I moved a couple weeks ago and am in the process of setting up my 90 gallon AGA tank that I had on the second floor of my previous home.
Well, the new location of the same 90 gallon AGA will be in my basement and my question stems from the potential location for my new sump and refugium. The basement floor under the original part of the house built in 1919 sits approximately 24" higher than the basement floor in the new part of the basement where the display tank will be located. They dug down deeper to make the new part of the basement more comfortable (higher ceilings). The distance from the floor to the bottom of the tank where the display is located in a custom stand in the new part of the basement is 32". I want to locate the new sump and refugium in the old part of the basement in a work area that has unlimited room for equipment, a floor drain, a slop sink and the like. I can do this by drilling through a wall to gain access to and from that work area.
Given the above, I have an 8" drop from the bottom of the display tank to the floor of the unfinished work area where I want to locate the sump. After the bulkhead and 90 degree elbow exit the bottom of the display and the bulkhead for the sump is installed above the bottom of the sump (probably 2-3" from the bottom of the sump tank) in the work area, let's assume for purposes of this discussion that the point where water enters the sump is rougly level with the point were the water leaving the display exits the factory overflow and makes a 90 degree turn and flows horizontally to the sump. Basically, excluding the unions where water exits the overflow and enters the sump, the run between the two tanks is level. Obviously, water from the display would enter the sump below the water level that would need to be maintained in the sump. I would like to keep the water column in my sump at rougly 8" deep. I should also point out that the factory overflow in the display would be equipped with a standpipe that elevates the point at which water exits from the overflow approximately 12" above the bottom of the display. I usually keep the overflow full of enough water so it is roughly half the height of the display. In the past I used a ball valve to regulate the flow and eliminate the noisy gurgling that would otherwise occur. I would then pump water back up to the display and have it come over the top edge of the tank rather than dropping down below the tank and running it back up the standard hole drilled in the overflow compartment at the factory by AGA. I would block this hole off with a bulk head fitting and cap it off.
Will I be a able to get enough flow from the display (specifically from the factory corner overflow fitted with a standpipe that elevates the point at which water exits the display roughly another 12" off the bottom of the display tank) into the sump as described above to make this set up work? Is it OK that the point of entry from the display at the sump will be 5"-6" below the top of the water column in the sump? My gut is that this will be OK, but I'm a CPA (marine biologist wanabe) not an engineer.
The supply to the refugium (elevated in the work room so the bottom of the fuge would be rougly level with the top of the display tank in the other room) would be T'd off the return from the sump to the display and would gravity feed back to the display. The elevation of the work room (2 feet higher than the floor where the display is located) simplifies an elevated fuge design and will still be very accessible and easy to work on.
Worst case scenario, if the sump can't be located in the work room, I would put it under the stand and only the fuge would end up in the work room.
Any help and comments regarding the location of the sump relative to the display would be greatly appreciated.
Regards,
Jeff
Well, the new location of the same 90 gallon AGA will be in my basement and my question stems from the potential location for my new sump and refugium. The basement floor under the original part of the house built in 1919 sits approximately 24" higher than the basement floor in the new part of the basement where the display tank will be located. They dug down deeper to make the new part of the basement more comfortable (higher ceilings). The distance from the floor to the bottom of the tank where the display is located in a custom stand in the new part of the basement is 32". I want to locate the new sump and refugium in the old part of the basement in a work area that has unlimited room for equipment, a floor drain, a slop sink and the like. I can do this by drilling through a wall to gain access to and from that work area.
Given the above, I have an 8" drop from the bottom of the display tank to the floor of the unfinished work area where I want to locate the sump. After the bulkhead and 90 degree elbow exit the bottom of the display and the bulkhead for the sump is installed above the bottom of the sump (probably 2-3" from the bottom of the sump tank) in the work area, let's assume for purposes of this discussion that the point where water enters the sump is rougly level with the point were the water leaving the display exits the factory overflow and makes a 90 degree turn and flows horizontally to the sump. Basically, excluding the unions where water exits the overflow and enters the sump, the run between the two tanks is level. Obviously, water from the display would enter the sump below the water level that would need to be maintained in the sump. I would like to keep the water column in my sump at rougly 8" deep. I should also point out that the factory overflow in the display would be equipped with a standpipe that elevates the point at which water exits from the overflow approximately 12" above the bottom of the display. I usually keep the overflow full of enough water so it is roughly half the height of the display. In the past I used a ball valve to regulate the flow and eliminate the noisy gurgling that would otherwise occur. I would then pump water back up to the display and have it come over the top edge of the tank rather than dropping down below the tank and running it back up the standard hole drilled in the overflow compartment at the factory by AGA. I would block this hole off with a bulk head fitting and cap it off.
Will I be a able to get enough flow from the display (specifically from the factory corner overflow fitted with a standpipe that elevates the point at which water exits the display roughly another 12" off the bottom of the display tank) into the sump as described above to make this set up work? Is it OK that the point of entry from the display at the sump will be 5"-6" below the top of the water column in the sump? My gut is that this will be OK, but I'm a CPA (marine biologist wanabe) not an engineer.
The supply to the refugium (elevated in the work room so the bottom of the fuge would be rougly level with the top of the display tank in the other room) would be T'd off the return from the sump to the display and would gravity feed back to the display. The elevation of the work room (2 feet higher than the floor where the display is located) simplifies an elevated fuge design and will still be very accessible and easy to work on.
Worst case scenario, if the sump can't be located in the work room, I would put it under the stand and only the fuge would end up in the work room.
Any help and comments regarding the location of the sump relative to the display would be greatly appreciated.
Regards,
Jeff
