more DIY sump for dummies

parrotchute

parrotchute

DUSTOFF MEDEVAC
Okay after all the great info you guys gave me (and resources), I feel I'm a lot more knowledgeable on the whole sump proccess...got a couple more questions that were raised in the process:

I read, "Wet / dry filters are nothing more than a sump with a built-in chamber within which bio-media is installed. If live rock or live sand is used as bio-filtration, then the bio-media is more of a detriment than a benefit and should be removed." - So....if I have mostly live rock in my main tank, and live rock in my sump, I don't need any filter at all? How do you guys weigh in on this?

Secondly, my tank isn't pre-drilled, so I'm guessing I'll need a hang-on overflow. If I lose siphon, the pump will keep pushing the water in the main tank and overflow - what would cause the syphon to break? Any checks to put in to prevent this?

Last question: "The only place you must keep [snails] out of is the intake of your return pump" -Why? Wouldn't that just mean no more water is going into your tank, sort of as if you had a power failure? I know the water from the overflow would drain in, but only enough until it the overflow was equalized?

Sorry for the essay!!!!
-Alex
 
sorry I cant with the first question im in the same process right now.

with the hob overflow it should never lose syphon unless u remove the pipe from inside the overflow to the outside. once the water level gets below the overflow the flow just stops but never loses syphon.


I think the only reason u would not want a snail in the return pump is because of damage it may cause to the pump provided your sump would be able to hold the additional water your tank would drain down


where you dont want anything to get stuck is in the drain line from the HOB overflow tube or drain. The morning I was leaving on a cruse I woke up to 5 gallons of water on my floor:grumble: the U shaped tube from the inside of the tank to the overflow had algae build up in it and restricted the flow to the sump slow enough that the return pump could push the water faster than it could get there which caused all the water in sump to get pumped into and over the top of the tank.:frustrat: now they get cleaned every couple of weeks
 
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Thanks guys, once again, a treasure trove of valuable info. Dusty is your overflow clear or opaque?
Daugherty, I have about 35 lbs about live rock and about 45 pounds of base rock that is slowing becoming live - think I can go without my canister tank completely? Or could I replace it with some media in the sump when I build it (bioballs, filter pads) Or none at all?

Thanks!
 
the only thing most people use their cansiter filters for is to run some carbon or phosphate media like GFO. do you have media in your filter now. if so just start removing a 1/4 of it a week until it is empty than keep the filter to run carbon and GFO. i also have a phosphate reactor that i run
 
I had a wet/dry with integrated skimmer but removed the media. At that point it's just a sump minus the fuge, like you said. Now i have a custom made sump with 3 sections... protein skimmer | return | fuge. Much better.
 
the overflow inside the tank is black the outside is clear tinted plastic and the U shaped tube is clear...mines right under the light and that is why I had the algae problem
 
d2mini said:
Now i have a custom made sump with 3 sections... protein skimmer | return | fuge. Much better.
Click to expand...


That's how my sump is. We DIY'd it from a used 20 gallon and acrylic that we cut up to make the baffles. Works great!!

As for preventing flooding from possible failed intake, one thing that would help is testing your water levels. First cut off the return pump, and watch your sump fill up. It should eventually stop. But if you see it starting to fill up too high, start dumping some water from the sump until the water stops going in. That way, if the power fails, your sump will only fill up so much. Start it back up, and MARK YOUR WATER LEVEL with tape so you will know how high to fill it at top off.

Do the same test by cutting off the intake. Albeit, you could do damage to your return pump if you let it go dry, so as soon as the water level goes above your return's suction level, cut off the return. WATCH YOUR MAIN TANK. Worse case, you'll see how much your main tank will fill up with sump water if your intake fails.

My overflow box has an adjustable height. So I have it set to the notch so on normal use the water level of the main tank is 1/2in below my tank's rim. It's enough room for the sump water to fill it up w/o overflowing just in case my utube failes.

One more thing...you can drill a hole near the base of your return nozzle if you don't have a check valve. The hole will keep excess backflow. My return nozzle is just skimming the top of my waterline, so it doesn't have much backflow because it ends up sucking air rather quickly.
 
Daugherty, got media in there now, will start removing it slowly; do you think my live rock is up to the task of taking over already?
Dusty, yeah, I had that algae problem in my filter return so I taped it all off with duct tape so no light can go through....

Wonton, thanks for the advice - so, if I get it right, you have your overflow set up so that if it just stopped sucking up water, you've got enough extra room in your tank to hold basicly the entire amount of your sump (or at least the amount of water until it was below your pump intake? This kind of gave me an idea; if the return line intake was closer to the top of your sump level, and your overflow failed, it'd only suck in water until the water was below that intake, maybe a few inches worth? Yeah, the pump would cavitate, but at least you wouldn't flood your main tank? Does that make sense?

-Alex
 
i would say remove the media slowly and as you do the lr will develope more bacteria in it so that it will be able to handle the load. how muck rock do you have?
 
Okay, I'll slowly ween it back and see what my water quality looks like!
Anyone know the answer to my question about placement of the return line opening?
Thanks!
 
So, as I understand it, a risk for sumps is overflowing either in the tank or in the sump.
An overflow in the sump is caused by a power outage, where the primary reason for the flood is from the water flowing back down the tubes into the sump. This would be countered by having enough extra room in the sump to accomodate the water in the pipes and/or a check valve in the pipes allowing 1 way water flow.

An overflow in the tank would be caused by the overflow device losing suction and the pump pumping the remaining water in the sump into the tank, resulting in an overflow. I'm thinking this could be countered by having a return line inlet fairly high on the water line in the sump (instead of a totally submerged pump, I guess), so that if the suction fails the pump just continues pumping the top inch or so of water in the sump until it is exposed to the air, where the pump cavitates. Would this work/is it feasible?

Thanks!
 
if you have the pump out of the water it will overheat. one thin that you can do is drill a 1/4in hole in the elbow as the line enters the tank. this will shop the siphon when the power goes out so it will not back feed into the tank. as for the return i dont know what to say if you have it higher in the sump you run the risk of it over heating and will have to add water more often than once a day i bet.
here is a pic of were the little hole is at in my return pipe it is msarked with a little red line

Untitled-1.jpg
 
Well, I know if the pump is out of water it will overheat, but it's not something I'd want to happen. It's just a better alternative to overflowing your tank. Yeah, the one day thing would be the kicker....
 
get a cpr overflow box that has the aqualifter pump with it so that if it does loose a siphon the pump will restart it.
 

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