How full should my wet/dry sump be? (bonus pics inside...)

[rallysman]

Right on, just curious.

 

[terd ferguson]

Actually, and I'm sure others disagree, but I leave 1-2 inches "wiggle room" in the "pump off/power fail" mode.
I typically "overfilter", so I like the extra volume.

That makes a lot of sense. Like I said earlier, a pump failure/power failure scenario only adds about two inches of water to the sump in my case.

 

[dmopar74]

just a thought that i practice: i like my water level set in the sump so that when the power is off(failure,water change, etc...) that all the bio-media becomes submerged in water so that i dont get any bb die-off from it drying out.

 

[terd ferguson]

just a thought that i practice: i like my water level set in the sump so that when the power is off(failure,water change, etc...) that all the bio-media becomes submerged in water so that i dont get any bb die-off from it drying out.

That makes a lot of sense as well. To do that, I would need to submerge all but about 3 inches or so of the bioballs. Would this have any negative effect on filtration or anything else?

 

[dmopar74]

That makes a lot of sense as well. To do that, I would need to submerge all but about 3 inches or so of the bioballs. Would this have any negative effect on filtration or anything else?

yeah it would basically make your wet/dry just wet and it wouldnt be nearly as efficient. but you could make it so that the water back siphons through the pump during no power and have a siphon break in just the right spot, thats how mine is set up.

 

[terd ferguson]

yeah it would basically make your wet/dry just wet and it wouldnt be nearly as efficient. but you could make it so that the water back siphons through the pump during no power and have a siphon break in just the right spot, thats how mine is set up.

I have a syphon break in the return pipe near the top of the tank, just below water level.

 

[eh1421]

so put your siphon break a little lower in the tank so that they will be submerged fully during power off

mike

 

[terd ferguson]

so put your siphon break a little lower in the tank so that they will be submerged fully during power off

mike

Mike, you sir, are a genious. Thanks.