To sump or not to sump that is the question

[JaxPuffer]

Well, at this point I have all the elements for the sump/refug that I need. I had already shaped the acrylic for a weir box and I plan on siliconing that tomorrow. I am also putting together a PVC overflow so that I can compare. I plan on assembling the baffles in the 20 gallon long that I have tomorrow. I will try and take pics as I go so that it can be posted. I will start a DIY thread tomorrow and show the progress there so that I don't your thread anymore.

Best of luck to you.

[J-P]

Jax the thought is nice the practical is different... please show the designs on paper first in the new thread

[Nick]

I did a "home depot" bulkhead job. Ordered a diamond hole saw of the right size online, and got everything else at home depot. I opted to drill the back of the tank in case the bottom was tempered glass(likely on a 72 bow) and got all the fittings at home depot. I didn't use a sealant on the PVC bulkhead - I bought rubber gasket sheets, and cut one to size. This way if I develop a leak down the road I can just replace the gasket easy, with less stress to the drilled area of the tank. Good quality rubber gasket should last a decade, too.

[RTR]

shaner: Glad to help, anytime. Some of my overflows are PVC DIY constant-level siphons. They work fine, but I really prefer commercial over-the-back constant-level setups which can be fitted with a prefiler, although they do take more room than PVC units.

J_P: It was obvious that you were referring to yourself, but I could not resist 'misunderstanding'... bald heads need to stand up together - and shine.

[shaner]

all right it is offical i will be sumping the 180, i will be getting a 50gal breeder and setting it up, i have spent numerous hours studying and researching and makeing some trips to the hardware store, i can get everything i need and build it for right around 300 buck give or take a few.....

I will be using a pvc overflow, and setting up a hard plumbed system to the sump, should be awesome, i will post pics and such as i go, the coolest thing though, is that i can actually set up the 180 where it will stay and build and test the sump before i have to move the fish over, i will be moving his current 55 out to the living room for the time being, so i will be able to get all the kinks worked out and running smoothly, then drain the system, decorate the tank and fill er up, the only thing in the 180 will be the overflows, return bar, and some Koralia's to keep the water moving everything else will be inthe sump....

[J-P]

contact a plumber as a consult ... getting those fittings correct is a little tricky

and Pics are always welcome

[shaner]

contact a plumber as a consult ... getting those fittings correct is a little tricky

and Pics are always welcome

i just happen to know one he is my neighbor next door, i can get all the parts needed thru him

[RTR]

Setup and testing before the fish are in is the ideal situation. Do plenty of power-off and restart simulations before you go live. The carpet or floor you save my be one you like or not, but they are all $$.

[shaner]

absolutly, that has been and will be the plan for a few weeks before the fish even gets near the tank, i will have all the bugs worked out prior to and will be testing with power off and on many times over, 10 gallons of water not such a big deal 180 gallons of water yeah kinda big deal.

I actually do like the carpet as it is, dry. LOL

[RTR]

Yup, on all points.

And I like your signature line - I'm in the same boat.

[Myaj]

I've done an overflow to a sump (sump was DIY, overflow box purchased). Not bad to setup at all, and working with the plumbing was my favorite part. The plumbing aisle is like legos for adults! Many times you could find me sitting on the floor trying to put things together in a layout I liked.

Biggest mistake I made.. it was fine on my original setup, but when I moved, I did a quick redo of my output pipe. I forgot to drill an airhole to break the siphon in case of power outage. That night, the power went out while we were at my other apartment loading up more boxes. About 8 gallons soaked the carpet (and our downstairs neighbor) before the siphon broke. Could have been a lot worse, but I learned my lesson!

Always drill a hole in the output side an inch or so under the surface of the water (do this after you have set everything up, adjusted levels, etc, because your water level may not end up where you *think* it will be.. that way when the air gets sucked in, the siphon breaks and saves the day.

[J-P]

Myaj, can you show us a pic / example of that?

I am considering drilling my prefilter with an overflow, that way if it gets clogged it will go directly to the sump.

[Myaj]

My prefilter actually has two drain pipes, one is a backup in case the other gets clogged but it would have to be a huge clog to block it, the pipe is a good inch or inch and a half of flexible tubing The bigger problem I had with the prefilter was at the time, I had a hair algae problem (a BIG problem) and the algae kept plugging up the teeth of the prefilter. Switched from crushed coral to argonite and the algae problem went away thank goodness!

I'll see what I can do for pictures of the output, though I'm sure its described on Melev's Reef very well. Its not running currently (I never hooked it back up after the overflow, and now its stuck under the main tank and I can't figure out how to clean it out and start over!)

[SammyDee]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zVGwdRVHU4


Check this out I just got one of these it keeps the syphon in a power failure but doesn't overflow you sump. And should the syphon stop for any reason at all It has an aqua lifter to remove excess air from the syphon or restart the syphon hassle free. It has a nice wide syphon design too. Got this one Brand still in the wrapping for 75$ with the aqua-lifter which is sold separately for about 9$. 75 bucksfor both on CL. Brand new sump and skimmer and return I got on CL too for 150$ CL is the best for bargain shoppers like myself.

[SammyDee]

Another thing the aqua-lifter isn't shown in the video but is recommended. Its smaller than a bubbler and sits on top and can also be used for acclimating new livestock which is another nice perk.