Basement Sump

[puffer21]

Ok so for a while now I have been contemplating the idea of drilling my fish tank located on my first floor into the basement. I hate hate hate trying to work in my sump under my stand. Also being a young small girl with no muscles, water changes take me like four hours because I have to fill the 5 gallon buckets half way full so I can lift it. So I want to make my sump in the basement. Anyways I know my water chemistry and fish stuff, but when it comes to plumbing I know nothing. So I have a 58 gallon tank already drilled. I am going to get one of those dark gray Rubbermaid 100 gallon tubs to use as a sump ( I think that's the size). I know I am going to need a new return pump and have no idea of the size I need. I already have a skimmer and all of the other basic equipment, since I have already had the tank running as a reef. So my question is my basement does get cold since it is not heated, but my basement doesn't really get hot, so how does everyone keep there tank from getting cold. I do put two heaters in my tank, however I didn't know if this would be good enough. Also do I need a heater in my main tank? Second my basement isn't finished or anything and it has insulation on the ceiling, so I was thinking that I should try and cover the sump so that nothing ever falls in? Also I am 19, and my mother hates fish tanks so my tank has to go into my room. I do sleep in my room, when my professors don't overload me with homework :hmm2: and wondering if anyone knows how much more noise this will make compared to my sump under my stand. Also can anyone think of anything that I am missing? I have the money to set this up, however I don't have the money to do it wrong. So I need to make sure I think of everything and do this correctly. By the way my tank is torn down right now so I don't have to worry about any problems that goes with having the tank setup.

Thanks for any and all help
Puffer21

 

[RVANANO]

I personally love remote sumps!! Mine is in my coat closet and my return pump is in the crawl space under the house.

The plumbing will be the most important but it is just like plumbing anything else. Measure twice and cut once. Then take the time to make sure everything is sealed. If you like having the heaters in the tank, I would probably advise keeping a small one in the sump as well. I personally don't like anything else in the tank so I keep my two jagers in my sump. Depending on the distance, you may be able to get away with only having heaters in the sump. And speaking of temp..... I usually hear more people trying to cool their tanks then heat them so I think that will work in your favor giving you better lighting options. That really depends on where you live and what temp your house stays.

In regards to covering the sump, I agree that you would probably want something above it to prevent any debris from falling.

The noise should be very minimal with all the equipment in the basement. The only thing you should hear is the water rushing into your overflow which is usually fairly quiet. There are different solutions to minimize that noise so once you cross that bridge, you can post about that if it's an issue.

In regards to your return pump, you will need to get one that can handle the pressure of having to pump water up whatever distance you need.

 

[puffer21]

I belive I said the heater thing wrong. I dispise "stuff" in my tank. If the animals didnt need it i wouldnt even put the powerheads in my tank. What i ment to say is that i put two heaters in my sump. but wondering with the sump in the basement if i would need a heater in the tank. I live in the new england area. We get pretty cold over here. My basement probably hits 60 on really colds days durning the winter. Do you all use flexible hosing or PVC. Does anyone know the size pump I will need. Its a regular basement height and it would be going to my 58 gallon tank. Does anyone have any ideas on what i should put on top of my sump?
Thanks again
Puffer21

 

[James77]

The larger the sump in the basement, the more heating you will need. IDK if higher electric bills from that are a problem for you or your mom.

I would suggest considering a standard sized aquarium for a sump. You can insulate the sides with some insukating foam(macmaster-carr sells a bunch of different ones), plus it is easier to have it covered, which will also help with heating. You can wrap all return and drain lines in insulation as well, which will also help with noise. When I had my basement sump, i built a heated room around it....but then you have to heat the room.

Noise in your room from the overflow can be made minimal, again foam can be used. You can maybe angle the pipe slightly so water coasts against the side of the pipe rather than a waterfall. Do you have the go ahead to poke some holes in the floors?

All in all basement sumps are great, with just a couple downs to them. They are great for getting noisy equipment out of the room along with skimmer stink. They definitely make working on the tank and water changes very easy. Thing I miss most is the water changes into a rolling trashcan that got dumped out the door.

 

[cubsare1]

Do you have a single drain on the main tank or dual? What size are the holes? You will need to know this and the height of the plumbing, basement to your tank return area. There is a head loss calculator on the main page of r.c. that will help determine how much pump you will need

 

[Sk8r]

You will need to drill 2 holes in your floor, one for the drain, one for returning water. The light-ballast stuff will live in your tank stand.

For the basement sump, I recommend hose rather than pipe. Hose has a gradual bend, and a right angle in a drain pipe is asking for trouble. You will need a lot of teflon tape; you will need hose clamps (metal is ok if it isn't in the water) and something called hose barbs---a two-ended pretty-firm connector. There are also reducers, which enable you to connect two different sizes of pipe together. There are check valves (NEVER trust one: they clog) which prevent water from flowing backward...I recommend against them. There is an action called siphoning, meaning if the line from your topoff pump touches the water it's pumping into --- the minute that pump stops, it will start flowing backward until it has equalized, and this can drain your tank. "Breaking the siphon" means either putting a hole in the line (for obvious reasons not always good) or just plain keeping the dratted line out of the water and letting it flow from a height.
Best connect your return pump as an EXTERIOR (not submerged) pump, via a bulkhead connector to your sump, and then a HOSE, not a pipe, to the pump, with a cutoff valve in that line, and then another hose with a cutoff valve ascending to your main tank. That way if you have a snail get into your pump, you can cut off both valves, remove and clean your pump, reconnect, and be running.

 

[RVANANO]

Agreed on flexible pipe. You can get SPA tubing at Lowe's which is ideal IMO.

 

[csarkar001]

i have two large fish tanks in my house, each with a remote connection to the basement. the second of these, i recently finished. here is the build thread if you're interested: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1887135


overall, i think you will find the remote sump a worthwhile build. a lot of investment and work initially but really pays off with ease of maintenance afterwqards.

good luck with your build.