New Freshwater (brackish) Setup W/ Sump
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OP
OP
myenigmaself
Fishaholic
Hi Heartworm,
You question was not daft at all. There are really two major scenarios that you need to plan for in this setup: power outages and pipes being blocked.
For power outages you really just need to worry about the sump accommodating the water that drains back through the pump line. That's why I added the bend in the pump line with the PVC in the main tank, so I really only have to worry about 1/2"-1" of water in the main tank draining back into the sump. That's why I leave a 3" gap at the top of the sump, to account for this draining. As far as priming is concerned, really only the first line ever gets "primed" and it does so naturally. When the water gets an inch or so above the level of the line (remember that the overflow box gives me a lot of wiggle room here) the water pressure will force out any air in the line and re-prime it.
As for blocked lines, here are the use cases (for this discussion line 1 is the full siphon, all the way to the right; line 2 is the trickle line, in the middle; and line three is the emergency overflow, to the left with the elbow turned up):
Line 1 gets blocked:
The water will rise and cover the air hole I drilled at the top of the line 2 elbow. This will prevent air from going in the line and it will eventually turn into a full siphon. This line has the valve fully open so it can accommodate all the inflow at full siphon and then some, so the line will oscillate between siphoning and not, making things very noisy in the process.
Line 2 gets blocked:
The water will rise and the water pressure on line 1 will increase, increasing the flow until equilibrium is met, where outflow matches inflow. Worst case the water rises up high enough that it starts to trickle down line 3, but this flow rate will be less than the original flow rate of line 2.
Line 3 gets blocked:
Removes my safety net but when the other two lines aren't blocked this one is non-functional.
Line 1 & 2 get blocked:
The water will rise until it starts pouring down line 3. Hopefully when the water level gets high enough line 3 will turn to a full siphon and will be able to accommodate the full load. If this happens at a water level that's higher than the level of the tank I'm going to have some flooding.
Line 1 & 3 get blocked:
Same as when line 1 gets blocked. Line 2 will turn full siphon and can handle the full load (I've tested this many times).
Line 2 & 3 get blocked:
Hopefully the pressure will increase flow rate in line 1 and it will be able to handle it (this is why I keep the valve on line 1 as open as possible). If not, I'll probably have some flooding. I've tested this before and it worked, but it was cutting it really close. I wouldn't count on it working for a long period of time.
Line 1 & 2 & 3 get blocked:
Yeah, good luck with all that. Hopefully everything in the sump is sealed well and only the water in the return section of the sump will overflow (hence a separate return section). I've got a little leak in mine right now so if this indeed happened I'd probably end up with half my sump water on the floor. I think this is pretty unlikely so I'll fix it when I can get to it.
Regarding the lines:
Line 1 is designed to always run at full siphon handling almost all of the flow. Any residual flow should be just a trickle and handled by line 2. To do this the valve is partially closed.
Line 2 is designed to run with just a trickle of water, as little as possible such that it sticks to the side of the tube and doesn't make any noise. The valve for this line is always fully open. There is a hole drilled in the top of the elbow to let air in and prevent siphoning unless the water level rises higher than the hole. If that happens then this line will turn into a full siphon until the water level drops below the line of the hole in the elbow, at which time a tremendous gurgling sound occurs.
Line 3 is simply an emergency backup. The elbow is turned up to minimize the possibility of anything ever blocking it and such that water doesn't enter the line until the water level has risen at least 3/4" above the other two lines. This is the line of last resort. Other than testing I haven't had to use it yet. Keep your fingers crossed that I never will.
If you have any questions, want more pictures, or need something explained feel free to ask!
You question was not daft at all. There are really two major scenarios that you need to plan for in this setup: power outages and pipes being blocked.
For power outages you really just need to worry about the sump accommodating the water that drains back through the pump line. That's why I added the bend in the pump line with the PVC in the main tank, so I really only have to worry about 1/2"-1" of water in the main tank draining back into the sump. That's why I leave a 3" gap at the top of the sump, to account for this draining. As far as priming is concerned, really only the first line ever gets "primed" and it does so naturally. When the water gets an inch or so above the level of the line (remember that the overflow box gives me a lot of wiggle room here) the water pressure will force out any air in the line and re-prime it.
As for blocked lines, here are the use cases (for this discussion line 1 is the full siphon, all the way to the right; line 2 is the trickle line, in the middle; and line three is the emergency overflow, to the left with the elbow turned up):
Line 1 gets blocked:
The water will rise and cover the air hole I drilled at the top of the line 2 elbow. This will prevent air from going in the line and it will eventually turn into a full siphon. This line has the valve fully open so it can accommodate all the inflow at full siphon and then some, so the line will oscillate between siphoning and not, making things very noisy in the process.
Line 2 gets blocked:
The water will rise and the water pressure on line 1 will increase, increasing the flow until equilibrium is met, where outflow matches inflow. Worst case the water rises up high enough that it starts to trickle down line 3, but this flow rate will be less than the original flow rate of line 2.
Line 3 gets blocked:
Removes my safety net but when the other two lines aren't blocked this one is non-functional.
Line 1 & 2 get blocked:
The water will rise until it starts pouring down line 3. Hopefully when the water level gets high enough line 3 will turn to a full siphon and will be able to accommodate the full load. If this happens at a water level that's higher than the level of the tank I'm going to have some flooding.
Line 1 & 3 get blocked:
Same as when line 1 gets blocked. Line 2 will turn full siphon and can handle the full load (I've tested this many times).
Line 2 & 3 get blocked:
Hopefully the pressure will increase flow rate in line 1 and it will be able to handle it (this is why I keep the valve on line 1 as open as possible). If not, I'll probably have some flooding. I've tested this before and it worked, but it was cutting it really close. I wouldn't count on it working for a long period of time.
Line 1 & 2 & 3 get blocked:
Yeah, good luck with all that. Hopefully everything in the sump is sealed well and only the water in the return section of the sump will overflow (hence a separate return section). I've got a little leak in mine right now so if this indeed happened I'd probably end up with half my sump water on the floor. I think this is pretty unlikely so I'll fix it when I can get to it.
Regarding the lines:
Line 1 is designed to always run at full siphon handling almost all of the flow. Any residual flow should be just a trickle and handled by line 2. To do this the valve is partially closed.
Line 2 is designed to run with just a trickle of water, as little as possible such that it sticks to the side of the tube and doesn't make any noise. The valve for this line is always fully open. There is a hole drilled in the top of the elbow to let air in and prevent siphoning unless the water level rises higher than the hole. If that happens then this line will turn into a full siphon until the water level drops below the line of the hole in the elbow, at which time a tremendous gurgling sound occurs.
Line 3 is simply an emergency backup. The elbow is turned up to minimize the possibility of anything ever blocking it and such that water doesn't enter the line until the water level has risen at least 3/4" above the other two lines. This is the line of last resort. Other than testing I haven't had to use it yet. Keep your fingers crossed that I never will.
If you have any questions, want more pictures, or need something explained feel free to ask!
OP
OP
myenigmaself
Fishaholic
I GOT PUFFERS!!!
Updates:
I gone done got me some puffers! 6 of them. They were in pretty bad shape when I got them, but they're doing great now. Everyone has a voracious appetite except for one of them. He's still a bit skinny but he's eating now. Just not as much as the other guys. If he stays this skinny I'll try feeding him separately, but that might be more stress on him than it's worth. Their fins are pretty nipped up so I'm dosing the tank with Melafix for the next few days to make sure they don't get infected. I love them though! They're the most active fish I've ever had, and they're going all over the tank! They're eating frozen bloodworms, frozen brine shrimp, snails, and they've eaten about a dozen ghost shrimp (I haven't seen them eat the ghost shrimp, but they have all disappeared so I assume they're puffer food now). Aaaand, I lied. I literally just looked over to see the last three seconds of a ghost shrimp's life. And then a big fight afterwards over all the parts. Wow, these guys are vicious! It was skinny guy who got him, so that's promising. Everyone's settled down now. That was crazy! They all have full (literally bulging) bellies and they were still fighting over this shrimp.
I made a little frame for the overflow net out of popsicle sticks. Hopefully this will keep things in place a lot better.
I found out that what I thought was java fern was actually some bog plant that dies if you keep it under water. I've removed it from the sump and replaced it with a few mighty fine bundles of anacharis.
I moved the rocks around in the top because the way they were laid out there were huge areas I can't siphon. Fixed now. These guys are the messiest eaters I've ever seen.
I think that's about it. Amonia is holding steady at 0ppm but Nitrite has gone up to 0.25ppm. I'll have to keep an eye on it.
Videos:
Pictures and videos can be found here ~Pictures & Video~
Pictures:
If you follow the link the videos are at the end. Enjoy!
Updates:
I gone done got me some puffers! 6 of them. They were in pretty bad shape when I got them, but they're doing great now. Everyone has a voracious appetite except for one of them. He's still a bit skinny but he's eating now. Just not as much as the other guys. If he stays this skinny I'll try feeding him separately, but that might be more stress on him than it's worth. Their fins are pretty nipped up so I'm dosing the tank with Melafix for the next few days to make sure they don't get infected. I love them though! They're the most active fish I've ever had, and they're going all over the tank! They're eating frozen bloodworms, frozen brine shrimp, snails, and they've eaten about a dozen ghost shrimp (I haven't seen them eat the ghost shrimp, but they have all disappeared so I assume they're puffer food now). Aaaand, I lied. I literally just looked over to see the last three seconds of a ghost shrimp's life. And then a big fight afterwards over all the parts. Wow, these guys are vicious! It was skinny guy who got him, so that's promising. Everyone's settled down now. That was crazy! They all have full (literally bulging) bellies and they were still fighting over this shrimp.
I made a little frame for the overflow net out of popsicle sticks. Hopefully this will keep things in place a lot better.
I found out that what I thought was java fern was actually some bog plant that dies if you keep it under water. I've removed it from the sump and replaced it with a few mighty fine bundles of anacharis.
I moved the rocks around in the top because the way they were laid out there were huge areas I can't siphon. Fixed now. These guys are the messiest eaters I've ever seen.
I think that's about it. Amonia is holding steady at 0ppm but Nitrite has gone up to 0.25ppm. I'll have to keep an eye on it.
Videos:
Pictures and videos can be found here ~Pictures & Video~
Pictures:
If you follow the link the videos are at the end. Enjoy!
OP
OP
myenigmaself
Fishaholic
Ok, I'm an idiot. That rare circumstance where the power goes out? Well I tripped a breaker and effectively, the power went out. Everything worked exactly as expected. Until...
A puffer got sucked down the line going to the pump. That's right, something I never thought of. He went all the way down into the pump. When I turned the power back on he shot right back out, but he was in really bad shape. He's got some bruises and he was really freaked out, puffed up for about three hours. He's still not in perfect shape, but he's doing a lot better now. Swimming around and whatnot. I think if he's eating tomorrow morning he'll be fine. I really hope he makes it. If feel so stupid.
So between two segments of pvc for the return line from the sump in the top tank I added some screen. If they do go in there they won't get more than an inch in and they'll have room to turn around and swim out.
On the brighter side, amonia and nitrite are both back at 0ppm, so we're sittin' pretty. Siphoning once every other day with a 10% water change is fitting the bill nicely.
A puffer got sucked down the line going to the pump. That's right, something I never thought of. He went all the way down into the pump. When I turned the power back on he shot right back out, but he was in really bad shape. He's got some bruises and he was really freaked out, puffed up for about three hours. He's still not in perfect shape, but he's doing a lot better now. Swimming around and whatnot. I think if he's eating tomorrow morning he'll be fine. I really hope he makes it. If feel so stupid.
So between two segments of pvc for the return line from the sump in the top tank I added some screen. If they do go in there they won't get more than an inch in and they'll have room to turn around and swim out.
On the brighter side, amonia and nitrite are both back at 0ppm, so we're sittin' pretty. Siphoning once every other day with a 10% water change is fitting the bill nicely.
OP
OP
myenigmaself
Fishaholic
And five months later, a few mistakes and lessons learned, everything is lookin' good. Not clean, but good. Any idea how to keep really fine white sand clean?
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