Is it okay to put a 10 gallon tank inside of my 40 gallon breeder sump?

[StaySalty]

So I'm using a 40 gallon breeder as my sump for my 120. I didn't install baffles or anything so it's basically just one big container that water drains into and gets pumped back up into the display.

Well now I want to add a skimmer and I want to have the water level constant to get the best performance out of it (swc 160 cone). I know one way to keep the water level constant is with an ATO. I'm trying to figure out the logistics of that atm (trying to figure out how to prevent a forward siphon into the sump), but that's a different thread.

So for the time being, I thought i would just throw a 10 gallon into the sump and place the drain outlets inside of it. The skimmer would also go into the 10 gallon. Since the 10 gal is taller than the 40 breeder, water would just overflow from the 10 into the 40.

I was worried that the 10 gal with the weight of the water and the filled skimmer might be too much for for the bottom of the 40 breeder. To be clear, the 40 breeder is resting on the floor so i guess the bottom of the 40b is reinforced by the floor somewhat. what do u guys think?

 

[thegrun]

Yes that would work. As far as an ATO keeping a constant water depth the typically have about a 1/4" of play which does not allow for a good consistent skimmate production IMHO.

 

[chimmike]

sounds like an overcomplicated solution to one you could easily remedy yourself via homemade baffles

Go get some glass at home depot, get a glass cutter ($10), cut, use the appropriate silicone to secure in place. bada-bing, baffles! That's exactly how I did it on my 75g sump years ago.

 

[StaySalty]

Yes that would work. As far as an ATO keeping a constant water depth the typically have about a 1/4" of play which does not allow for a good consistent skimmate production IMHO.

Excellent. And I completely agree on your point about ATO's. I've definitely read that somewhere on these forums before. That's another reason I'm going the route I'm going for now.

sounds like an overcomplicated solution to one you could easily remedy yourself via homemade baffles

Go get some glass at home depot, get a glass cutter ($10), cut, use the appropriate silicone to secure in place. bada-bing, baffles! That's exactly how I did it on my 75g sump years ago.

Haha I guess it is a little unnecessarily complicated. I probably should have looked into adding the baffles before I installed the sump-I didn't realize it was easier than I imagined it to be but I've heard the same sentiment from others since. I will probably get to doing this eventually, just don't have the time atm. Thanks for the tip though.

 

[Shaummy]

It will work to keep the water height consistent, but what's your height difference between the 10gal and your water level in the 40?

Depending on how far the water drops, it could be noisy, and have a fair amount of salt creep from the splashing. Not to mention there is a good opportunity for micro bubbles to make it back into the tank without baffles.

 

[chimmike]

understood. We were all 'first timers' at doing a lot of this stuff. it's not as scary as it sounds when you do it

 

[Cymonous]

If you go with the 10g tank inside your 40b, you may want to consider drilling one hole for drain instead of letting the water overflow over the whole 10g tank. You can add a bulkhead, an elbow and pvc pointing up to control the water height inside the 10g and depending how far the drain height is, add another elbow and pvc going down to water level inside the 40b. This will decrease water splashing noise, micro bubbles, etc.

 

[Marchillo]

It will work to keep the water height consistent, but what's your height difference between the 10gal and your water level in the 40?

Depending on how far the water drops, it could be noisy, and have a fair amount of salt creep from the splashing. Not to mention there is a good opportunity for micro bubbles to make it back into the tank without baffles.

Agreed on the salt creep. It would be very messy.

 

[StaySalty]

what's your height difference between the 10gal and your water level in the 40?

Atm, it's about 6-7 inches. I'll be raising the water level in the sump slightly so it'll be more like 5 inches.

If you go with the 10g tank inside your 40b, you may want to consider drilling one hole for drain instead of letting the water overflow over the whole 10g tank. You can add a bulkhead, an elbow and pvc pointing up to control the water height inside the 10g and depending how far the drain height is, add another elbow and pvc going down to water level inside the 40b. This will decrease water splashing noise, micro bubbles, etc.

I haven't hooked up my skimmer yet (turns out the pump is shot :mad2. But the splashing noise is not bad at all. It's not a crashing down sort of splash, more like a gentle zero edge tank kind of splash. In a strange way, it's almost soothing lol.

I'll have to see if I have any problems with microbubbles once I can get the skimmer running though.

Agreed on the salt creep. It would be very messy.

Definitely something I didn't think about. I just assumed that the water would evenly flow out of the 10 gallon on all sides so there wouldn't be too much salt creep. After seeing how it actually flows out, salt creep could very well be an issue. The flow seems to be concentrated on certain sides of the 10 gallon rather than evenly all around like a zero edge tank-probably because of how the drains are positioned in it, right?

 

[tzylak]

I agree 100% with the 40/10g setup. I got a 50g DT with a 28g sump. In that sump I also got a DSB and a 2g fudge!!
Go for it!!