A crazy sump idea

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
what you are describing is an overhead filter which will work perfectly in your situation. Your tank is actually the resevoir (sump) which supplies the filter above it. If the filter were to leak or overfill then the water simply returns to the tank. This is much safer than the traditional sump and if you wished, you could put through much more water at less cost than the traditional sump concept. Just google for overhead filter if you need more explanations.
 
fwiffo;3633861; said:
right, but i was thinking about a solution to the overflow problem. what can i say, i like to think outside the box by coming up with these goofy ideas.
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these ideas r not new n do work overflows r not siphons n water will not overflow accidently the tank by different means
 
wish i could draw a pic for you guys because it'd be crystal clear on the design. my idea was just an aquaclear 50 power head pump the water up a foot or so to the sump, the water flows through the media, then goes back into the tank through a drain pipe. easy.

my concern was that the in case of a power outtage, the water from the sump would drain into the tank, causing an overflow.

i figured a out a solution to that by simply making the drain pipe from the sump back into the tank being a few inches tall inside the sump, this way, the water could drain only to a point where the water level meets the lip of the pvc pipe. once the water goes below the lip line, it will no longer flow back into the aquarium...

it'd be fun to build and i might give it a shot sometime soon.
 
fwiffo;3637319; said:
wish i could draw a pic for you guys because it'd be crystal clear on the design. my idea was just an aquaclear 50 power head pump the water up a foot or so to the sump, the water flows through the media, then goes back into the tank through a drain pipe. easy.

my concern was that the in case of a power outtage, the water from the sump would drain into the tank, causing an overflow.

i figured a out a solution to that by simply making the drain pipe from the sump back into the tank being a few inches tall inside the sump, this way, the water could drain only to a point where the water level meets the lip of the pvc pipe. once the water goes below the lip line, it will no longer flow back into the aquarium...

it'd be fun to build and i might give it a shot sometime soon.
Click to expand...
have you not been reading the responses on here? You don't need to worry about the water overflowing the tank.

If your tank is 20g, and you have 20g of water in the system, then it CANNOT overflow. Your "sump" overhead filter you want is not a sump in a traditional sense, it is just a filter. The powerhead pumps the water up to the filter, it trickles back down and comes out the holes in the bottom. If the powere were to go out, the only water you would have to worry about would be what is running through the filter, and what is in the hose. Which, since you started with 20g, would still be 20g after all that, so it wouldn't overflow.

it is physically impossible to make 20g of water overflow a 20g tank
 
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