Well I finally came across a sump I couldn't pass up its 17 high 12 deep and 30 long it's a wet dry trickle. came loaded with bio balls and has 3 chambers. I plan on feeding it with 1 160 gph power head and using my canister filter as the return pump. Idk if this will work or not but I'm going to try as I have this equipment all ready . Picked the sump up for 30 bucks. Any suggestions as to what to put where ? My skimmer will still have to be hob. But other then that I can move the heater down. I'm looking for suggestions as to if I should use the balls or replace with something else it's designed to use filter pads or sponges. I'll post a pick of it tomorrow after I clean it .
So I bought a sump...
- Thread starter Captmcfly
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Not sure what you mean by feeding it with a 1160 gph power head; your return pump, in this case your canister filter, will control the flow from your display to your sump. I would remove the bio balls and replace with marine pure or sintered glass media.
tdileo
Valuable Member
I am not a fan of bioballs but personally I would set it up as follows.
First chamber: skimmer, heater, reactors
Second: refugium
Third: return pump and dosing lines
I strongly suggest you don't use your canister as a return pump. Just get a nice Sicce Syncra pump or something else, they aren't crazy expensive.
First chamber: skimmer, heater, reactors
Second: refugium
Third: return pump and dosing lines
I strongly suggest you don't use your canister as a return pump. Just get a nice Sicce Syncra pump or something else, they aren't crazy expensive.
ps2cho
Well-Known Member
You cannot do that because if the flow is not matched identically, it will overflow or run out. That is 100% way to cause a flood.
Siphon overflows is not that great, but your plan is absolutely insane.
Girthrockwel
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I'd have to agree with the other folks. I think you're going to get a wet floor out of the deal. Either the powerhead is going to pump more water than the canister and flood the sump or the canister is going to overfill the DT. Also most canister filters use gravity/siphon for the intake side so not having the intake above the pump could cause you issues.
ETA: Man, you guys are fast!
ETA: Man, you guys are fast!
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If you have the knowledge then rock on, and as much as i'm a DIY guy... I say buy one. Your over flow/plumbing might be one of the most crucial aspects to your system in addition to your electrical. If you build a sub par product, you'll find out either real quick or when you least expect it. This is one area where I personally would leave it up to the pros and buy an over flow. Either go HOB, which they do have their faults, or drill your current tank, if possible, or buy a reef ready tank.
There's a plethora of products out there that are not cost effect and many you'll never see the ROI: Acrylic sumps, $300 fuge lights, etc, but IMO I would not skimp out or cut corners on your over flow... just my .02
Good advice here thanks guys . I'm an electrician not a plumber so I was looking at gph of each pump and planing on using a couple gate valves to tune it not thinking of gravity and head pressures. .. electrons don't care up hill down hill all flows the same until you go for distance lol guess I'll just grab another pump and an over flow.. I could build an over flow easy enough.. I hate shopping online when I have a local hardware store near by. And my lfs don't carry them .. I will see how the weekend goes
Well I got it all cleaned up today and bought all the plumbing bought a baldor 600 gph pump and will start the build on 1 inch self priming hob overflow tomorrow. I will have to move my tank as well due to not having enough room in my stand for the new sump. I will be removing the bio balls and making it a fuge with live rock. Will post more pics as this progresses.. looking forward to the added stability and extra water volume. Planing on filter floss in first tray above rock then rock below that. Sponge between that chamber and return pump chamber. Looking at a way to also install my hob skimmer on this sump. Not to hard just no way to hid this under my tank because it's only one inch shorter then my space under my tank.
Test run today
All built and running.
Been watching her run for 3 hrs adjusting the overflow and fine tuning here and there. Going to let it run over night and hope for the best. I did 3 power outages and it restarted perfectly each time I did half hr shutdowns to make sure all had lost prime . So far so good
All built and running.
Been watching her run for 3 hrs adjusting the overflow and fine tuning here and there. Going to let it run over night and hope for the best. I did 3 power outages and it restarted perfectly each time I did half hr shutdowns to make sure all had lost prime . So far so good
I'm now filtering about 800 gallons per hour on a 65 gallon system. Won't lie it was a lot of work to drain store and move all that water. Tank is now in my office right behind my desk. I can work at my computer and when I get stressed out I can throw my feet up and Watch.
