Return pump solutions

[theyangman]

I am in dire need of upgrading my return pump for my basement sump. I have 15 feet of head to overcome, and my sump is NOT drilled. I run a Mag 24 and it is not enough for my 220 gallon tank.

Is there anyway possible to make an external pump like a reeflo work WITHOUT drilling my sump? The reason I ask is that the sump is actually my spare 120 gallon tank and drilling a hole in the side of it would be a real shame as it actually a nice aquarium with a corner flow and all. Not to mention it sits on the matching stand, so an external pump would have no where to sit unless I built a matching height stand for it it sit on.

Any suggestions?

 

[Wazzel]

Yes, you can do an over the top suction. It does have some risk. First time you run the pump you need to prime it to get started. There will always be a chance it will loose prime when shut down. To limit that I would make the suction leg as long as possible so it traps water. I ran my 160 for 2 years with an over the top suction.

 

[Wazzel]

And a picture

 

[theyangman]

Yes, you can do an over the top suction. It does have some risk. First time you run the pump you need to prime it to get started. There will always be a chance it will loose prime when shut down. To limit that I would make the suction leg as long as possible so it traps water. I ran my 160 for 2 years with an over the top suction.

Would a foot valve help with the system not losing prime in the case of a power outage?

 

[theyangman]

The other option that a buddy suggested to me is to cut out the corner flow box and use the holes that are already drilled into the bottom of the tank!

Since there are two holes in there, I could seal the "return" line hole with a bulkhead fitting very easily, and just have the pump gravity fed off the drain hole (with some sort of strainer of course) and just have the pump underneath the tank itself!

Any foreseeable issues?

 

[Wazzel]

Would a foot valve help with the system not losing prime in the case of a power outage?

It could. Down side is they create additional losses that could case suction problems and they leak.

If your sump is on a stand put the pump on the floor that way you can end up with a large volume of trapped water. I ran an over the back closed loop on a different tank for 3 years. It worked fine also.

 

[Wazzel]

The other option that a buddy suggested to me is to cut out the corner flow box and use the holes that are already drilled into the bottom of the tank!

Since there are two holes in there, I could seal the "return" line hole with a bulkhead fitting very easily, and just have the pump gravity fed off the drain hole (with some sort of strainer of course) and just have the pump underneath the tank itself!

Any foreseeable issues?

If you are willing to mod the overflow that would be the best option. Is it glass or plastic? If it is plastic you could just drill a hole or holes in it and make it repairable.

 

[theyangman]

The corner flow is your traditional 1/4 circle plastic cover. Just like any other aquarium you'd buy with cornerflows. It is just held in by aquarium sealant I assume. The only reason that cutting it out makes sense is that this is would be in no way permenant. The cornerflow box can be put back in if the tank ever was sold with a quick tube of aquarium sealant.

 

[Wazzel]

You could do that, should not be an issue.

 

[theyangman]

You could do that, should not be an issue.

It wouldn't be any different than having a hole cut into the side right? And if anything, it will always have prime considering the pump will be gravity fed, so as long as there is a bit of water in the tank, it will never lose prime.

 

[Wazzel]

It wouldn't be any different than having a hole cut into the side right? And if anything, it will always have prime considering the pump will be gravity fed, so as long as there is a bit of water in the tank, it will never lose prime.

Correct. It might be a good idea to put a strainer or elbow on it to keep it from vortexing, just as a precaution.

 

[theyangman]

You mean like a mini durso?

 

[Wazzel]

You mean like a mini durso?

Yup. Even tho my sump is side drilled I have a downward facing elbow on the suction, just to be on the safe side.

 

[aakour]

I run my external pump with an over the top suction line like Wazzel was talking about without any issues. I only lose the prime if I intentionally do so to do maintenance.

That said, using the hole already drilled is the option I would try to go with.

 

[benwilder]

Or you could just go but a better internal pump and make life really easy... Just bought a dc 12000 wave line 3100 gph internal or external and threw it in there lol 24 feet of head lots of flow at the top got to be around 1500 gph you don't want that much I have it turned down... 200 bucks done no issues lol

 

[aakour]

1500gph on a 220? No, he needs more like 2000+ after head loses. Plus the pump he's wanting is designed to handle the back pressure long term.

 

[Mrramsey]

The problem with using the corner overflow holes is that they would likely be too restrictive for a reeflo pump. IIRC they require a 1.5" inlet. I think you can effectivley do the over the top 'suction' method though. I almost went external on mine like that. The key is making sure that the return section of the sump will not get low enough to suck air as well as not get any bubbles from other equipment in the sump that could collect in the 'u' tube.

 

[aakour]

Oh snap, I didn't realize the inlet on a reeflo is that big. I use a littlegiant so it's like 3/4 intake.

I agree, at a return that large, you want the over the top suction line option. You want to restrict your intake as little as little as possible, especially since you should already be putting in a union so you can easily disconnect the pluming.

 

[Mrramsey]

yep I had contacted reeflo when I was considering the idea of over the top. They were very helpful even though they state that you shouldn't. Even with that they did give me a lot of tips and were confident I wouldn't have any issues.

1. Don't restrict the intake
2. plenty of depth to cover the intake
3. away from other sources of bubbles

 

[Joel_155]

Have you considered just getting a custom sump? I know it's an expense and who had extra cash with this hobby but i think it would be worth it in the long run. Sell the aquarium you are using after you get the sump to help pay for it.