Diy Sump

[adambrum]

Im designing a sump for a 200g tank and i have a few questions,

1. I will be using a pump with a output of 1700gph is this about right ?

2. will 2 2" drains with durso's be big enough

3. the water will run into 2 towers 1st though corse sponge the 1 cubic foot of bio balls (7.2 gallons of bio balls), where would the carbon go ?

4. Is 2x 1 cubic foot of bio ball enough

5. I can not get weld on in the uk i have tried everywhere but i can get Methylene Di-chloride which is a acrylic glue i have tried and its very strong will it be ok ?

Thanks

 

[SkiFletch]

1. I will be using a pump with a output of 1700gph is this about right ?

Depends on what the head capacity of the pump is. Flowrate means little when considering sump pump selection. Also, how high off the ground is the top of the tank?

2. will 2 2" drains with durso's be big enough

If memory serves, 2" drains handle up to 1500gph so you'd be in the 3000gph max range

3. the water will run into 2 towers 1st though corse sponge the 1 cubic foot of bio balls (7.2 gallons of bio balls), where would the carbon go?

Funny, I've been away from freshwater so long I have no clue

4. Is 2x 1 cubic foot of bio ball enough

Same as #3

5. I can not get weld on in the uk i have tried everywhere but i can get Methylene Di-chloride which is a acrylic glue i have tried and its very strong will it be ok?

Absoloutely, every stoichiometric and isometric variation of methyl chloride is an acrylic solvent. Weld-on is just methyl chloride with varying amounts of acrylic chips dissolved in it to change the consistency. More chips, thicker, more methyl chloride, thinner. If your stuff is really thin, you may get into some troubles with bubble formation especially if we're talking really long spans here. Lots of bar clamps, and a good glass syringe will help you out a lot in construction. One peice of advice, after the acrylic is set and you've laid as much solvent as you feel you need, dont be afraid to run a bead of silicone for water sealing purposes. The acrylic solvent will hold the weight, but silicone will prevent any tiny bubble leaks

 

[adambrum]

The pumps a aqua medic oc6500 cant find any info on height/loss of flow.

Thanks for that

 

[SkiFletch]

The pumps a aqua medic oc6500 cant find any info on height/loss of flow.

Thanks for that

Pretty sure you mean Ocean Runner (OR) not OP. If so, heres a little spec sheet for that series, including the 6500. Looks like that would do well with those overflows. At a typical head pressure of 1.5m you'd be at no more tahn 5000LPH so somewhere around 1200GPH. A good safety factor there. The real question, is do you want 1200 GPH of flowrate through your sump. This I cant answer since I dont know much of how freshwater sumps filter. Not sure if higher or lower flowrate is more desireable.

 

[adambrum]

Thanks for that it works out at a turnover of 6 times an hour which is about perfect for a large tank.

( just before people jump in and start on about 10x turnover this is a 200 gallon-1000 litres tank so needs less )

Time to start building soon, i have a 55g tank for the sump and some sheets of 1/4 acrylic, table saw and drill

 

[SkiFletch]

Hold the phone, dont try and solvent weld glass to acrylic with methyl chloride, that will NOT work. Methyl chloride is not a glass solvent, only a plastic one. You're gonna have to use ample amounts of silicone for the bubble walls, dividing walls, etc

 

[adambrum]

Its going to be a wet/dry filter made from acrylic housed in a glass tank, i will be using silicone to join the acrylic to glass or glass channels so i can slide dividers in and out to make adjustments.

Did i mention an auto water changer as well ran by a plc unit which will also run the lighting, dosing pump and any other extras.

( I may end up going over to marine in the future so im leaving a lot of extra space in the design)

 

[SkiFletch]

ooh, sounds like a great setup. Make sure you take pics