Dumb question about sumps...

[duanes]

One thing that I do, is Tee off one line to the planted sump, and another to the tank.
You dont need full pump force running thru the planted section.
You balance the flow thru the planted area, throttled back enough, to not overwhelm the planted area, and outflows, and .....the other teed line adding strong flow and agitation to the tank.
I just use PVC valves to control flow thru the planted area.
All centrifugal pumps can be throttled back on the output, you just don't want to choke them on the input line.
Here is another example. as you can see, the line and valve with water creating agitation in the tank, is wide open.
Behind it is a throttled back line controlling flow to a sump.

Below a close up of the slower flow, throttled back valve.

I like the ease of $4 valves, that if screwed up, is simply replaced by going to the hardware store,
as opposed to variable speed pumps, that if the variable speed component gets screwed up requires a major overhaul.
And like the others above, I always figure if the flow in, is coming from a 1" line, you always need at least 2 inches of leeway flowing out.

 

[duanes]

A little extra detail, just in case I''m not clear
for my 180 gal tank, filtering to a 125 gal planted sump, I use a 1500 gph pump, pumping out to the tank from sump, with a 1" line.

flowing out from tank to the sump, it goes thru two, 1" overflows.(below)

And the teed off 1" emergency line bypasses the tank (in the post above) also sends tank water directly to the sump .

 

[Parka]

Is it even possible to have a sump above the tank?

I'm interested in this idea too. Very often, it is a costly mistake to try to DIY complicated things, and I consider a sump type filter to be complicated. When you have to buy each and every piece, besides driving me bonkers, anyway, good luck with your filter and if you can get used materials for free or on the cheap, that is the beauty of DIY.

 

[FINWIN]

I'm interested in this idea too. Very often, it is a costly mistake to try to DIY complicated things, and I consider a sump type filter to be complicated. When you have to buy each and every piece, besides driving me bonkers, anyway, good luck with your filter and if you can get used materials for free or on the cheap, that is the beauty of DIY.

You are absolutely right. I'm getting annoyed with the potential total cost with tools, parts, and materials. Everything here is insanely expensive since Covid...shipping costs and supplier, service taxes/fees are through the roof. Didn't anticipate this. I may try a different approach with leftover filter parts from a previous build I made from breadboxes. If it costs me $400 bucks to build a freaking floor sump I may as well buy a filter. The only thing you can get here cheap are the sump containers.

 

[FINWIN]

After consideration I'll be looking into a build for an internal filter, a different kind of diy that will be self contained with minimal plumbing. It will be moveable, have a chamber or two and can be housed in one area of a tank as an 'all in one'. Details upcoming in the diy thread. Just need to determine all materials needed. I am very excited about this upcoming project.

 

[jjohnwm]

After consideration I'll be looking into a build for an internal filter, a different kind of diy that will be self contained with minimal plumbing. It will be moveable, have a chamber or two and can be housed in one area of a tank as an 'all in one'. Details upcoming in the diy thread. Just need to determine all materials needed. I am very excited about this upcoming project.

Lol...I can see where your initial jump into "sumphood" might be intimidating.

"I've been reading so many disturbing reports about the harmful effects of smoking, drinking and over-eating...that I've decided to give up reading!"

 

[FINWIN]

Yeah I guess I'm just not comfortable enough to just jump into the sump thing. Would be different if I had a live walk through. In 2020 when the 225 overflowed (for an hour) I went downstairs to 6 inches of water everywhere. It took 8 hours to clean up even with a water vac and car towels. Then I had high powered fans running for 10 days. Basement was still musty where water went under the baseboards so I had to run a dehumidifier too.

I've done internal filter build before, so I'd like to improve on the earlier design.

 

[duanes]

I agree it is not dumb to ask these kinds of question.
I did plenty of dumb stuff, because of trial and error.
At least you are getting some basic info.
I find flow rates are never perfectly as stable as we want them to be, especially when dealing with plants.
I had to pull roots out a pump intake today when I noticed flow had weakened considerably, and trash one of the dieffenbachias.
But because my sump is at waist level, I didn't need to contort into a cabinet, or crawl around on the floor to get at them, or .......climb a ladder , because the sump being out of reach.
For me, beside its primary function, I want easy maintenance access.