2sumps for 265g?

[2songbirds]

Was thinking of putting in a second 30g sump under my 265g. This sump came with the tank, but I want a bigger one....measured a 55 tank to use for a sump, but rather skeptical it won't fit under there through the front doors in the stand.

would the 2nd sump work if I just put one of the pumps in that one?

I really don't want to put in a canister filter as I don't want openings in the lid, and my 2'+ catfish might knock the inlets/outlets around.

any thoughts or ideas, esp from those with similar size tank...and your filtration in it

 

[CHOMPERS]

Yes, it can be done. However, you'll need to drill both sumps and connect them with a hose or pipe. If you don't, the water levels won't stay the same and one will collect more water than the other. It will then overflow.

 

[nfored]

Side note from personal experiencing with connected tanks or sumps in this case. If you connect them together the connection must be big enough that it can handle more GPH then is coming into the sumps. If it cant move water between the two faster then it comes into one of the two there will still be an imbalance. And remember that if the two sumps are at the same level then your connection will not be as fast as a siphon or gravity feed drain of the same size.

I had two 20 gallon tanks both had 3/4 bottom drains these two drains where connected together with a TEE that drained out to a single 1inch drain. Essentally one body of water. I then ran a about 400 - 500 gph total back into them each drain by itself could handle this. However the tanks would not stay perfectly balanced like they theoretically should have, because the connection between the two of them was two small. The tanks together could handle the flow and never over flowed because the drain was powered by gravity, but the connection between the two tanks was powered by pressure imbalance which is much slower.

 

[2songbirds]

ohhh...thanks for the input. seems like it would be harder than I thought, and I was looking last night underneath the tank, wondering what if one pump failed, then I'd have a major flood...

Maybe just go with adding on the FX5 somehow. I'm just afraid of the catfish knocking it around and such, then the follow tankmates jumping out. I wouldn't cut holes in the plastic in the back of the tank, just take off one section.

maybe I can do some measurements on a bigger sump for it all together, but don't know what would fit through the stand doors..

 

[nfored]

If they are both connected on pump could fail and not cause any floods, provided they can balance each other out due to proper size of concretion. I connected 2 rubber maids together with a 2" PVC from one to the other at the bottom. I had my tank drilled with two 2" drains, when I ran one drain to each rubber maid and had only one pump it worked fine they always stayed balanced, when I tried to run both drains to one rubber maid the one without the pump; it would flood because the single 2 pvc connecting them couldn't flow fast enough. It can be done and done safely just make sure the connection between them is big. I ran the two sumps for 6 months no problem. One had the filter the other had the pump and heaters.