Wet/Dry Setup - What do you guys think/recommend? [With PHOTO]

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H

Hasi

Go hard, or go home
MFK Member
May 30, 2005
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Australia
Hey guys,

Well this is a rough drawing in microsoft paint (haha) of what my sump will look like.

- The sump is for a 8ft x 2ft x 2ft tank

- The sump will be a 3ft tank

- There will be a chamber made in the middle of the tank where there will be 2 or 3 holes (maybe 2 return?)

- The pump that i am looking at at the moment is a Aquamedic Oceanrunner 6500


The holes are at the back of the tank where the chamber will be setup, the water will flow back into the tank by a hole drilled at the bottom of the tank with a spray bar assembled to have the water return at the top of the tank.

Any suggestions, recommendations please feel free to post

sump.JPG
 
Good choice of pump - it was one I was thinking of getting for my sump, but the power rating and price were against it in the final decision.

Are these holes you have drawn for the main tank already existing holes? Or are you getting them drilled?

If they dont exist yet, I would suggest changing a few things around. Firstly the hole for the sump return, I would either have it at the top of the tank about were you want the water level to be, otherwise you can do away with a hole completely and just have a pipe coming over the edge of the tank for the return. Doing it this way will mean you wont have an ugly pipe inside the tank taking up precious fishy space. But it will also mean you will have to leave enough room between the back of the tank and the wall for a pipe to run - no big deal. I have both arrangements(hole in the back at the water line and no hole at all), on tanks and they are much the same. Having the hole is maybe a little neater as you dont have a pipe coming over the edge of the tank.

Sorry for the basic questions, I'm just making sure I understand your diagram first. The chamber you have drawn on the back of the main tank, is that inside or outside the tank? I'm assuming its inside the tank (like a weir/overflow arrangement) with the holes drilled on the bottom of the tank?

If this is the case, 2 largish holes should be plenty, as you will probably want to put a durso stand pipe on each of the holes in this overflow chamber to reduce the noise, otherwise it will sound like a bath tub draining non stop! Having more than 2 holes will take up too much space and will be overkill. Just make sure the holes are large enough for the flow rate you need. :thumbsup:

As for the sump design - you can follow the DIY in my sig(FPK4000), it should be sufficent for that sized tank :D
 
Good choice of pump - it was one I was thinking of getting for my sump, but the power rating and price were against it in the final decision.
Click to expand...

What pump would you recommend with a high volume flow rate and decent price?


Are these holes you have drawn for the main tank already existing holes? Or are you getting them drilled?
Click to expand...

No, i am getting them drilled and i am going to go with the hole close to water level like you said :thumbsup:


The chamber you have drawn on the back of the main tank, is that inside or outside the tank? I'm assuming its inside the tank (like a weir/overflow arrangement) with the holes drilled on the bottom of the tank?
Click to expand...

Yes the chamber is going to be inside the tank like a weir. And i was thinking bout going with 2 large holes like you said



Thanks for the input bro :thumbsup:
 
Hasi said:
What pump would you recommend with a high volume flow rate and decent price?
Click to expand...

The 2 pumps that I had narrowed down my search to were the Aqua Medic Ocean Runner 6500(the one you mentioned) and the Laguna Maxflo 6000.

I needed(or wanted) about 4000lph of flow through the sump, but would also be running an FBF of the same pump which requires about 1000-1500lph. So taking into account head loss I figured a pump rated around 5500-6000lph would suit me. The other criteria I had was that it had to be quiet as this tank is in my bedroom! I also did not want a pump that was going to cost me an arm and a leg to run 24/7! I had found some very cheap pumps capable of doing the job, but cheap means noisy and they also generally use a hefty amount of electricity to run.

In the end the two above were about the best - the Aqua Medic is a real quality pump(some say better Eheim) but the Laguna also had very good reports and was a lot cheaper then the Aqua Medic, plus it has great power rating for the flow. So I decided to go with the Laguna.

If noise, power consumption and reliability arent an issue I can show you a really cheap pump that will do the job for you! :D
 
Nope money is the main issue at the moment as im a student and setting up a 8ft tank, 3ft sump, stand and other miscellanious things is not cheap!

The tank will be in a room on its own so noise is not an issue, electricity usage is through the roof in my house with 2 computers on all the time, 2 tv's, 2 dvd's, air con and blah blah so it would be good to have a efficient pump but how much more power could a cheaper pump REALLY use?
 
Hasi said:
Nope money is the main issue at the moment as im a student and setting up a 8ft tank, 3ft sump, stand and other miscellanious things is not cheap!
Click to expand...

Try these, I have the 3500lph one on my 450l tank and for the price they rock! I would have used one on this new tank but it uses 120W, doesnt seem like much but it adds up when you have a few tanks with pumps heaters etc and also my hydroponics which chews electricity!!

http://www.ageofaquariums.com.au/prod884.htm

:thumbsup:
 
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