sumps and water changes

[ali12345]

Hi,
This is my first sump - been running 6 months now.
I have got a 500 gallon tank with a 50 gallon sump fed by 2 weirs (approx 12 " tall by 36" by 18") . When I change water I have to switch off the sump pump because the water no longer flows over the weirs.
At the moment I can do a 40 gallon change in an hour. The sump has an open top.
How long could I leave it off for without losing a lot of filter bacteria?
I have thought of having a seperate pump for water change time.
What does everybody else do?
Alison

 

[kickthefool]

Hi,
This is my first sump - been running 6 months now.
I have got a 500 gallon tank with a 50 gallon sump fed by 2 weirs (approx 12 " tall by 36" by 18") . When I change water I have to switch off the sump pump because the water no longer flows over the weirs.
At the moment I can do a 40 gallon change in an hour. The sump has an open top.
How long could I leave it off for without losing a lot of filter bacteria?
I have thought of having a seperate pump for water change time.
What does everybody else do?
Alison

As long as there is water in your sump, your bb will be fine for a long time.
Prolly dont need another pump unless you want to up the filtration on your tank.Can never have enough filtration.
Just change the water, dont worry how long it takes, everything will be fine. You dont have to be filtering every second of every day. I turn off my filters for five minutes while i feed and during water changes on one tank, it will be ok.

 

[Toby_H]

You should be able to leave the sump off for at least 24 hours... keep in mind the where the waste collects anyway, so een though the pump is off the biggest food source for BBis in the sump already...

 

[Dan F]

Is your filter media completely immersed or wet/dry?

If it is immersed you are fine for several hours, at least.

If it is a wet/dry filter you start to lose bacteria as soon as the media starts to dry out. Temperature, humidity, and the type of media determine how quickly things will dry out. If it is a wet dry I would set up a pump to keep it operating while changing water.

500 gallons! That's an awesome tank, what do you keep in it?

 

[carcrazy]

I do 100g water changes 2-3 times per week on my 320g with 60g sump. I shut off the return pump for about 2 hours while I'm doing a water change and have never had any problems. I have pot scrubbers in my sump and they seem to be doing a good job. I wouldn't worry.

I also have an XP3 and 4 IV hydrosponges in the tank for extra filtration. It is a good idea to have backup filtration just in case. My sump burst once and the extra filtration kept my tank going until I could get around to repairing my sump (it took me 1 month to get the glass from my nearest glass store).

 

[Toby_H]

If it is a wet/dry filter you start to lose bacteria as soon as the media starts to dry out. Temperature, humidity, and the type of media determine how quickly things will dry out. If it is a wet dry I would set up a pump to keep it operating while changing water.

Great point, I overlooked the option of a wet dry in my post above...

I don't know if I would spend money on a pump for this service though... I would be more likely to just keep a pitcher near the sump and pour water over the wet/dry media eery 30 to 45 minutes when the pump is truned off... having a 1 gal pitcher near the tank makes many things a lot easier anyway...

But either option would work... But if you use the pump be sure to set it up so it's easy to switch the additional pump on and off

 

[duanes]

As opposed to a different pump, this is what I do.
I run a separate PVC line to the laundry tubs off the return line to my tanks. Open the valve partially to the tubs, and some water goes back to the tank, while some goes to the tubs. This way the only place the water level goes down is in the sump and not the main tank.
The pic below is during a 20-30 gal water change, as you can see by the algae line, the plants in the sump are normally submerged.

This is the normal level in the sump.

 

[carcrazy]

That's your sump? Wow, nice plants! I wish my planted tank looked as nice.

 

[ali12345]

Thanks for your replies.
I love your planted sump but mine is under the cabinet and dark.
I tend to clean the substrate while doing the water change so have to drop the level in the main tank.

So do you think there will be enough oxygen for the bacteria while the pump is off?

Is is a general community tank at the moment: lots of bristlenoses, a few l numbers some small doradids, livebearers, blind cave fish, rainbows, tetras, rasboras, wood cats.
Will be home to my synos and larger doradids when I move most of the little fish out.
Alison

 

[ali12345]

Hi forgot to say this is all wet.
I have got a small pond pump lying around that I could use.
Alison