DIY Sump Design

That chart is not for OP's pump. Also he has the valve party closed on the overflow and it still has a low level. There is no way he has to much pump for the overflow box. The chart he posted doesn't show head loss. I never said to match the pump and overflow. In fact I said to dial the pump back. That being said if you over size the pump by to much your wasting money.
 
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I forgot about the expanding but I have also read the bond is weak between the two. I know people who have had acrylic baffles in for years and not blown the glass out. I'm not saying it can't happen but I think the baffles will pop out before that will happen. Then again I never tried it my self and would not do so.



 
NanoReefWanabe, I went with the eco396.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0018X2XT4/ref=ya_st_dp_summary?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The rise from the pump to the top of the display is roughly 2.5 feet. The pump is rated at 396 gph. I don't think I'm losing much of that over my short distance.

The overflow does use 3/4". It's the pf-nano rated for 200gph.
http://m.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=18358

Using a gate valve I can tune the pump to the overflow and be okay according to the recommendation here:
http://m.liveaquaria.com/PIC/article.cfm?aid=135
"turn over your aquarium volume four times per hour. This means that if you have a 30 gallon tank, you need a pump and filter with flow rates of around 120 gph."

I'm sure to be pumping more than the 120gph mentioned. But my tank will be planted so I may adjust it down later if the plants don't like the flow.

SFish, I spent some time looking for some glass and it looks like I'll have to order it and cut it down myself if I want to go that rout. I'm wondering if lowes would cut glass I bring in.

I'm still thinking I might do acrylic.. Depends how much hassle the glass will be.
 
You can try the acrylic but I wouldn't have high hopes for it. Be sure to leave a gap on the sides. All you can do with the pump is give it a shot and see what happens. It maybe to weak or you maybe fine. With out a curve chart you have to guess. As stated some pumps handle head pressure better than others. Im general you want to oversize the pump some what any way. You would pick a pump rated for a bit over 120gph at 2 1/2' which is what you would use the chart for. If you went crazy and did a pump rated for 1000gph at that height then you wast money on the pump and to run the pump at a higher speed. At such a low speed you maybe ok. 3 to 5x is normal turn over.
 
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Yeah without actual curve chart you are guessing... from his chart he posted... he is looking at 396gph with a cut off at 6.5ft... being very generous i would guess 150-200gph at 3' vertical lift... then add three frictional loses from pipe diameter, elbows etc....i would bet that generously you might get 50-75gph to the tank
 
Still getting lots of gurgling noise that only stops when I reduce flow from the overflow box with the ball valve. I think I'm just going to drill another hole for an unregulated backup line to the sump.
 
To be honest I'm just getting frustrated trying to find the right balance here. I don't want to deal with a noisy overflow. It's it any better if I drill the tank?
 
This is the overflow right now. It's reduced by the ball valve.. (I know that offends some of your sensibilities :eek2: ). The green ball you can see there is actually just a 25¢ rubber ball. Like from the grocery store quarter machines. It doesn't create a perfect seal so it acts like a cheap intake regulator. When the water rises above it I get a full siphon and higher flow rate. When the water drops below the ball I get air and some noise with reduced flow. Right now it's staying pretty quiet and generally maintaining the siphon.

 
I forgot to mention that ball also greatly reduces noise from the overflow when it's not a full siphon. So that little ball does some work.
 
You can try to make it into a Herbie overflow. Not sure what would happen or if you have room in that overflow box for that. Not sure what is causing the noise but again get rid of the valve unless you want a flood. Open the valve all the way and fill a cup. Time how long it takes. See how much flow you are really getting. Then you will have to guess again about what size pump to get. You would want to run a bean animal or herbie overflow in order to do what you want.
 
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I would say the noise is likely from any open pipe draining.... can the foam be taken off the pipe and be replaced with a T fitting? Then you could Jane a durso with will inherently slow the flow down a bit
 
NanoReefWanabe said:
I would say the noise is likely from any open pipe draining.... can the foam be taken off the pipe and be replaced with a T fitting? Then you could Jane a durso with will inherently slow the flow down a bit
Click to expand...

That's what I was thinking. Don't know of a T will fit. It looks like a pretty small box.
 
The foam does come off but there really isn't any room for a durso. Let's hope I can drill the box without breaking it.
 
You will have to drill the box on the bottom. If you did it on the side and used a 90 it's not going to work right.
 
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