Need help with sump design

[Spiderman097]

Currently I have a 3 chamber 40g breeder I converted from petco. The problem is, I don't have enough water volume to power another tank or a stand alone refugium. If I try to adjust more water flow to the other 2 stand alones, then my return starts sucking air.

Also, when i turn the power off, my sump is realistically about 5 mm from overflowing. I don't have anymore room horizontally except for mabye 6 inches if that. Any ideas on how to increase sump space?

 

[Buddy55]

Maybe some pictures. What size main tank? You don't have room to just use the 40 gallon as a sump/refugium. What other tanks are you wanting to power in the loop? What type and size of overflow/drain line? What is the pump or pump rating? Do you have a ball valve on the return line or better yet a gate valve?

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[oldpaddy]

Sounds like your sump is too small. I have a 55gal on a 220 and it's just about perfect. Are your return nozzles too low into the tank? I keep the outlet of the return nozzles about an inch or so below the water line. Any lower than that and I start running out of room in the sump when the pumps are off.
Also, if you're sucking air either your return pump is too strong or you need more water in the system. It's a balancing act. A ball valve on the return can help.

 

[Lsufan]

I don't completely understand what your saying but it sounds like u need to figure a way to get less back flow to the sump when powered off so u can add water to the sump during normal operation. Pics & a more detailed system setup would be heeded to really help though.