Never had a sump before

[gacericardo]

My main question is what happens if your power goes out and the water keeps flowing to the sump? How do you prevent it from flooding?

 

[justonemoretank]

There should be enough empty room in the sump to allow the tank to drain down past the overflows without flooding the floor. So, you might only have three inches of water in the bottom of the sump, because the rest of the space is being left to fill up with water in the case of a power outage. The sump size is going to vary according to tank size in order to accommodate the water from the tank, depending on what size tank it is. Once the tank level drains past the overflows, then it stops draining.

 

[iplaylacrosse6]

gravity is a *****, thats what i have to say on the topic. I have run into the same issue a couple times before, no solution yet

 

[justonemoretank]

Here's my sump. See how low the water is? It's a three-foot long sump. The empty space is able to accommodate the water draining out of the 180 until the water falls below the level that the overflows are at. The sump might fill up, but it's not going to flood. Then the tank stops draining, because the level is underneath the overflows.

 

[xdragonxb0i]

make sure the sump is large enough to hold more water then is going into it.

Once the water level in the tank is below the overflow outlet, it wont flow anymore

So basically, measure the water height in the tank to the outlet of the overflow. Calculate how many gallon that will drain into the sump. Then make sure your sump is big enough so it doesn't over flow it

 

[justonemoretank]

By the way, that photo is basically a commercial for Marineland.

 

[bitteraspects]

i was going to guess home depot. lol

 

[JAFRIAS]

basically this will not happen , the water going to the sump is displaced water coming from the sump ... u start with water in both your tank & sump , then pump water to the tank from the sump , as the water reaches the overflow in the tank it returns to the sump

 

[deeboi]

you need to drill a hole in your return line below your main tanks water level. when the water gets below that level your return will breathe and wont let any more water bank in to your tank. also you should have enough room in your sump for this water to go.

i know it was kinda confusing to me at first, but once you get the know how of it, it will become easy. also you can test by shutting off your return pump and seeing where the water level gets to when the power runs off...

 

[Austin]

no sump? what do you filter your big tank with then? try the search feature...