Sump Pump Question. I know I know ANOTHER ONE!!!
- Thread starter djkron
- Start date
Ok the project is complete and all i can say is, damn these things are worth the effort!!!!
Took a little fooling around with to get the sump and siphon working properly but this trickle filter puts to shame anything i have ever seen for a HOB filter.
Bar none I will be putting one on every tank I have for the rest of my life!!!
Ok I went with the mag 9.5 for my 55 gallon tank with the sump having another 17.5 gallons when running normally(max is 27)
This pump is a little to much for a system like this but I am glad I went with it because if I decide to up the tank size I wont be out another 100 bucks. All I had to do was add ball valves, one on the line going to the tank and the other on a y back into the sump from the pump.
A little tuning was all it needed and I am guessing I am getting at least 450 GPH where my old Top fin 60(which says 300 GPH) would do at most 200.
The water has never looked so good and I am continually testing the levels in the tank and so far(been less than a week) the numbers are already dropping significantly.
I want to thank everyone for there input and knowledge!!! This project wouldnt have been done without you!!!
Ok in the pictures below you can see in the first the line I had on the tank where I had to cut out approximetly 2 inches, the second pic is with the back off, the third is a pic of my high tech(sacasim!!!) overflow box made out of 2 juice jugs(dont worry they are BPA free and safe!!!), the forth and fifth is a closer look at the dual 1 inch siphons with one way valves for priming, the sixth is a look at the siphon line going to the sump, the seventh is a pic of the main pump return line going to my diffuser bar, the eight is a pic of the overflow box in the tank and last is a pic of the finished sump running strong
I used some products for the first time on this project that worked extremely well, The first, long story short I was told by the LFS that silicone was fine for bonding acrylic, THIS IS A FAT BS LIE of course I found this out after I had already sealed the sump back up. Needless to say alot of people told me my blunder and I was unable to find any acrylic cement, so after alot of research I found that JB WATERWELD is an aquarium safe product and I used it on the outer edge of my sump with silicone on the inside. It Worked beautifully!!!!! quick and painless, as long as you slightly scuff the acrylic with a bit of sandpaper this JB holds on REALLY tight. The second product I think will be a HUGE Cost saver for many DIYers. The multi coloured things you see in the last pic are plastic kitchen scrubbers purchased at my local dollar store. Cost comparison wise it cost me 16 dollars for the equivalent of almost 7 gallons of Bio media which would have cost over 100 at my LFS. All I did was rinse em out and throw em in. I think these will be some of the best bio media for your buck you will every find!!!
Again i want to thank the community for there knowledge and insight and if anyone has a question I will be glad to answer it!!!
Thanks again!!!
Oh and before I forget, anyone who is going to do this yourself, do youself a favor, use a main siphon pipe thats bigger than your return line, I have a 1 inch return pipe from the sump pump the the tank, and a siphon line of 1 inch from the overflow to the trickle filter, you will get much more flow if you increase the diameter u use, that is what I am going to do!!! equal sizes seem to limit the amount of siphon u can return to the tank and how quick you can do it.
It is all a learning curve baby. GIGGADY!!!!
Took a little fooling around with to get the sump and siphon working properly but this trickle filter puts to shame anything i have ever seen for a HOB filter.
Bar none I will be putting one on every tank I have for the rest of my life!!!
Ok I went with the mag 9.5 for my 55 gallon tank with the sump having another 17.5 gallons when running normally(max is 27)
This pump is a little to much for a system like this but I am glad I went with it because if I decide to up the tank size I wont be out another 100 bucks. All I had to do was add ball valves, one on the line going to the tank and the other on a y back into the sump from the pump.
A little tuning was all it needed and I am guessing I am getting at least 450 GPH where my old Top fin 60(which says 300 GPH) would do at most 200.
The water has never looked so good and I am continually testing the levels in the tank and so far(been less than a week) the numbers are already dropping significantly.
I want to thank everyone for there input and knowledge!!! This project wouldnt have been done without you!!!
Ok in the pictures below you can see in the first the line I had on the tank where I had to cut out approximetly 2 inches, the second pic is with the back off, the third is a pic of my high tech(sacasim!!!) overflow box made out of 2 juice jugs(dont worry they are BPA free and safe!!!), the forth and fifth is a closer look at the dual 1 inch siphons with one way valves for priming, the sixth is a look at the siphon line going to the sump, the seventh is a pic of the main pump return line going to my diffuser bar, the eight is a pic of the overflow box in the tank and last is a pic of the finished sump running strong
I used some products for the first time on this project that worked extremely well, The first, long story short I was told by the LFS that silicone was fine for bonding acrylic, THIS IS A FAT BS LIE of course I found this out after I had already sealed the sump back up. Needless to say alot of people told me my blunder and I was unable to find any acrylic cement, so after alot of research I found that JB WATERWELD is an aquarium safe product and I used it on the outer edge of my sump with silicone on the inside. It Worked beautifully!!!!! quick and painless, as long as you slightly scuff the acrylic with a bit of sandpaper this JB holds on REALLY tight. The second product I think will be a HUGE Cost saver for many DIYers. The multi coloured things you see in the last pic are plastic kitchen scrubbers purchased at my local dollar store. Cost comparison wise it cost me 16 dollars for the equivalent of almost 7 gallons of Bio media which would have cost over 100 at my LFS. All I did was rinse em out and throw em in. I think these will be some of the best bio media for your buck you will every find!!!
Again i want to thank the community for there knowledge and insight and if anyone has a question I will be glad to answer it!!!
Thanks again!!!
Oh and before I forget, anyone who is going to do this yourself, do youself a favor, use a main siphon pipe thats bigger than your return line, I have a 1 inch return pipe from the sump pump the the tank, and a siphon line of 1 inch from the overflow to the trickle filter, you will get much more flow if you increase the diameter u use, that is what I am going to do!!! equal sizes seem to limit the amount of siphon u can return to the tank and how quick you can do it.
It is all a learning curve baby. GIGGADY!!!!
