Sump beside tank?

[triply]

I have briefly discussed this in some other threads but im running behind on my diy project due to plumbing issues.

Can my sump go directly beside my tank if the hole inside the overflow is drilled in the bottom of the tank?

basically tank sits 5 inches off the ground just room enough to plumb in some pvc that will exit down go over go up over the edge of sump and drain into it at which point the pump will pump it back into the tank.

my concern is that the water in the overflow will not drain out up and over as fast as the pump returns it to the tank

any ideas on this as soon as i figure this problem out i can plumb it in and fill my tank

 

[john73738]

Pics would be a help. I am planning a sump behind my tank. But my tanks are not drilled and I will be using the pump to feed the sump rather than drain, and the water will return like a HOB filter.

 

[thepresence]

I have briefly discussed this in some other threads but im running behind on my diy project due to plumbing issues.

Can my sump go directly beside my tank if the hole inside the overflow is drilled in the bottom of the tank?

basically tank sits 5 inches off the ground just room enough to plumb in some pvc that will exit down go over go up over the edge of sump and drain into it at which point the pump will pump it back into the tank.

my concern is that the water in the overflow will not drain out up and over as fast as the pump returns it to the tank

any ideas on this as soon as i figure this problem out i can plumb it in and fill my tank

If you have to do it like that, i think the only thing you can do is put ball valves on the inlet to the sump and on the outlet from the pump. Then you can throttle the water off and balance the water going in and out. The only problem you might have is not maintaining your desired turnover rate.

 

[Toby_H]

Yes it is possible... and yes it will require some additional considerations...

Here is a breeding set up where I used this concept on

Diagram:

Actual Set Up:

I used a 400 gph (rated) powerhead to push water into the 10 gal tanks on the side... then used 2 U tubes made of 3/4" PVC to siphon water bak into the main tank... Using this the water level of the 10 gal tanks were 1/4" ~ 1/2" higher than the water level in the main tank...

When using this approach keep in mind your pipes will move far less water than they would in a typical sump approach. For a siphon to reach it's max flow it will need a minum vertical drop to be met... and when the sump and the main tank are at near the same level this minimum vertical drop will not only not be met, but it will be almost nonexistant.

You could either use a pump to pull water out of the main tank, and siphon lines to return water from the pump to the main tank... or vise versa... Whichever container (tank or sump) is having water pumped into it, will have a slightly higher water line when the pump is turned on.

Be sure to note water levels with the pump both on and off. As the water levels will balance when the pump is turned off.

 

[Toby_H]

when the pics posted they were much larger and I realized the "Actual Set Up" pic was not the completed set up. But the diagram gives you the functional idea nd the second pic just verifies I actual used it, not just drew a pretty diagram