Can 2 sumps run independently on a reef tank with dual overflows?

Texanjordan

New member
I want to upgrade to a 125 from my 65 and I also want to add a refugium. I allready own a reef sump, if I were to buy a refugium could I run them independently from each other on a dual overflow system? In theory all of he water will pass thru the sump with the skimmer and the other equipment and alsO thru the refugium and the same rates. What are your thoughts?
 
No you would have to have the exact flow rates of each return pump matched. Impossible.

You could use a hang on refugium if you want it independent or put one in your sump design since you will have more space under the bigger tank, or have them as seperate tanks and just have a piece of pipe that connects the two, below the lowest water line.
 
If you ran both pipes into the sump from the overflows and from there run a pump into the Fuge and from the Fuge back to the tank would that work?
 
i dont think so cause if one of your return pumps will pump less water into the tank the sump could overflow, or one of overflows its somehow clug or something it will put more water into the other and that also will cause overflow , but u can plumed them together with a pice of pipe with bulkheads so thew exes water can flow to the other one
 
Yes it will work as long as you plan for the worst. By worst is if one of the pumps went out if you were running two seperate pumps.

Main thing is to make sure the sumps can handle all of the back flow if power or pump goes.
You can have each overflow go to seperates sumps. On the fuge overflow put a valve on it to regulate flow through the fuge. Tie the fuge in with main dump so If there is a power outage or anything nothing floods. Very easy to do. I do something similiar with mine.

Anything can be done.
 
Having a hard time visualizing what you are saying can you take a pic? From the tank you have a Y junction with water going into the sump and into the Fuge?
 
Tie the fuge in with main dump

I'm assuming you mean sump and if you did... "tie in with" doesn't equal "independent"... :hammer::uhoh3::facepalm::rolleye1:

You can't have two separate sumps on one main tank operating with two different pumps and not connected.

Texanjordan, your second thought was better. Pump the water from the sump to the fuge, then have that drain into the main tank. You will just be limited by your fuge drain.

Or have one tank as a sump with one main pump, and have one overflow drain go to the sump and the other overflow drain go to fuge, then to the sump.
 
bad idea, dont do it you are better off having a large refugium. I made mine out of an 80 gollon tank. If you make it your self you can have a sump and refugium in one.
 
2% smarter than anything you are working with and you will be ok

Make sure to put valves on your drains, this will help.
 
2% smarter than anything you are working with and you will be ok

Not sure what that means. Can we see a picture of your set up?


If you have two return pumps/sumps and one of them goes out one of two things is going to happen.

1. The sump on the side the pump goes out on will not be able to handel the water that is going to continue to come down the overflow and the sump will over flow.

2.The sump on the side the pump goes out on will be able to hold all the water that gets pumped out of the other sump and will run the pump dry.
 
These explanations are a little hard to understand. You have to maintain the level of water in the sump and the fuge low enough, so in case one pump goes out, the fuge or the sump will be able to accommodate all the water pumped out of the opposing fuge or sump. Wow that's pretty hard to understand as well. In any case your better off with the above suggestion of plumbing them together. That way the water level in you fuge/sump will always be the same.
 
Dumb question, is there any way to plumb them together without drilling holes in two 300dollar pieces of filtration equipment?
 
Dumb question, is there any way to plumb them together without drilling holes in two 300dollar pieces of filtration equipment?

Sure, you can drill a hole in ONE of them to make it overflow into the other, as long as both overflows (tank to fuge, fuge to sump) can handle a higher flow rate than the return pump, you should be fine to make an allowance in the sump to handle excess water from the display should the return pump go out.

This of course depends on your fuge being ~significantly taller than your sump. Or at least, placed that much higher.
 
Theyre just acrylic, its not like youre working with some rare crazy material that nobody knows how to work with. Just drill the things to connect them and be done with it.
 
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