sump...help.

Annarae

Annarae

New member
ok... I bought the drilled 75 with stand and lights off craigslist...

I didnt realize it was drilled at the time and now that its in my living room im feeling a bit overwhelmed. I have a 30 gallon that I managed to squeeze in to the cabinet stand below and I really want to use it as a sump. The problem is I have never attempted anything like this before and I have no idea how to put it all together (or really even what I need to buy) to make it work. Any advice, tips, ideas, websites are very very welcome!!

also...the 30 was a freshwater tank and if anyone wants the metal stand it was on or the hood that was on it, just let me know.

Thank you guys!! Anna
 
sounds like time for a bburg tank crawl. the best thing to do before you decide on anything is to take a look at a few other tanks to see what your choices are first.
 
Annarae on my tanks the sumps have 0 baffles. All depends what you want to do with you sump, like Matt said good idea to take a look at other sumps to give you an idea of what you want out of your sump. I hav a 30 under my 180 and that is just enough room to place my filter sock and skimmer and that is all I have in there. It is drilled with an external pump. I would love to plumb in a fuge but there is no room at the inn.
Crawl would be great, just give us a heads up so that I can get time off with the boss.
 
I wouldn't feel overwhelmed. These guys will get you set up. Great bunch of people. It's a good thing your tank was drilled because it's a much better way to run a saltwater tank. Hang on products just don't work as well, and they are not nice to look at. Sounds like you are on the right track.
 
let us know when you need help
here are some diagrams that helped me decide what i liked best etc.
this is my basica current set up
29_G_Sump.gif


sump_fugium_2.jpg


here are some pics of my set up.
IMG_4266.jpg

IMG_4267.jpg


yes there is a sandbed in there now
remind you this is the i have no more money and didnt have much time way to do it. i am going to redo the bulkheads with some stronger baffles, as soon as i find somewhere to get acrylic (i didnt think to ask mish mish prior)


the baffles were too thin (couldnt find thick enough plastic) but they still work as bubble traps. just use 100% silicone and alot of it and there should be no problems, IF you need power tools aka saws and things let me know and you can bring the 30 over to my house or something to get it set up.

I have a skimmer chamber, water feed, return pump in the middle and refugium on the right side. probably holds about 22-25 gallons. and all fits nicely under my 75 with centimeters to spare.
I also put mine on a sliding shelf for easy maintenance, thought i should redo it.
 
I'm game for a crawl if I'm not working. Been working a lot of OT lately though so who knows.

I'm with ade on the sump. No baffles and keep it simple. It seems like a big project but its nothing that can't be done with half a dozen pieces of PVC, a couple hours and a dozen or so beers (if that's your thing).
 
I don't have the pump... I've been a really awesome employee and I've spent my last 2 work days trying to figure out how big of a pump I need to order...

I cannot find information on pump efficiency in relatively plain english anywhere. When I called PondMaster they told me that if I ran a 1200gph magnetic utility drive and the water travels 4 vertical feet through a 2inch tube it will be coming out at about 822gph.

does anyone have any input on how many gallons per hour I'm going to need? I haven't bought the tubing but I believe the tank has bulkheads on it (are those the plastic screws on the glass in the bottom of the tank?)

Sorry if I really come across as an idiot...I've only been doing saltwater since July and my little 29gallon was nothing to set up compared to this >.<
 
A major factor in trying to decide this is what kind of flow you want in the tank and whether you will rely on the return pump to accomplish this. Many people use other pumps/powerheads in the tank itself to move water.

What type of corals do you forsee focusing on? SPS, LPS, Softies? Do you plan on using any other water movement devices?
 
Another factor on return pump sizing is how big of bulkheads are on the tank, and how much flow they will handle. Maybe someone else can confirm, but I think a 1" bulkhead will flow 600gph, so if you are using 1 bulkhead and you don't want it to overflow the tank, then size the pump to be less than the bulkhead can handle. Some people use 1 1/4" or 1 1/2" bulkheads which would handle a lot more flow.

Like Paul said, a couple of power heads in the tank will take care of your flow rates. I have had good luck with koralias which are good for the money.

I'd be up for a crawl on the 5th if we're doing one.

John
 
I'd shoot for ~350-500 gph at the tank for a 75. you have to look at a pump's 'curve' to see how it will do against pressure. some move lots of water at low backpressure for little electricity/heat, but fall off quickly once you try to push up through pipe/elbows. these are generally called 'circulation pumps'. other pumps power through backpressure without batting an eye, these are called 'pressure pumps', though they require significantly more electricity to do it. usually a circulation pump is perfectly fine for a return if all you care about is electricity and you can find one in the right size class.

50w will run you about $2.50 a month.


for a 75 my shortlist would be:

Externals----------------------------

Velocity T2 (640 gph pressure)
http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merc...D&Product_Code=M3-PS2&Category_Code=DolphinEx

Pros- absolutely silent, and pretty small for an external pump. plenty of flow (to perhaps split to another tank or separate fuge, feed a recirc skimmer,...).

Cons- expensive, not as energy efficient as others (98w), heats water, a bit of a pita to take apart. If you have halides you will probably have to put fans in the hood to evap&cool the tank.

this is my favorite, but just because silence is by far the most important thing to me.


----------------------------------------------------

Panworld 40PX (480 circulation)
http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merc...D&Product_Code=PW-50PX&Category_Code=Panworld

pros- energy efficient (45w), doesn't heat water much, quiet (next size up has a loud fan), not too expensive.

cons- would like it to be just a bit more flow, but it's probably enough to get the job done.


----------------------------------------------------

Panworld 50PX (590 Pressure)
http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merc...D&Product_Code=PW-50PX&Category_Code=Panworld

Pros- moves more water than smaller panworld, less heat than the velocity.
Cons- uses 90w, is fan cooled so will make some noise, but probably not noticeable behind closed stand doors.







Submersibles--------------------------------------



Eheim 1260 (602 Circulation)
http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merc...OD&Product_Code=EHEIM1260&Category_Code=Eheim

Pros- Easy to plumb (submersible), only 50w
Cons- submersibles tend to require more maintenance than externals, can be difficult to dampen noise (likes to vibrate whole sump).

------------------------------------------------

Oceanrunner 2500 (625 Circulation)
http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merc...oduct_Code=AM-70002&Category_Code=Oceanrunner

Pro/Con similar to eheim. Eheim has 'better' name that's been around forever, but many people say oceanrunner is a better pump (quieter, much cheaper, better flow/watt- 38w).
 
Last edited:
what time would we do the crawl on the 5th? I sort of have a date to the winter lights festival in blacksburg...its from 5-7 I'm free both before and after!
 
If we/you do the 5th then I could get up to you all untill 5pm and once I clear it with the boss then I am sure that I will need to be back to work before 10-11 pm.
As far as pump size I like to push around 5-10 times my tank volume per hour throught my sump, then I place mucho flow within the tank via Tunze'sss.
 
question. Can an outdoor pond pump work for a sump return pump or will the salt destroy it. They had some really great clearance sales on some at Lowes.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Broken reefer
Redflex sump
Replies
3
Views
249
griss
griss
S
Sump
Replies
4
Views
384
Hong Kong
Hong Kong
stevedola
Remote sump??
Replies
6
Views
623
shred5
shred5
Markk96
Sump/Skimmer For Sale
Replies
0
Views
277
Markk96
Markk96
A
FS: Leemar Tank w/ Stand
Replies
0
Views
402
AQUA951
A
Back
Top