absolutely, positively, 100% wrong!
Do NOT restrict the drains to the sump (without an additional emergency overflow drain)... unless you prefer the 'flood' upstairs instead of in the basement!
Sump plumbing question
- Thread starter Sandia97
- Start date
Do NOT restrict the drains to the sump (without an additional emergency overflow drain)... unless you prefer the 'flood' upstairs instead of in the basement!
Sandia97
New member
After much searching I bought a Gen-X-PCX40 tonight at a good price. Should have it by Friday
Blitzie
CTARS Member
Great answer never restrict flow into sump unless you are running a full siphon " Bean Animal" type of system and with that you have restriction into the sump via a gate valve a secondary pipe to handle excess and a full backup as well.
If your calculation for head loss is correct you should not have a problem using 1" pipe for the drain side unless you have several 90 degree bends. Just put a gate valve on the return to control the rate of flow.
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Sandia97
New member
well after seeing Zalman's set up I have a WHOLE new plan now lol
I'm going to use the 55 for a stand alone fuge and buy a 100 gal tub for the sump. oh..and i have to get another pump and a bigger skimmer!
Oh man..this project is just getting out of hand lol
And he has a good idea of having 2 drains into the sump in case one gets clogged
Now..how to prevent a flood with my overflow box in case of power outage hmm...
I'm going to use the 55 for a stand alone fuge and buy a 100 gal tub for the sump. oh..and i have to get another pump and a bigger skimmer!
Oh man..this project is just getting out of hand lol
And he has a good idea of having 2 drains into the sump in case one gets clogged
Now..how to prevent a flood with my overflow box in case of power outage hmm...
Below Radar
New member
I am setting up a tank right now with (2)1" drains and (1) 3/4" return. I am running a full siphon so one of my drain lines has a valve on it for flow/noise control and the other (e-drain) I didn't bother putting a valve on it because I NEVER want the emergency line to be shut. What style O/F will you be running?
frankyrivera
FUP&A Member
Wow that's alot of water volume keep in mind the cost of massive water changes and water evap make sure u have an ato with a large reservoir in mind too
??? if the power is out, no add'l water should be going to the tank, therefore no water will be going into the overflow box.
Sandia97
New member
yeah it's when the power comes back ON that is the issue.. i have a HOB overflow and if I'm not there to siphon the tube..uh oh
Sandia97
New member
you're right, I didn't consider that DOH!!
Sandia97
New member
I have an Eshoppes O/F box w/the Utube ..I will buy the cpr one just for that attachment and peace of mind if I have to!
Looked up the water lifter real quick and so far it looks like just what I need You are a lifesaver!!
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it sounds harder than it is and once setup it is so much easier
Zalman
New member
Water changes really arent that bad if you buy the big boxes of salt. It costs me $10-$15 to do a water change.
You would also be surprised at how well a large system handles evaporation. In my roughly 300 gal system I need to evaporate 10 gallons of water to raise my sg from 1.026-1.027. On the hottest of days with fans running and all that jazz I lose maybe 3-4 gallons of water. If I completely neglected my system it would last 3 days before raising my salinity 1.001. Having a tank of fresh water handy and just half a 5 gal bucket a day if my water level is low is all I do. I think it is far easier than trying to use an ATO. Granted a smaller tank doesn't have this buffering ability.
In all my years of fishkeeping, I have never used/trusted a 'store bought' ATO...I use a container of water with a drip line, to constantly (24/7) refill my sump...the benefit of this, besides the continuous drip, is that if there was a 'failure' and all the water dumped into the sump, it is limited to a few gallons!
The drip is controlled by a plastic air line valve, the same thing I use to drip acclimate new fish.
Zalman
New member
In all my years of fishkeeping, I have never used/trusted a 'store bought' ATO...I use a container of water with a drip line, to constantly (24/7) refill my sump...the benefit of this, besides the continuous drip, is that if there was a 'failure' and all the water dumped into the sump, it is limited to a few gallons!
The drip is controlled by a plastic air line valve, the same thing I use to drip acclimate new fish.
I actually use something similar to that for my Kalkwasser reactor. Constant slow drip. I just fill the bucket up every other day and it handles most of the top off.
