Sumps and co2 injection?

[jcardona1]

So i know most of us who inject co2 use a canister filter to reduce excess water movement and avoid gassing off our co2. but i know with some thought and planning, a sump can be used effectively.

i'm thinking of running a sump for my new planted tank, mainly for the reason of moving equipment out of the tank and not having to top off the tank every few days, a huge bonus!!!

i would run a durso standpipe with the water level in my overflow as high as possible to minimize splashing. for the drain, i would use a valve to regulate the flow so it matches the pump's output to reduce any gurgling/splashing in the pipe. the sump inlet would be below water level.

i wont be running a standard wet/dry/drip sump. this would basically be an empty tank with some submerged ceramic media and the pump on the other end, so there wont be any splashing in the sump. the return would be fed into a PVC reactor and then back into the tank.

so, is anybody here running a sump and injecting co2? any thoughts about my ideas?

 

[MDK500]

If there isn't much water movement in the sump I believe you should be okay. If there's too much then you'll be gassing off a lot of CO2.

 

[chonhzilla]

If there isn't much water movement in the sump I believe you should be okay. If there's too much then you'll be gassing off a lot of CO2.

Agreed, well planned too. I believe as long as you can minimize the water turbulence and breaks during the water movement you should be fine.

Do it!

 

[k9potatos]

when you mean water movement you mean waterfall type movement or power head moving water around

 

[k9potatos]

i planning on doing a c02 planted tank i have a sump, but i can adjust the flow/direction of the water not to hard.

 

[jcardona1]

pretty much any type of water movement, from the overflow box down to the sump

 

[Capsaicin]

The drop checker won't lie. You might just have to up your bps to achieve the 30ppm mark if the sump is taking away the co2.

 

[WyldFya]

No matter what you do, sumps gas off more co2 than canisters. Keep that drop checker in the green, and you will be fine, but expect to go through more co2.

 

[JakeH]

What about almost sealing the top of the sump? Or maybe just the main chambers after the intake? You would of course need a vent of some kind, but I think the air inside the sealed chamber(s) would eventually get saturated with CO2 & minimize further gas-off.... I'm low tech with my DIY CO2, but thats how I keep the small amount of CO2 I get to stay in contact with the surface--upside down tupperware. Its weighted so the lip sits just under the surface & forms a seal. My diffuser is just below it, so I get a lot of exchange in that one area. I know I'm kinda out of my league here, so let the flaming commence!

 

[jcardona1]

What about almost sealing the top of the sump? Or maybe just the main chambers after the intake? You would of course need a vent of some kind, but I think the air inside the sealed chamber(s) would eventually get saturated with CO2 & minimize further gas-off.... I'm low tech with my DIY CO2, but thats how I keep the small amount of CO2 I get to stay in contact with the surface--upside down tupperware. Its weighted so the lip sits just under the surface & forms a seal. My diffuser is just below it, so I get a lot of exchange in that one area. I know I'm kinda out of my league here, so let the flaming commence!

youre actually close on this one! folks that use a standard wet/dry with water dripping over the media often times seal their sumps to avoid gassing off their co2. but since i went with a sump - basically a tank full of water and no baffles/dividers, the only concern was with water going down the overflow. check out the new thread on my build, i posted a video of how quiet everything is. link is in my sig