Sump system question

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expkeeper19

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Aug 3, 2009
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Regina
For the last day or two I've been reading through the stickies for sumps. Just wondering how close do I want to get to matching the return with the overflow. What I mean is if my overflow empties like 2700GPH and my return pipe is pumping 2000GPH is this going to cause an issue, how close do you NEED to match your overflow and your return?

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dxdx

dxdx

Fire Eel
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Jan 26, 2010
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You can get a slightly bigger pump than what you need, then throttle it back with a valve for fine tuning to match the overflow.
 
S

strollo22

Siamese Tiger
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May 21, 2012
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You need a pump that's going to put out the close to the same amount as the overflow takes in. If you take in 2000gph but you're pumping out 2500-2700gph, the sump is going to run dry almost instantly. Like DX said, you can get a pump rated for 2700 gph and then throttle it back with a valve.
 
B

burbon44s

Candiru
MFK Member
May 13, 2012
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milwaukee
As long as your overflow allows more water than your return, your good. That's why we all like overflows, can't leak what you don't have.
But again, I'd try to get the pump close to the return flow for max efficiency.

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expkeeper19

Feeder Fish
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Aug 3, 2009
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Regina
Alright thanks, that's a good idea. So the tank is a 360G and I would like to have a turnover of minimum 5 times an hour wich is 1800GPH, according to the stickies I read if I have a 2" pipe on my overflow with 36" of drop I'll obtain 2700GPH, if I go with an 1 1/2 pipe with 20" of drop I'll obtain 1350GPH. So obviously the 2" gives me enough turnover but would I be better off going with two 1 1/2" over flow pipes for a total of 2700GPH? The second pipe gives me a back up incase my single pipe plugs right? And also since my run off only needs to be 1800GPH to achieve 5 turnovers could I add a valve to the overflow on the pipe to slow the flow if my pump can't keep up? I know it's a lot of questions I just want to make sure I'm on the right track and actually understanding this stuff lol

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expkeeper19

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Aug 3, 2009
317
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Regina
That's supposed to say 2 inch and then 36 inch lol not sure why it came out looking all funny

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duanes

duanes

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Your overflow will not be faster, or more than your pump.
If your pump pumps a flow of 2000gph, that's what will empty thru your overflow.
Unless you are using 2 pumps, 1 for out and 1 for in, which is not recommended.
The only real problem comes in when your overflow cannot take the amount of flow from output of the pump.
 
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expkeeper19

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Aug 3, 2009
317
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Regina
That's a good point I don't know why I didn't realize that. Over sizing your overflow can't hurt though right?

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T

trace

Bronze Tier VIP
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Sep 9, 2009
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Another option to adjust to flow to the sump is to incorporate a valve before it hits the sump. This also allows you to upgrade or downgrade the flow and pump size without changing the overflow set up. It's easy to back it off without an oversized setup with a valve but if you decide you need more flow but set it up to perform at its peak in the beginning you have to start over. Make sense?


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duanes

duanes

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Over sizing an overflow is a good thing.
In fact my rule of thumb is to never restrict the overflow, if you want to slow the flow down, you can always throttle back the pump with a ball valve.
All centrifugal pumps can be throttled back on the out, you just never want to restrict the influent to the pump.
An over sized overflow can be a life saver if a dead fish, or debris and plants get stuck in the overflow, if its large enough, water can still move thru.
If the overflow pipe is smaller, it's easy to get plugged, and end up with a flooded room, and a burned out pump.
 
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