Newbie at this sump thing. Need help with design.

lunker65

Gambusia
MFK Member
Mar 17, 2013
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Virginia
Ok, I have been looking at all kinds of pictures, and lots of reading over the last few days. I just took down a 55 gallon tank that had some cichlid fry in due to the silicone starting to bubble and fail (tank only being like a year and a half old, but thats another story). I am gonna set this thing back up once i get it resealed and some stand modifications done. i would like to try out a sump for the first time. i figured starting on a small 55 would be best that way the messes are smaller when i make mistakes lol. This tank is gonna be a freshwater nothing special tank. So my questions are, how big do i need to have the sump, this is an undrilled tank so what would be the best way of getting an overflow in there, also what type of pvc and glue is ok for aquarium use. i need some sump layout examples, what kind of pump flow should i be looking for. I am a huge fan of pictures so please post tons of pictures. Id love to see what yall have under your tanks and how it is plumbed. also as a side note, i need this thing to be easy to clean and maintain. The wife is gonna have to be able to take care of this thing when i deploy and she is a beginner when it comes to aquarium knowledge.
 

Lgw

Candiru
MFK Member
Jul 28, 2012
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Brisbane, Australia
For size, the biggest you can fit under/beside your stand.

Pump size would depend on how much your overflow can handle, I go for 5-10x turnover. You could drill the tank yourself and use a bulkhead, the drill bits are cheap off ebay. Or you could use a pre made overflow or diy pvc.

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I just just use the pvc cement/glue you find at hardware stores.

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And for design... It can be as simple or complexed as you like. Generally the water will flow from the tank, mechanical filtration (sponge, filter sock) will catch the poop, then it will flow through the biological media ( noodles, bio balls etc ) and then pumped back to the tank. A section for your heater is good too.

heres mine... Filter sock - baffle - heater / settling chamber - diy k1 section - marine pure spheres - baffle - small settling chamber - baffle - pump. Sorry for the dodgy pic, it's dark in the garage at the moment.

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duanes

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Every time I have tried to build a "siphon type" PVC overflow, I have had to watch it like a hawk to make sure it maintained siphon, and my builds have never worked properly 100% of the time. Something always happened, (maybe its just me), but eventually, I've ended up with water on the floor. And have given up on those type.
I've been more successful with commercial over flow boxes, and they have run years without a mishap, but.....if the siphon gets interrupted with a dead fish, snails and debris, or whatever ...again ...flooding.


To me the most consistent, and foolproof way to have an overflow, is drilling the tank.

It is easy, once I learned, want all my tanks drilled, and will phase out all other overflow techniques.
Below is a 50 gal I drilled a few months back, it is connected to 4 other tanks, and on a 75 gal sump.

Standard PVC glue is fine.
It (and all my tanks) use 1.5"-2" PVC and drain lines flowing to sumps, this diameter pipe is large enough that getting plugged and causing an overflow is negligible.
Flow (pumpage) to and from sumps take some tweeking under the best of circumstances, so if I was being deployed soon, I would wait and set up the tank after returning.
In all, I have about 20 tanks overflowing to sumps, over half are drilled since learning the technique, the others are on commercial box overflows, but my plan is to drill them all.
 

DIDYSIS

Mantilla Stingray
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Feb 9, 2012
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Drilling is not hard. Look at gl*******s.com great place for parts to do everything, or a kit as well. 55 gallon tank, see if you can get a 30 or 20 gallon tank to use as a sump. Will not cost allot and give you great filtration space. As for a pump look at the Rio pumps off Amazon or a jebao DC pump from fish street. You will probably want a pump that will be around 600 gph. Add a valve right after the pump on the return flow side so if you need to turn down the flow you can. Also I would recommend a 1 to 1.5 inch drain on your tank. As for the sump filter socks are very nice and I like them. Allot of good bio media types are available pick one you like. I personally really like boiling self cleaning media because it's maintenance free.

Sent from the Monster Fish Keeping App
 

Lgw

Candiru
MFK Member
Jul 28, 2012
351
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Brisbane, Australia
I dont use them anymore, but it just sits over the edge of the tank. As said above, its much easier and safer to drill and ise a bulkhead.

Sent from my GT-I9305 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
 

lunker65

Gambusia
MFK Member
Mar 17, 2013
683
6
18
Virginia
I think that i am gonna drill the tank. again, i need this thing to almost run itself once it is set up and tuned. i read that your drain tube should be around twice the size as your return line. so i would use a 1.5 inch drain pipe and a 3/4in return line. the bits are just diamond coated bits? once i have the hole drilled, how would the plumbing inside go? i see in duanes pics it looks like it is just an elbow facing upward. i would just screen it in to keep small fish from getting swallowed. could i split two smaller overflows on either end of the tank with the return in the middle. so instead of using a single 1.5in i would use two 3/4in overflows with a single 3/4 in return.
 
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