Sump in Basement

[RayAllen3422]

I have a finished basement that is heated. I have been having issues heating my tank. Someone mentioned this could be because my sump is on a concrete floor which is taking a lot of the heat. The recommendation was to put some insulation sheet under the sump. Does anyone else have any experience with this? I have some half inch plywood laying around that I may try before buying something else

 

[Mrramsey]

Just set the sump on a sheet of plywood. That might help. You could also wrap the sides with some rigid foam sheets. I assume your heaters are in the sump?

 

[JohnnyHildo]

A half inch sheet of styrofoam to me is the best solution. Styrofoam is after all is an insulator.

 

[RayAllen3422]

Just set the sump on a sheet of plywood. That might help. You could also wrap the sides with some rigid foam sheets. I assume your heaters are in the sump?

Yes. The heaters are in the sump. My previous tank was the same set up and I had no issues. However I was running MH lighting which added a lot of heat.

 

[RayAllen3422]

To be clear the basement isn't that cold. It is like 68-70 degrees.

 

[Mrramsey]

Are you sure both heaters are functioning? Maybe one is out and the other is struggling? Maybe they need to be calibrated? Just a thought

 

[davehead86]

Check the heaters but when they both test ok, Get it off the floor.


Build a little stand to put it on with some 2x4 and plywood.

 

[RayAllen3422]

Check the heaters but when they both test ok, Get it off the floor.


Build a little stand to put it on with some 2x4 and plywood.

Due to plumbing I don't have a ton of space to build a platform maybe only an inch or two and then the plumbing would have to be adjusted.

 

[jrkonzelman]

small sheet of plywood or styrofoam or you will have issues. Extra heater may help also?

 

[r1racer]

A while back I had my heaters in my sump and lost power overnight. When I woke up the power was back on but the return pump's prop was stuck and so no water was being fed back to the DT. The temp dropped enough to kill two of my tangs. Not related to your question but something you may want to think about.

 

[davehead86]

Foam under tanks is a bad idea if they are not specifically designed for it.

If your out of space Id stick with the plywood, but no foam. Throw in an extra heater too.

 

[JohnnyHildo]

Foam under tanks is a bad idea if they are not specifically designed for it.

If your out of space Id stick with the plywood, but no foam. Throw in an extra heater too.

it's easy to discern the difference though... if your tank has an elevated bottom and is designed to sit on top of the bottom trim then you're correct. if it's acrylic or glass without a bottom trim then styrofoam is actually recommended to help even out pressure points and voids.

 

[RayAllen3422]

I went with the best of both worlds. Plywood on top of the foam. It's seems more sturdy with the plywood.

 

[sirclintler]

Looks good. Concrete will suck the heat out of anything.

 

[ca1ore]

Unlikely that a rimmed tank is going to be affected all that much by resting directly on the basement floor. Lots of good reasons to elevate a basement simp though. Reduces head pressure for one.

 

[RayAllen3422]

Well after all that the temperature actually went down last night. I give up. Ordering two different kinds of heaters today.

 

[Mrramsey]

How about a pic of the entire sump and return lines to get a better idea of how your setup might be affecting the temps?

 

[RayAllen3422]

Sump in Basement

How about a pic of the entire sump and return lines to get a better idea of how your setup might be affecting the temps?

Here it is. Cords are a bit messy since I haven't had a chance to put everything back after last nights reshuffling. The left is the skimmer chamber but I don't have it in there yet as I am cycling.

I put a powerhead in the refug to try to move the water around more but it really had no affect on the temperature.

 

[Mrramsey]

Ok there is the problem... Move the heaters out of the fuge and put them in the return side. You will want them in the skimmer side. The pic i sent you of my set up I have them in the baffle to the return pump.

 

[RayAllen3422]

Ok there is the problem... Move the heaters out of the fuge and put them in the return side. You will want them in the skimmer side. The pic i sent you of my set up I have them in the baffle to the return pump.

The middle is the return. The left and right both have overflows. You mean they should go into the middle return?