overhead sump

[esoxlucius]

I was on a uk forum earlier and some guy wanted his display tank low to the ground for some reason and was asking about the pros and cons of an overhead sump. Does anybody out there, for whatever reason, do it this way? It seems a bit unusual to me but i'm relatively new to sumps so what do i know. I once thought about the benefits of a side sump at waist height built into a cabinet for ease of maintainance. A nice advantage of a side sump would be your head loss on your return pump would be reduced greatly. Or is the below sump the best and only way to run a sump set up?

 

[that_fish_Guy]

Lots and lots of people run a over head sump....there is no need for a strong pump and it's a great option for DIYers. Just do some looking around on YouTube and you will see how many people have them and how they set them up. There is no real disadvantage other than you are limited to size because your tank needs to be able to support it. Also asthetics.

 

[duanes]

I do overhead sumps, sides sumps, wherever there is space, a sump can be put.
Makes maintenance much easier than trying to clean media, or pull out a pump between a top tank and bottom. I also put 4'+ tall fractionation/bio towers in side sumps.
Some over head types I use as planted refugiums in windows to take advantage of natural light, and use marginal plants like papyrus that make heavy use nitrate.

 

[SandNukka15]

I run 2 overhead side sumps on my 600....at first it was temporary until i could drill the tank and just keep one big sump.....but i actually prefer it better this way.