I was thinking I would like to set up a sump on one of my tanks .I have looking at the function of sumps on the internet .Now I know with a canister filter the intake sucks up water and deturis and carries it into the filter how dose a sump collect deturis from the aquarium as as what I seen is sumps sucking water from an over flow which seems to be near the top of the tank am I right in thinking this.
a noob question about aquarium sumps
- Thread starter bathawk
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Above is the mechanical media in a sump I used (until it was replaced by a larger one), after about 2 days of sump filtration.
I use circulation rate of @ 1000 gph, in the 180 gal tank and sump,
Even though water simply overflows to the sump, a lot of free floating garbage ends up there, just as it would in a canister filter.
The advantage is, I can simply lift the lid, pull out the mechanical media, and hose off the garbage in a few minutes, without shutting the flow off, or having to dismantle the filter.
I tend to clean out the mechanical media every 2 days or so, which prevents the grunge from metabolizing and sending nitrate back into the water column of the tank, the way it would if I let the grunge build up over a long length of time the way it does in a can.
How often do you think most cans are cleaned?
With my water change routine, and regularly cleaning the media this way, keeps my nitrate concentration in the < 5 ppm range.
Below a video of the tank with the sump from the above shots, as you can see, any detritus is suspended, and easily ends up in the mechanical media of the sump.
You can customise a sump any old way to perform how you want it to. Typically, as you said, water (with gunk) flows from the tank, via gravity, down to your sump.
A basic sump will have three compartments, mechanical section, leading to bio section, leading to pump section. Simple as that.
The collection of detritus you allude to is performed by the mechanical section, which may consist of filter floss, different grades of sponges or filter socks, or all three!
The mechanical section is maintained regularly because this will become clogged quickly if left to its own devices.
The bio section is very rarely touched, this is the "engine" of your whole set up.
And the pump section just has a pump in there, and maybe heaters. By the time the water reaches the pump section it is nice and clean, which ensures crystal clear water in your display tank.
A basic sump will have three compartments, mechanical section, leading to bio section, leading to pump section. Simple as that.
The collection of detritus you allude to is performed by the mechanical section, which may consist of filter floss, different grades of sponges or filter socks, or all three!
The mechanical section is maintained regularly because this will become clogged quickly if left to its own devices.
The bio section is very rarely touched, this is the "engine" of your whole set up.
And the pump section just has a pump in there, and maybe heaters. By the time the water reaches the pump section it is nice and clean, which ensures crystal clear water in your display tank.
Overflow box will work by gravity so the sump pump will be returning water from the sump back up into the aquarium.
It may be possible to drill your tank, and if it is I would advise that. Otherwise I do have two systems running on siphons, and two systems which have drilled overflows.
Some people will tell you that siphons are unreliable. My experience is that they are fine but you want a much larger diameter siphon than you think.
I use 1.5” Dia on my 55 patio tank. On my 55 office tank there are three 1.5” dia. siphons. Since it is indoors I have safety drains.
My large tanks are drilled for 1.5” overflow.
Some people will tell you that siphons are unreliable. My experience is that they are fine but you want a much larger diameter siphon than you think.
I use 1.5” Dia on my 55 patio tank. On my 55 office tank there are three 1.5” dia. siphons. Since it is indoors I have safety drains.
My large tanks are drilled for 1.5” overflow.
Although the video below is directed at salt water reefers, many of the basics apply universally
I have used both overflow boxes, and drilled overflows.
I prefer drilled, because with boxes there is a constant need to check for air bubble buildup in siphon tubes, which can lead to tank overflows to the floor.
In most cases checking twice a day was enough for me, but I have had on the floor overflows.
and as Ulu said, the bigger the inner diameter the better, as long as your pump can handle the bore need.
I have used both overflow boxes, and drilled overflows.
I prefer drilled, because with boxes there is a constant need to check for air bubble buildup in siphon tubes, which can lead to tank overflows to the floor.
In most cases checking twice a day was enough for me, but I have had on the floor overflows.
and as Ulu said, the bigger the inner diameter the better, as long as your pump can handle the bore need.
To avoid overflows if the siphons stop, I gage the water pickup height in the sump so the pump will suck air before it floods the house.
I gage the siphon level so if the pump quits, the sump won’t overflow.
Once those levels are established nothing can overflow. If the siphon quits my tank level rises about 1.5” and the pump, starting to suck air, makes enough noise to warn me.
The drawback is that if I let more than 2 gallons evaporate, the pump draws air. This is never a problem if I change water weekly.
I gage the siphon level so if the pump quits, the sump won’t overflow.
Once those levels are established nothing can overflow. If the siphon quits my tank level rises about 1.5” and the pump, starting to suck air, makes enough noise to warn me.
The drawback is that if I let more than 2 gallons evaporate, the pump draws air. This is never a problem if I change water weekly.
Agree
This is why I prefer large sumps that can handle a lot of water above the intake of the pump, but still without overflowing, and find most commercial sumps lacking compared to just using tanks.
When I bought my first 180 (used), it came with 2 shallow water type sumps.
Because power outage are common here, they were constantly overflowing, losing water on the lawn, and fresh water is at a premium here.
And teetering on sucking air, potentially starving the pump.
As soon as I was able, I replaced them with a 125 gal tank as a sump, and in that way, there is space to handle water during a power outage, and using enough space to use about 3/4 of the 125 sump as a planted refugium.
Much like the BRStv video above, I find compartments in sumps a bother, and just visual fluff without a serious purpose, so I just separate the pump area from the rest with Porrett foam, which acts as mechanical and biofiltration, and a barrier, between the pump, and rest of the refugium.
I’m not sure I understand this at all. It works fine as long as the drain is much larger than the pump. Whatever pump you choose, the drain must be able to handle the pump, plus more for safety.
I can have a 1”diameter pump and a 2” diameter siphon and it would work just fine if I changed it to a 6” diameter .
BTW, If I want a quieter siphon I use a larger diameter and a very large overflow to the siphon. That way water motion through the siphon is slow so you don’t hear a lot of gurgling. Also the slow motion inhibits collection of bubbles in the siphon.
Rapid noisy overflows just slowly put air in the siphons. Air pressure in a siphon is below atmospheric, and water just aerated by violent overflows easily looses some air in the siphon.