Why not 2 drains!?

[ImGoingCoastal]

I am looking to purchase a sump, and am baffled (get it?!) at the pre-manufactured sumps.

I am looking at Trigger and Bashsea primarily and I am dumbfounded by their decision to not put two drains into their 26" and 30" premium models.

The Bashsea Signature has ONE drain, but the Smart Series has THREE!? I just want one with two drains for the EShopps overflow I intend to use. Am I an idiot? Is there one hidden somewhere? If I am going to drop around $400 for a sump, I would prefer that it looks clean, and I think having the emergency overflow just dangling above the sump is a bad visual. Am I just not thinking about it right? Is there a way to plumb it so it looks clean?

And with Trigger, I don't know why they make a 30" Ruby but not a 30" Sapphire/Emerald. Again, the 26" also has only one drain but the 34" (which is too large for me) has two drains. The 30" Ruby has two but seems like a lesser sump than the sapphire/emerald.

I looked at the icecap but prefer the fuge setup of the other two. Eshopps is too pricey for what I am wanting, and I think the other two companies have much more appealing sumps and again, optics are important to me for this build.

I know custom is an option but again $$$$.

 

[rusty hannon]

1. Not sure why that is but we bought a bashsea sig. as you pointed out and as you said it has 3 . the sump has been great and looks good too. We leave one drain open and no problem. Can I ask why you don't go w that as we only paid 429. For it? We even decided to display our equipment for ease of main. plus it all looks good.

 

[ImGoingCoastal]

Thank you for the reply! Well the signature at the 30" size does not have 3 drains, but the smart does. After more research I saw a few Trigger sumps with the plumbing looking pretty good despite not having a drain built in, so I guess one drain is on the table.

That said, I still like the idea of two. I do have a new consideration though, the drain sections in the Bashsea Signature and the Emerald/Sapphire 26 look hard to clean, as in hard to access. Not where the socks go but where the actual drain is. Anyone have any experience on this?

 

[Water Dog]

I set up my Trigger 26 with my dual drain Herbie set up. It worked out just fine.

 

[Water Dog]

As far as cleaning the sump, it’s fairly simple with the right tool. I use a cheap battery powered gravel vacuum to suck up detritus every other month or so. As far as where the primary drain empties into, it is a very turbulent area where the water dumps into so detritus doesn’t really build up in that area due to that turbulence.

 

[ImGoingCoastal]

HHAHAHAHAHA that's ironic, I was looking at your build thread on reefkeeping.com. It's what made me decide to put the 26 back on the table. So now, It's $300 for a 26" sump and ATO container or $450 for a 30" sump and ATO container. Your tank is awesome and VERY similar to what I am going with. I am also trying to decide on one return vs two.

Thank you for the responses! I've always had AGA's as my sumps so this is a new world for me. Your input has definitely proven beneficial.

 

[Water Dog]

If you wait a couple of weeks, the Trigger Sumps will most likely be on sale for Black Friday.

 

[TriggerFinger]

Trigger systems has a blemished section with nice discounts. My sump was $100 off normal price and the blemishes can’t be seen with water in the sump.

 

[ImGoingCoastal]

Yeah that's why the price of the trigger is so low, they have an emerald 26 in the blemished, that I may get. Bashsea has a Signature series 30 that was built in reverse for a customer, they were knocking a few bucks off for that. I actually am talking myself into the Bashsea just becuase it's 30" and looks so nice for $60 more.

 

[jelazar]

I'm not familiar with either sump, but I would pick a sump that allows me to attach my plumbing to the sump. I'd be worried that the unconnected plumbing would get bumped one day and dump water on the floor. Sure, you can find other ways to secure the extra plumbing, and the chance of something happening is low. But the consequences are high.

 

[Water Dog]

In my setup pictured above, you can see a pipe hanger securing the secondary drain plumbing. Because it is a secondary drain, only a slight trickle of water goes through the plumbing, thus there really is no weight stress on that line. The full siphon primary drain line is obviously secured to the sump. Planned and executed properly, I see no need to worry about the secondary drain line not being secured directly to the sump. If you think about it, it’s not all that different than the emergency drain in a 3 drain Beananimal set up not being secured directly to the sump.