Okay, here it is, my DIY overflow and sump for my 55g RBP tank. I used 1" PVC for the drain assembly and 3/4" PVC for the pump side. I got the design from the sticky about overflows in this section. The bio sponges were purchased at Family Dollar, 6 for a buck. I have 30 sponges in two stacks which the water must flow through to get back to the pump.
The pump is a Barracuda submersible continuous duty 1/4 hp pump from Menards. It set me back $40. The piping and fittings was another $50. Fittings aren't that much, and pipe is cheap, but the shutoff valves and union joints were almost half the cost of piping. The pump return line is fitted to the base of my tank stand (also made by me, out of Hackberry wood) and just the other day I built a new sprayer head that sits a bit higher in the tank, aims the current the long way, and really makes a stiff current in the tank.
The piranhas instantly loved having a current to swim against, and they appear much more content now. They're more active than before. The pump is really powerful. It flows 1500 gph with the restrictor valve wide open. That's too much for the drain to handle, and it will overflow the tank, so right now it's set about 3/4 of the way open.
My wife and I are moving into a new house in March, and the reason for such a powerful pump is that I intent to run my 55g and 40g side by side, with and overflow for each. Both will dump into the common sump box and I will build a split head so the pump can power both tanks. At that point I'll be able to run it wide open and it should work perfectly. The pump also carries a two year warranty.
Now here's something to consider if you feel inclined to build a supercharged Tool-Time super sump like mine: Cost of operation. The pump draws 3.8 amps at 110 volts. Amps x volts = Watts.
3.8 x 110 = 418 watts. This is unlike a heater, the pump runs 24/7. So I am continuously drawing .418 kilowatt hours on the meter. All the time. One kilowatt hour here is $0.091617
So... Okay screw the math lesson. It costs me just a hair under a dollar a day to run that pump. $30 tacked onto my electric bill, just to filter two fish tanks. Something to consider if you build. But boy that thing sure can move water! And the real upside is that I've removed the 200 watt heater altogether. Just the heat of the pump keeps the tank water plus the 18 gallon sump at a balmy 83 degrees! WOW! So when I use it to power two tanks, that should drop a bit, and I can supplement with a small submersible heater in the bottom of the sump if I need to.
The pump is a Barracuda submersible continuous duty 1/4 hp pump from Menards. It set me back $40. The piping and fittings was another $50. Fittings aren't that much, and pipe is cheap, but the shutoff valves and union joints were almost half the cost of piping. The pump return line is fitted to the base of my tank stand (also made by me, out of Hackberry wood) and just the other day I built a new sprayer head that sits a bit higher in the tank, aims the current the long way, and really makes a stiff current in the tank.
The piranhas instantly loved having a current to swim against, and they appear much more content now. They're more active than before. The pump is really powerful. It flows 1500 gph with the restrictor valve wide open. That's too much for the drain to handle, and it will overflow the tank, so right now it's set about 3/4 of the way open.
My wife and I are moving into a new house in March, and the reason for such a powerful pump is that I intent to run my 55g and 40g side by side, with and overflow for each. Both will dump into the common sump box and I will build a split head so the pump can power both tanks. At that point I'll be able to run it wide open and it should work perfectly. The pump also carries a two year warranty.
Now here's something to consider if you feel inclined to build a supercharged Tool-Time super sump like mine: Cost of operation. The pump draws 3.8 amps at 110 volts. Amps x volts = Watts.
3.8 x 110 = 418 watts. This is unlike a heater, the pump runs 24/7. So I am continuously drawing .418 kilowatt hours on the meter. All the time. One kilowatt hour here is $0.091617
So... Okay screw the math lesson. It costs me just a hair under a dollar a day to run that pump. $30 tacked onto my electric bill, just to filter two fish tanks. Something to consider if you build. But boy that thing sure can move water! And the real upside is that I've removed the 200 watt heater altogether. Just the heat of the pump keeps the tank water plus the 18 gallon sump at a balmy 83 degrees! WOW! So when I use it to power two tanks, that should drop a bit, and I can supplement with a small submersible heater in the bottom of the sump if I need to.
