8x3x2 sump question.
- Thread starter Nyrkorey
- Start date
Nothing wrong with making the 135gal to be the sump if there's adequate room for it. I've seen most sumps at 20%-25% size of the display tank. But they can be bigger or smaller.
Here are my setups:
180gal display - 29gal sump
450gal display - 100gal sump
750gal display - 180gal sump
One benefit of sumps is the increased water volume of the tamk/sump system; more water is always a good thing.
And the larger the sump, the more room for other equipment like heaters, etc. in the sump rather than in the tank itself...and, generally speaking, the easier it is to reach in and access all parts of the sump for maintenance or modification...and of course, a larger sump makes it easier to set things up so that all the overflow from the main tank is contained in the sump if the pump should fail or the power goes out.
I'm continually amazed at the number of sumps, both commercial and DIY, that have insufficient space to contain that overflow volume of water. A lot of commercial sumps, in particular, seem to be designed by people who have no actual experience with such problems. Many of them seem to think that the more partitions and compartments they can jam into the thing, the better it is. In reality, it may appeal to buyers the same way that fishing lures are designed to catch fishermen rather than fish. It looks cool and techy, so how can it not be perfect?
When it comes to sumps, IMHO...the simpler and the bigger...the better.
And the larger the sump, the more room for other equipment like heaters, etc. in the sump rather than in the tank itself...and, generally speaking, the easier it is to reach in and access all parts of the sump for maintenance or modification...and of course, a larger sump makes it easier to set things up so that all the overflow from the main tank is contained in the sump if the pump should fail or the power goes out.
I'm continually amazed at the number of sumps, both commercial and DIY, that have insufficient space to contain that overflow volume of water. A lot of commercial sumps, in particular, seem to be designed by people who have no actual experience with such problems. Many of them seem to think that the more partitions and compartments they can jam into the thing, the better it is. In reality, it may appeal to buyers the same way that fishing lures are designed to catch fishermen rather than fish. It looks cool and techy, so how can it not be perfect?
When it comes to sumps, IMHO...the simpler and the bigger...the better.
750! Dear god I'm jealous!!
Sumps are kinda new too me so I'm rather new too all of it.. that was one of my concerns if the power goes out there no other fail safe then hoping your sump doesn't over flow.. so how do you guage that exactly? Bc it will just keep draining until they pass the bulkheads. I keep hearing from hobbiest, keep the sump simple and it will do its job! So that's what im trying to do specially with being new. But my concern was definitely the overflow if power goes outOne benefit of sumps is the increased water volume of the tamk/sump system; more water is always a good thing.
And the larger the sump, the more room for other equipment like heaters, etc. in the sump rather than in the tank itself...and, generally speaking, the easier it is to reach in and access all parts of the sump for maintenance or modification...and of course, a larger sump makes it easier to set things up so that all the overflow from the main tank is contained in the sump if the pump should fail or the power goes out.
I'm continually amazed at the number of sumps, both commercial and DIY, that have insufficient space to contain that overflow volume of water. A lot of commercial sumps, in particular, seem to be designed by people who have no actual experience with such problems. Many of them seem to think that the more partitions and compartments they can jam into the thing, the better it is. In reality, it may appeal to buyers the same way that fishing lures are designed to catch fishermen rather than fish. It looks cool and techy, so how can it not be perfect?
When it comes to sumps, IMHO...the simpler and the bigger...the better.
I'm taking my time setting it up, mostly on weekends. Just finished a second powerwash today on my 3D background and it's now ready to set inside the tank.
Regarding the tank overflowing concern, I've only seen wet/dry type sumps. With this type of sump, you should see the proper water level that should be in the sump when you initally fill up your tank + sump (before you turn on the water pump). Whenever the pump turns off for whatever reason, this is the same level the water will rise to in the sump, and thus will not overflow your system. If I fill my sump with a higher level of water than this, then when the pump goes off some water will overflow onto my floor. Hope this helps.
Ahhhh so let me see if I'm understanding correct let's say its an empty tank and empty sump. Let's say I fill my tank with water, eventually it will hit the bulkhead and travel to my sump which is also empty, that water level will rise too a certain point then it will start filling the rest of the tank? Am I understanding that correctly? I assume it works the same way with a DIY sump
With the wet/dry sumps that I'm familiar with, starting from an empty display tank & sump:
when you fill your display tank the water will eventually reach near the top where the weirs of your tank's overflow(s) are. Water will then flow through those weirs into your overflows, then go down past the bulkheads into your sump. This is when your sump starts to fill up. You should allow the sump to fill only to the proper level or else you risk water overflowing onto your floor.
In the case of water overflowing onto your floor, this will always happen from the sump, not from the display tank. That is because water cannot reasonably rise past the top of the display tank since once water reaches the weirs it then goes down into your sump. I hope this isn't too confusing.
Ideally, you should fill the tank and continue to add water after it begins to overflow into the sump, until you reach the maximum water level in the sump (or compartment thereof) that you can achieve without overflowing the sump. This is done with the pump off.
Now turn on the pump and watch the water level drop in the sump as it is pumped up into the tank. Once the water flowing down balances out with the water pumping up, mark this level as "maximum" with marker, paint, etc. on the outside of the sump. The water level in the tank will be slightly above the top of the weir as it overflows back down at a rate that balances with the flow rate being pumped up from below. By doing this you are assured that the empty space in the sump is sufficient to contain all the overflow water from the tank if the pump stops working for whatever reason.
Finally, determine how low the water level can be allowed to drop in the pump compartment of the sump before the pump begins to suck air...either by simply eyeballing it or by gradually removing water from the system until the pump starts to suck air. Come up an inch or so above that level and then put a "minimum" marking on the exterior of the sump.
Now just keep the water level between the marks! If you have significant evaporation, you must monitor the water level in the sump to make sure it doesn't drop too low. If you need to top up, put in only enough to bring the level in the sump back up to the "max" mark. If you have a decent water change schedule, and especially if you have your tank covered, there's a good chance you will never even need to worry about evaporation.
When you make adjustments to water level...whether it's adding a top-up due to evaporation, removing a few gallons by siphoning some schmutz out of the tank, or whatever...it takes at least a few minutes for the tank and sump levels to re-stabilize.
I'm reading this and it sounds really complicated. It's not. It's all just common sense; setting it up and monitoring it for a few days or weeks will make you familiar and comfortable with how it functions and how to maximize that function. It's definitely more work to set up at the outset, but once you have it dialed in it puts other types of filters to shame in terms of efficiency and ease of maintenance. You'll love it.
Now turn on the pump and watch the water level drop in the sump as it is pumped up into the tank. Once the water flowing down balances out with the water pumping up, mark this level as "maximum" with marker, paint, etc. on the outside of the sump. The water level in the tank will be slightly above the top of the weir as it overflows back down at a rate that balances with the flow rate being pumped up from below. By doing this you are assured that the empty space in the sump is sufficient to contain all the overflow water from the tank if the pump stops working for whatever reason.
Finally, determine how low the water level can be allowed to drop in the pump compartment of the sump before the pump begins to suck air...either by simply eyeballing it or by gradually removing water from the system until the pump starts to suck air. Come up an inch or so above that level and then put a "minimum" marking on the exterior of the sump.
Now just keep the water level between the marks! If you have significant evaporation, you must monitor the water level in the sump to make sure it doesn't drop too low. If you need to top up, put in only enough to bring the level in the sump back up to the "max" mark. If you have a decent water change schedule, and especially if you have your tank covered, there's a good chance you will never even need to worry about evaporation.
When you make adjustments to water level...whether it's adding a top-up due to evaporation, removing a few gallons by siphoning some schmutz out of the tank, or whatever...it takes at least a few minutes for the tank and sump levels to re-stabilize.
I'm reading this and it sounds really complicated. It's not. It's all just common sense; setting it up and monitoring it for a few days or weeks will make you familiar and comfortable with how it functions and how to maximize that function. It's definitely more work to set up at the outset, but once you have it dialed in it puts other types of filters to shame in terms of efficiency and ease of maintenance. You'll love it.
450 display with 125 converted sump
300 display with 100gal sump
You can never have a sump that’s too big
300 display with 100gal sump
You can never have a sump that’s too big
