete slab. I also had a 4’ long x 4’ deep x 32” wide concrete sump built into the floor of my fish room.

You need to put together a build thread. That's unconventional setup I would like to learn more about. I've never heard of an in floor sump.

 

[Coastie Reefer]

75g and two lowboys on a single sump and a single Varios 8 return pump.

 

[Plumber1969]

I've been pondering what I want to do with a 40 long that I have laying around. And I have this idea that I'd like to configure it as a sump and use it for filtration to all of my tanks.

I realize that while physically separate tanks, they should be considered ONE tank as they each share the same water. But this is the first time trying something like this (for me). And I'd like to hear from others who have done this.

I wonder; do you run a return pump for each tank in the return chamber or do you use one giant pump, splitting off to different tanks?

Can you think of anything else I should consider?

I did it like this

 

[KenO]

You need to put together a build thread. That's unconventional setup I would like to learn more about. I've never heard of an in floor sump.

I started a build thread.

Build Thread - My Crazy Journey

I’ve been asked a number of times about starting a build thread. So I thought it was time to start documenting my crazy house and aquarium(s) build. Some of the decisions during the house construction literally happened overnight. Here’s a quick overview of the aquariums, but before I get too...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Dom]

I did it like this

Interesting layout... seems complicated.

 

[rcpalmer1]

I have a 120gl and a 56gl hooked to one sump. I run one 3170gph pump. When I plumbed the first tank I plumbed a manifold with extra valves. Something I have not seen mentioned is you need valves on each return line. I have a dc pump that I run around 70%. I don't always run my reactor but if I need to I can just open a valve and bump my return up to 80% and not have to adjust either tank. I run the same brand pump on my mix station. If my return fails I can swap out pumps in 15 minutes. I know it is over kill on a mix station but I had the backup pump on the shelf for years. This way I know it will work when I need it.

 

[Peach02]

I don’t run two of my personal tanks on a single sump however I’ve worked at my LFS as a casual for a while.
Running two+ tanks on a single sump is great for simplifying filtration, heating, testing etc
however as others have said you have to account for how much water will go into sump when return is off, if also means any disease will travel between tanks and not so much of a problem on larger tanks but our invert tanks have had problems with the plumbing getting clogged.

 

[DanConnor]

Yep, I have a 150 stock tank sump, pumping to a 200 display upstairs and a 8 foot frag tray next to the sump. All on 1 iwaki pump. I do have a backup pump in case of failure.

 

[DangerDave]

Just as most peeps noted, this is not a problem. I have 5 tanks plumbed to one sump. I’m about to add two more. Two of the tanks flow through the old sump before getting to the sump.

 

[CherBear811]

I ran a 65 and 75 on the same sump. Great system. Whenever you can increase the system volume, you improve stability. Collectively in one system, both tanks were better off than when they were individual. As others said, the most important thing is making sure the sump has the capacity to handle the drainage in a power failure. Also, this might be debatable... but it seemed easier maintaining one sump instead of two.

 

[thatmanMIKEson]

I have a 93 cube and 20 long on one sump. If using a manifold with one pump be careful to not bump the valves. You may end up with to much water going to the smallest tank. Your ato may alarm because it's been on to long and you may wonder what happened to the water when your tank begins to overflow.

Edit: @FishOfHex on YouTube has a single sump for his setup.

Yeah but he can fit a body in that sump. lets Go Travis