Minimum Sump Equipment Check

[hwoarangtag]

From what i understand in creating a sump, the minimum equipments required to make one are:

2 powerheads - one to bring water from main tank to sump; the other to bring sump water back to main tank
filter media
a box that doesnt leak.

My questions are:
1. Can an airpump work as a powerhead? if so, how?
2. what should be flow rate(GPH) for the intake and outake?

Thanks

 

[adamgreen240]

depens on the volume of the tank . how much water does it hold??

 

[hwoarangtag]

main tank is 75 gal

sump will be a storage bin of 20/30 gal.

 

[adamgreen240]

have a look at this page:

http/www.melevsreef.com/allmysumps.html

there is a animation of a sump , have a read through the info , it may be of help. i don't really know that much about sumps.

 

[Rooster]

From what i understand in creating a sump, the minimum equipments required to make one are:

2 powerheads - one to bring water from main tank to sump; the other to bring sump water back to main tank
filter media
a box that doesnt leak. (are you sure we are talking about a "sump" and not "external filter" ? )
The water coming from the tank should NEVER be "powered", it should be a syphon, or overflow - imagine what happens if the return pump fails...

My questions are:
1. Can an airpump work as a powerhead? if so, how?
Air bubbles CAN be used to move water uphill, but wont be efficient enough
2. what should be flow rate(GPH) for the intake and outake?
That depends on tank size, and intended stock

Thanks

I would always recommend an overflow... which involves drilling the tank.

 

[hwoarangtag]

What is a syphon or overflow? how can it bring water from main tank to the sump?

 

[T1KARMANN]

you need an over flow and a pump thats it

a pump pumps the water into the main tank were you have a over flow were the water runs back into the sump like a drain to tell the truth

 

[hwoarangtag]

is it really necessary to have an overflow? Cant you have the syphon going directly to the sump? I just have to position the syphon at something like half of inch below the water level of the main tank so even if the return pump fails; the maximum of water it will syphon to the sump is 1/2 inch of water for the main tank.

 

[andywg]

is it really necessary to have an overflow? Cant you have the syphon going directly to the sump? I just have to position the syphon at something like half of inch below the water level of the main tank so even if the return pump fails; the maximum of water it will syphon to the sump is 1/2 inch of water for the main tank.

And think about what happens when after a powercut the pump turns on, it will drain the sump dry and potentially overflow the main tank (but almost certainly burn out the pump).

 

[hwoarangtag]

Well, then how can an overflow prevent that ?

 

[Rooster]

Well, then how can an overflow prevent that ?

Because the inlet only sits an inch or so below water level.... same with a wier, display tank can only loose water to this level - which you have to allow for in the sump anyway, so worst case scenario is that the circulation stops, no water on the floor !

 

[hwoarangtag]

is it really necessary to have an overflow? Cant you have the syphon going directly to the sump? I just have to position the syphon at something like half of inch below the water level of the main tank so even if the return pump fails; the maximum of water it will syphon to the sump is 1/2 inch of water for the main tank.

And think about what happens when after a powercut the pump turns on, it will drain the sump dry and potentially overflow the main tank (but almost certainly burn out the pump).

No I mean what if you have an overflow. How can this prevent the motor to burn out.

 

[T1KARMANN]

is it really necessary to have an overflow? Cant you have the syphon going directly to the sump? I just have to position the syphon at something like half of inch below the water level of the main tank so even if the return pump fails; the maximum of water it will syphon to the sump is 1/2 inch of water for the main tank.

And think about what happens when after a powercut the pump turns on, it will drain the sump dry and potentially overflow the main tank (but almost certainly burn out the pump).

No I mean what if you have an overflow. How can this prevent the motor to burn out.

it all about getting the balance right with a sump

the sump is filled with more water than you tank will hold unless you have a very low water line

its normally best to have 2 x overflows

their are many ways to do a sump but i will try to explain the easyes

drill a hole in the side of your tank then conect a hose to that hole and run the hose to the sump

fill the tank up to just below the drilled hole then fill the sump 3/4s then put a pump/power head in the sump with a hose conected and back to the tank

turn the pump on it will pump the sump water into the main tank when the water level in the main tank gets to the drilled hole the water will drain back in to the sump

you have to get a pump that wont pump water back into the main tank to fast or the main tank will overflow

you only filll the sump 3/4s full them it can hold the extra water if you have a powercut

the main reason you need 2 drain holes is if one gets blocked the main tank wont overflow


god this was hard work but you should get the idear

 

[andywg]

An overflow is a way of allowing the tank to syphon water, but when the power is turned off and the water stops draining, it retains water in a loop over the side of the glass, thus ensuring that once the water level rises again, the water can drain once more.

A weir is just effectively an internal wall to set the level the tank will drop to. Once the water overflows the weir the water can go into a standpipe and drain to the sump.

The safest way to fill a tank and sump is thus:

1) Have the return off.

2) Fill up the display tank until it just starts to overflow.

3) Stop filling up the display tank.

4) Fill up the sump.

This is now the position the water will sink to if the return pump is turned off, thus making it safe and pretty much as high a water levels as you can have.

 

[T1KARMANN]

An overflow is a way of allowing the tank to syphon water, but when the power is turned off and the water stops draining, it retains water in a loop over the side of the glass, thus ensuring that once the water level rises again, the water can drain once more.

A weir is just effectively an internal wall to set the level the tank will drop to. Once the water overflows the weir the water can go into a standpipe and drain to the sump.

The safest way to fill a tank and sump is thus:

1) Have the return off.

2) Fill up the display tank until it just starts to overflow.

3) Stop filling up the display tank.

4) Fill up the sump.

This is now the position the water will sink to if the return pump is turned off, thus making it safe and pretty much as high a water levels as you can have.

Now that was a better way to explain it