How do you plumb an external pump?

[LowCel]

I just purchased a reeflo dart for my sump but I'm not sure how to plumb it. My sump is not drilled so the pvc will need to go up out of the sump, over the top, and down to the pump. My sump / wet/dry is going to be either a 55 or 75 gallon tank.

Also, will I need to worry about it needing to be primed if / when the power goes out?

 

[cchhcc]

The sump needs to be drilled. The pump will not prime itself.

If your sump is acrylic you can drill it very easily with a hole saw. If it is glass you'll probably want your LFS to do it.

 

[LowCel]

That sucks, the tank is glass and none of my lfs's drill them.

 

[cchhcc]

You can make a perfectly good sump out of a Rubbermaid storage bin. They are drillable, etc.

 

[zennzzo]

That sucks, the tank is glass and none of my lfs's drill them.

Do you have a 55 or 75g sump...
Drilling glass is not that hard to do, I can tell you from first hand experience.

problem being most 55g are tempered glass and the are UN-drillable
your 75 is probably plate glass and IS drillable...

Go to www.Glass-holes.com and check out what they have to go along with that excellent pump you have...there are a bunch of videos there to see firsthand what they got...~B

 

[HPIZZLE]

i had the same problem he has, but if you put a power head into the pvc where it has to come up and over, it will get primed like that.

 

[invisyblegypsey]

i built one made with a tee, a ballvalve and a check valve.
the ball valve goes on the top of the tee and the check valve goes on the bottom in to the sump. the ball valve is opend to prime the pump the check holds the water in the system. it works very well if you cant drill a hole.

 

[LowCel]

Thanks for all the help, I appreciate it. I purchased a 55 gallon tank today and it says right on it that it is tempered glass so it looks like I won't be drilling. From what I understand as long as the pump is lower than the input in the sump it won't lose syphon. I am going to put the check valve there just in case though.