Outdoor Sump?

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a1.gaz

New member
Hi, this is my first attempt at keeping Marine Fish. I have built my own corner tank and sump. Has anybody ever had any experience of housing their sump outside? I was thinking of digging a hole in the ground and putting the sump in a well insulated box in the ground,baring in mind I live in the UK and can have slightly harsh winters. I would appreciate any thoughts on this matter. Thanks Gary
 
i have seen it done before, my personal setup is in garage which is also subjected to harsh winters and summers. temp range from -10F to 140F in my garage during seasons. i have a 1.5HP commercial chiller and 4x 300w titanium heaters which keep my tank water temp perfectly between 77.5 to 78.5F.
Only other element you will face is wind and rain. if you can make it weather/water proof then there would not be any issues.
 
Thanks, I don't see a problem with keeping it waterproof etc, my only concern was getting fluctuation in temperatures or wether a well insulated box in the ground should keep it stable
 
a1.gaz said:
Thanks, I don't see a problem with keeping it waterproof etc, my only concern was getting fluctuation in temperatures or wether a well insulated box in the ground should keep it stable
Click to expand...

you may need a bit bigger than normal chiller or heaters as sump will still be subjected to thermal temp of the earth/ground. But i would'nt go all out yet. just set it up and then run the water through the system and see how it holds. if needed add chiller and heater accordingly.
 
I would be concerned about temperature fluctuations, but even more so contamination. I imagine you have a plan for this, but if anything floods or cracks and gets into your sump, you could potentially kill everything. There are reasons you dont see this idea executed often. Too much risk. I would personally go sumpless before attempting an outdoors sump. I'm sure there is a reason why you are considering something other than the standard "under the display tank" sump setup, but even an undersized sump would be safer. Just my opinion, thanks,
Scott
 
Thanks for all the advice, my main reason Scott for putting the sump outside is limited space and to keep the pump noise down etc. Are chillers a regulated cooler as heaters are regulated heaters so as to keep the temperature constant?
 
By regulated u mean they have thermostat that can be set for a certain temp. Yes most all heaters do and typically all chillers do too. I personally set heaters at 78F and chiller at 79F. All backed by apex or reef keeper controller. It's programmed to send power to heaters only when temp of tank drops under 77F and only turns chiller on when temp hits 80F. This way temp pretty much stays 78 to 79F range.
 
outdoor sump

outdoor sump

I have seen people doing it in the us (California). Here are some tips: set up a green house and your sump set up can be inside that green house. You can glue insulation FOAM board (with R-12 or R-13) on all of the side walls and on the bottom of the sump. You can use a thick polycarbonate sheet for the top of the sump during the winter. You can use the sunlight to grow macro algae. Make sure you have a nice UV to avoid green water. If it done correctly then it will work great. But if it is not done correctly you will be paying so much on electric bill that one day you will quit the hobby. LOL
 
If you add a blue shade you won't need a UV to avoid green water...I grow all my corals in a greenhouse. :) Can't imagine why someone would want to deal with the fluctuation of temp from keeping it outside if they were already paying for indoor lights and indoor heating/cooling, though...a very strong heater and covering the top of the water (and well insulated) will get you through the winter...but I would advise blocking almost ALL light from it in the summer...unless you want to add a chiller, yeah...

Your electric company will love you, though! ;)
 
I just started building one. Outdoor sump

I just started building one. Outdoor sump

Teenreefer15 said:
can't wait to see the final product, never seen an outdoor sump.
Click to expand...

Today Finished the green house and soon will be insulating my sump (300 laguna koi pond will be my sump). Let's see whether I'm able to control the temperature fluctuations.
 
bnumair said:
i have seen it done before, my personal setup is in garage which is also subjected to harsh winters and summers. temp range from -10F to 140F in my garage during seasons. i have a 1.5HP commercial chiller and 4x 300w titanium heaters which keep my tank water temp perfectly between 77.5 to 78.5F.
Only other element you will face is wind and rain. if you can make it weather/water proof then there would not be any issues.
Click to expand...

What heaters are you running?
 
One of the LFS around here that is now closed used to use an underground 1000gal water tank for their display tanks. He said just using geothermal temp regulation cut his energy bill by half not having to run all the heaters and AC unit all day. He still used them but it was only to make slight adjustments. I cant see a huge benefit from upfront cost of the system if you only have a 200gal or less system but on a 4k gal system like he was running it seems like a killer cost savings.
 
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