Finally got my sump setup!

[yote]

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.

You can slow down the return side.Its just that just slowing the flow down with a valve puts extra back pressure on the pump and causes it to work a little harder.

 

[Ted]

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.

did you try the mesh mod on that skimmer from aquatraders I was reading on on RC about people doing that on those and supposedly made them just as good as the really expensive ones.

 

[Gdbyrd]

did you try the mesh mod on that skimmer from aquatraders I was reading on on RC about people doing that on those and supposedly made them just as good as the really expensive ones.

No, I haven't even looked into anything for it, but it's really doing a great job thus far. I can only imagine how great it'd be with mods. I might try using my modded MJ1200 I used on my BakPak...see if that works any better. The water looks like milk as is though. And I'm getting tons of dark green/brown goo.

The ATO Cannot go on the tank btw. I attempted that in my sleep deprived state about an hour ago. I hope I didn't screw anything up but it dumped like 2g of freshwater into the tank because I'm being stupid......

The more I consider this I might jsut oder a smaller pump. My only thoughts about adding the T inline with the return would be that I could run it over to a refugium and have another small pump bring it back to the sump...But really, I think my best bet is to have it all connected. This weekend I'm going to buy some acrylic and see if I can make myself a sump. Should be interesting and challenging..I just wish it wasn't such a bitch to work with a 55g stand....Can I make two boxes and connect them with a larger bulkhead? Biggest downside is deadspots..but could that be done?

As it is right now..having the ball valve turned anything less than 1/2 pulls way more water than the overflow is returning. So I think I need a smaller pump regardless of what I do..or follow Biffs idea. The way it is now, it wouldn't matter if my sump was 200g, it'd pump it dry in a matter of minutes.

 

[mng777777]

You could do two tanks and connect them with bulkheads. That's the way my first setup was for my 75g because I too, was having trouble fitting anything reasonable into my stand. My suggestion from my experience would be to just place a bulkhead at the bottom of each tank and connect them directly to each other with a straight pipe. Then have your overflow in one and your return in the other. That should take care of any dead spots. Just make sure that they are both well below the water line and that you use big enough plumbing for it to comfortably handle the flow. Also, you will need to make sure that there is no way that either side of the plumbing can become blocked or it will result in a flood.

As far as the pump goes, it just sounds too big. It's one thing to trim it back, it's another to have it cut beyond half way. Save that pump for the next, bigger tank, and get one smaller for now.

 

[Ted]

I like the idea of having two connected tanks. You could have the teed off part that Biff talked about feeding the connected fuge. To me that would be so sweet. Maybe some of the designers on here could draw up pic. (hint hint)

 

[Gdbyrd]

Well I'm going to have to do something :-( this morning my tank temperature was 86. I stuck a fan on the tank and nothing. I unplugged the sump and pointed a powerhead way up. At 11 the temp was down to 83. Sucks. I hope nothing is dead or dying. All the coral looked ok too. I will just have to wait and see.

So. Do I order a 700 gph or a 500 gph? I also need to setup the pump so I can eun it externally.

I'm thinking I might try to make some acrlic boxes this weekend that'll fit in there and see if I can increase the gallons. 6 or 7 gallons isn't much water.

 

[mng777777]

I'd try to be right at 500 gph actual flow, so consider your head loss and get the pump that fits accordingly. They usually have charts on the box or on their website. You'll probably be ok to run it in sump once you get the right pump. The reason it got so hot is because you have that valve closed and you created too much pressure on the pump. I'm sorry to hear of your troubles! I hope your livestock pulls through. Now that you have it cooled a bit, try to bring it back to 80 slowly. The temp swings can be just as harmful as high temps, so don't rush it. You can freeze some RODI and throw the cubes in there to get it back to 79/80. Good Luck

 

[Picasso]

G, this is so funny, I had the same problems and posted my issues here yesterday: https://www.livingreefs.com/overflow-issues-t23511.html

I have not designed a sump but I have built a lot of glass and plastic boxes. My advice is to make a complete scaled model out of cardboard or foam core. Use duct tape to put your model together. Once you've gotten your sump exactly how you want it, use a razor knife to disassemble your model and use those pieces as your template. Good luck, I'm very interested in your progress because I'm doing the exact same thing right now!

Do you need a chiller for your tank?

Catherine

 

[Gdbyrd]

G, this is so funny, I had the same problems and posted my issues here yesterday: https://www.livingreefs.com/overflow-issues-t23511.html

I have not designed a sump but I have built a lot of glass and plastic boxes. My advice is to make a complete scaled model out of cardboard or foam core. Use duct tape to put your model together. Once you've gotten your sump exactly how you want it, use a razor knife to disassemble your model and use those pieces as your template. Good luck, I'm very interested in your progress because I'm doing the exact same thing right now!

Do you need a chiller for your tank?

Catherine

Thanks for the advice on the acrylic! That'll come in very handy. Sorry you're having troubles too..this hasn't been a fun project. Whomever made the stand for 55g tanks needs to be shot and quartered.....

No, aquarium gods willing I won't need a chiller. As has been since I got this 55g setup, I haven't needed anything for the tank to keep it a steady 78-80 degrees. That's why I was so freaked out with the rise in temp! I'm going to order a 700 gph pump tonight..the other one was a 1300 gph..so cutting it by half should get me where I want to be. And if I can get a better sump made I should be set.

I'm going to run the pump outside the sump. Hopefully that'll help with my temp problems.