okQuestion for all you pro's out there. I am building a 300G and I want to doit the best I can. it seams that everyone using a sump uses overflows and everyone using canisters is using either bottom drilled or holes drilled low in the tank. why don't the sump guys use low holes then it would remove the detrius? if you drilled it low in the back and brought the pipeup the back and basically did a durso standpipe but without the need for the syphon wouldn't that be better? not to mention quieter than a overflow? also what is the best low energy consumption pump to run about 4500GPH at 6'head? I'll draw a picture if anyone doesn't understand the first question.oh and if your wondering why 4500GPH I want to do a central sump for all my tanks and build a 300G sump I presently have 1000 gallons running and the AC110's and individual heaters are getting costly. I have 7 AC110's running and 2 sumps as well as 11 250Watt heaters. itis costing me about $400 a month so I need to get this running a bit cheaper.
overflows vs. lower drains
- Thread starter greengiant
- Start date
IMO the question of drilling the tank is a matter of personal preference.greengiant;4039439;4039439 said:
As for the pump question, I would lean toward 240v pumps as they use less energy than 120v. I would be nervous about using one pump on multiple tanks only because if the pump fails all your tanks are in jeopardy. How about two smaller 240v pumps that total 4500 GPH ?
As for the heater question , unless you raise the ambient room temp or better insulate your tanks your cost to heat is not likely to go down.
That's my two cents worth.
Not sure where you got most sump operators prefer overflows to drilling. I think most would prefer drilled tanks.
The only problem I could see with a centralized sump would be in case of disease.
One tank can infect them all.
The only problem I could see with a centralized sump would be in case of disease.
One tank can infect them all.
A canister is a closed loop. A sump filter isn't. As a result, a low hole for a sump would result in water on your floor.
There are ways to "theoretically" get around that, but eventually you'll end up with water on your floor.
There are ways to "theoretically" get around that, but eventually you'll end up with water on your floor.
I just built a 315G and I went back and forth about this very issue before going with bulkhead fittings and an overflow. In the end I decided I woud rather have the surface skimming. I have also decided to go community fish and plant the tank so the detrius on the bottom will help the plants. If I was going in the direction of larger fish I would have go in the other direction.
You would just need to drill an anti-syphon hole in the pipe a short distance below the water line. When the water drained below the hole, the syphon would be broken.