i am doing an above tank sump on my 120g using a 33g as the filter. Is it better for the pump to be in the main tank pushing water up into the 33g or in the 33g sucking water up? Thanks
Above tank sump
- Thread starter Charney
- Start date
with both. Pumps dont do well with pulling water, more for pushing. They do make pumps capable of pulling but are usually not intended for long cycles.I had two reefflo pumps of the same size one pumped water to two tanks upstairs and because of my system design I used 1 to pull water out of the sump to feed tanks in the basement. The pull pump was replaced 2 times once by reefflo once by myself in 5 years while the other besides seal replacement is still running today. Reefflo indicates some of their pumps can handle pulling water up.
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thank you for the input. the pump will be placed in the thank. I am going to use a Jebao DCP 5000 that is rated to go up to 1300 gph. Is there any issue with having this sit on the floor of the tank or should I lift it a bit. I know the fish will not get sucked in but some of cats have streamers I am a little worried about.
Put the pump behind a piece of Poret foam in the main tank and you've added more filtration 
I've built a bunch of "dump" filters out of Rubbermaids, planters and actual sumps (with a drain hole in the front to return water to the main tank). They're great and way more efficient that sumps (less head loss). As with sumps, less flow can be more effective... I use a 900 lph powerhead to run the "dump" on one of my 150gs. Very little power use and very effective filtration.
I've built a bunch of "dump" filters out of Rubbermaids, planters and actual sumps (with a drain hole in the front to return water to the main tank). They're great and way more efficient that sumps (less head loss). As with sumps, less flow can be more effective... I use a 900 lph powerhead to run the "dump" on one of my 150gs. Very little power use and very effective filtration.
Put the pump behind a piece of Poret foam in the main tank and you've added more filtration
I've built a bunch of "dump" filters out of Rubbermaids, planters and actual sumps (with a drain hole in the front to return water to the main tank). They're great and way more efficient that sumps (less head loss). As with sumps, less flow can be more effective... I use a 900 lph powerhead to run the "dump" on one of my 150gs. Very little power use and very effective filtration.
Im doing this on my next build. 2 overhead sumps that will house bio/refugium. Their pumps will be behind corner filters which will house the heaters as well.
If you're going to put your heaters in the dump filters, make sure you design them so that there is enough water in the filter to cover the heaters if the power (or pump) fails.
The heaters will be behind the corners with the pumps. The tank will be ~30-32" water line, more than enough room behind the foam for a heater on each side.