Connecting 2 sumps to 1 tank - please help

[jumpingjack]

I have run multiple sumps into one another another, before I learned to drill tanks.
It sall about the use of gravity.
In my case, it has been with using over flow units
to tranfer water from one tank into planted sumps, that then overflow into biomedia, mechanical media, and equipment sumps, View attachment 1559321View attachment 1559323
I have not needed 2 pumps.
gravity pulls water from the maim tank, into a planted sump set slightly below the main tank, which in turn overlows into a lower placed sump,
and use the pump placed in the lower sump, to send water back to the main tank.
In my case the lower placed sumps were usually 50 gal tanks for equipment such as filter socks, the pump,, bio media and heaters etc.

View attachment 1559325View attachment 1559324View attachment 1559326
Using only 1 pump in the lowest sump, eliminates trying to match flow rates, that can easily be altered by a blockage of gunk, that could easily spill the lots of water content on the floor.
That said, drilling tanks is easy, and eliminates the problems caused by losing siphon, (always a threat), in over the top overflow units.
Although I used them for years, I found them too stressful, and was always worrying about siphon loss.

I realize the space concerns, and trying to cram everything into a single cabinet.
Matching pump flow rates can be very tricky, and there are too many unforseen variablesb to contend with for me.
All it takes is a snail, and some gunk, or add a few plant parts, which can be a disaster in the making.

View attachment 1559328
Above a 100+ gal tank, overflowing by gravity (using an overflow box) into a planted sump, were it then flows again by graviy into a sump in a cabinet below the tank.

Once I learned too drill, it made life so much easier, and less stressful. Since then, I have drilled at last a dozen tsnks, from 20 gal to 180s.

View attachment 1559330

I find the larger the tank, the easier it is to drill
One caveat, tanks must not have tempered glass. I will never buy another with tempered glass, I wasn't sure on the 50 gal below.

Are cheaper tanks typically made with tempered glass out of curiosity?
Also - update on the sump decision. After spending yesterday going down a rabbit hole - I have decided to ditch the 2nd sump and instead - based on inspiration from this gravity fed system above, I am going to do a barrel K1 fluidized sump with outflow that is fed by gravity from midway in barrel down into the inflow chamber of my existing poret foam sump which has pump return as normal in final chamber.

So I have gone from a small sump, to 2 smaller sumps, to a 170L barrel sump haha.

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My design idea:

- I bought a 190L barrel with tap for $60 (food grade) - https://www.drumsrus.com.au/store/190-Plastic-drum---tap-p717170929
- I then bought 3 cheap stainless steel cooking strainers - https://minimaru.com/products/shimoyama-stainless-steel-round-oil-drain-rack
- I am going to put a bulkhead union on the lid of the barrel which will be my inflow point from overflow in tank.
- Then with the cooking strainers I am going to create 3 layers of mechanical filtration at top of barrel - something like 200 micron floss top, 150 micron middle, and 100 micron bottom. I will be able to put a heap on each strainer and have no concern about overflow as well. I will most likely seal DIY hooks on the internal side of barrel to hold up each strainer.
- Then I will fill the barrel around halfway (80-90L of water) and fill with 50L of K1 media (I have a spare 50L bag already).
- And I have a Colorite Aero-Tube Round Diffuser at bottom - https://freshbydesign.com.au/aquapo...rstonesdiffusers/colorite-aero-tube-diffuser/
- This will be powered by a 70L / min air pump.
- It will then overflow around 50cm high on barrel using a uniseal and PVC tubing to flow into the input chamber of my existing sump (around 30cm high).

I have used a similar design to King of DIY here -

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This is totally overkill for my 75G aquarium - but the above is actually really cheap and most importantly, fun haha. And eventually I will be upgrading my 75G.

Would love to hear your thoughts! I will do a DIY post once I start the above.