Assist needed for DIY Sump!!

[Pharaoh]

You can use glass or acrylic baffles. They both work well.

Don't rely on check valves to block your return lines. Just make sure the return line is higher than the overflow, or, you have a small hole drilled in the return line just below the water surface to break the siphon.

 

[dsteelman]

I actually did make a 30Gal sump/refuguim. It is posted in the DIY filter forum. I used 1/4 glass cut by the local glass shop. Costs about 25$ for all the glass and silicone.

 

[lolloz80]

you have to make a little hole in the outline hose that will stay just under water, when the power gose off the water level pass the hole and the air will stop the sucking,so no more water will go back to the sump from there and from the overflow just leave the inside box barely under water so you'll not need a very big sump!

 

[Zamboniman]

What I did on my return is simply drilled a tiny hole in the return just above the water line. While pumping it lightly sprays out some water across the surface, which isn't a bad thing, and actually works a bit like a venturi, adding a very small amount of bubbles into the returned water.

If the power goes out, the hole allows air in, breaking any potential siphon in the return line. Works perfectly.

 

[pacu mom]

Hey all, first time poster here at MFK. Please Don't take that as a Noob hobbyist...

Anyhow, I finally kicked the canister habit and am in the process of setting up a sump. Right now I'm only dealing with a 55g (long) tank.

My main concerns, other than the actual design of the sump, are what happens with a power outage?

I've been researching this for a long while now and can not seem to come up with a fool-proof plan for this issue.

The other question I have is my overflow is one I just made and is made out of 3/4" pvc. I am looking to get a 500gph pump for my return line.

will this 3/4" pvc line be sufficient to handle the pump?

I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to make a new stand for my tank, so if anyone can point me in the direction of some sump/refugium designs... I would greatly appreciate it!!

Are you making a wet/dry trickle filter? I have one, and power outages are a big concern for me. Keeping the biological media wet to prevent die off is a problem. During a power outage, I add more water to our main tank--enough to get the bioballs completely submerged in the wet/dry filter. Of course, this only works if I happen to be home at the time. There are two possible solutions for my problem--switch from a wet/dry to a system with submerged ceramic media, and/or have a generator handy that kicks on during a power outage. I've agonized over this power outage problem, and how to deal with it for the large tank system we will be setting up. Having to add a couple hundred gallons of water to a wet/dry sump is not appealing to me. "What happens if I'm not home during a power outage?" is a question that only has bad answers/outcomes. To be really "safe", I'm going with Ultima filters instead of a wet/dry filter for biological filtration. I'm also setting up a generator that kicks on during power outages--large enough to power the entire equipment room and most of the house.