Finally got my sump setup!

Gdbyrd

life's a beach
After letting the pvc glue and silicone cure I fired up my external overflow last night, then flipped on the return pump. All is well. I have a few questions though.

The biggest one is related to my ATO. Sine the sump is so small and I have about 1000gph going through an 8g sump the water is a little more than turbulent. So I was wondering if I could keep my ato up top where the water is calmer.

The other question I had was about the return pump. Right now I have a ball valve in line. Its turned to about 2/3rds closed. Otherwise the pump pulls more water than the overflow returns. Is that ok?

There are some other little things I'm trying to work out but id like to get this stuff fixed first. I'm at work right now otherwise I would post pics! Can't wait to get this all setup nice and neat. So far I really like it.
 
This is totally up to you, but I like to keep the flow through my sump pretty low... maybe 3-4x the volume of my tank, tops. The majority of my flow comes from powerheads.

A ball valve AFTER the return pump is ok, just don't restrict the flow TO the return pump.
 
It sounds like your setup is ok, but a couple of things to consider. If you have cut back the flow of the return to just 1/3 of it's potential, you are putting a lot of restriction on the pump which will cause unnecessary pressure and heat which ultimately puts extra wear on the pump. In addition to reducing the life of your pump, you are adding extra heat to the water by running it this way. You may consider getting a smaller pump that is a closer match to your overflow, or possibly adjust your overflow (make it bigger/add a 2nd) so that you can use your existing pump at its full potential. Also, you should consider getting a bigger sump. 1000gph= 125x turn over in your sump each hour. which means that your sump is draining completely, twice every minute. In other words, a gallon of water will be in your sump for about 5 seconds before it's pushed back into the display. That doesn't really leave much time for your skimmer to process the water before it's on it's way back to the tank.
 
I agree with Dennis and Justin as far as flow. You have way too much going thru your sump. The recommend flow rate is 5-10x the tanks water volume, which for a 55g tank is aprox 275-550 gph.

The ATO must be in a section of the sump where the water level drops due to evaporation. The water level doesn't drop in the tank.
 
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Aww. That sucks. I had asked what sixe to get for my 8g sump and I had a couple people tell me to get the largest overflow possible. I should have just bought a 300. There isn't any room under the cabinet for a bigger sump. So aside from getting a smaller pump I really should have bought a slower setup...

I think the overflow is actually pushing a whole lot less than 1000gph. The return pump is 1300 gph, its going up 3 feet of 1" tubing. Like I said I think the return pump is turned down more than 1/2 flow.

What are my options? It all has to fit under the cabinet.
 
Lol Justin, if you let me crash with you while my wife gets over it I will definitely do it.

In all seriousness, I only had room for a 55g, even a 75 was too big. Its in my man cave and its not the largest space. Anyone have any advice for me? Now I feel like I wasted a couple hundred dollars.
 
Put a ball or gate valve on your drain line between the overflow and sump. I always have one of these.
This way you can control the drain flow into your sump to a more manageable level of around 5x your tank volume.
Then look at how much you are cutting back your return pump. Use that little tidbit of info to figure out what would be a better pump for your system. Buy the new pump and sell the old one on ebay.
 
Don't get me wrong, I use valves on everything, including my overflows, but I have them there simply to be able to shut them off if I need to. Using a valve off the overflow, into the sump is asking for a flood. The moment that you get a little algae, or a crab, or something sucked into your overflow, it will always get stuck at the valve and create a block. I recommend that you open your overflow valves completely unless you are operating with several overflows where one can pick up the slack if the other becomes plugged.
 
While it's fine to have shut off valves on the drain line, I would not use them to control the flow. That's looking for trouble. Exactly which overflow do you have? If it has 2 u-tubes, it can work at a slower rate with 1. If it has 2 bulkheads, you can plug 1 and again, it will work at the slower rate.
 
umm I have never done a sump but I thought that the overflow would only return as much as you pump would bring up. I know it has a max but I didnt think that there was a min.
 
A drain can get clogged no matter what. My sixline clogged my fully open drain last year. Luckily I was there when it started to overflow.
But i guess i don't have to worry now since i have an open standpipe emergency drain.
 
umm I have never done a sump but I thought that the overflow would only return as much as you pump would bring up. I know it has a max but I didnt think that there was a min.
You are exactly right. there really is no reason to worry about the overflow. just get your return pump swapped out for one that fits your tank and you will be alright.
 
Instead of just putting a ball valve after your return pump, you can make a T out of PVC from the return pump. Have one end of the T going up to the main tank, and the other end going back to the sump. Put a ball valve on the line going back to the sump. That way you can decrease the flow by redirecting some of the water back to the sump. You can control how much water the return pump sends to the main tank without putting a lot of back pressure on it.
 
umm I have never done a sump but I thought that the overflow would only return as much as you pump would bring up. I know it has a max but I didnt think that there was a min.
That's true to an extent. If you run to small of an amount of water thru it, the water will be moving too slow and you will get an accumulation of bubbles in the u-tube, if you use that style. In normal operation, there is enough water flowing to sweep any bubbles right thru.
 
So, you're not suppose to slow down the return ? I have a ball valve on both. I have to slow mine down or it will drain the sump.
 
Instead of just putting a ball valve after your return pump, you can make a T out of PVC from the return pump. Have one end of the T going up to the main tank, and the other end going back to the sump. Put a ball valve on the line going back to the sump. That way you can decrease the flow by redirecting some of the water back to the sump. You can control how much water the return pump sends to the main tank without putting a lot of back pressure on it.

That's an excellent idea. Thanks Biffer. That'll actually work out really well.

The overflow is really narrow, do you guys have any suggestions for quieting it down? Right now I added two pieces of PVC in there, made it level with the drain from the U tube and it's really, really quiet..But I'm not sure if this is OK to do, and I'd like to know if there's any way to make it even quieter...no room for a durso in there!

ALSO, can I leave my ATO floats on the top of the tank or do they have to go in the sump now?

And that aquatrader skimmer..I had to get one rated for a 75g, when the bigger one comes in I will order it, but damn..this thing is crazy. I just set it up and there's all kind of crap in the cup. I hate to say it, but thus far it seems to be skimming better or as good as my 800S.

Thanks so much guys.
 
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