If you order reefready or predrilled tank no overflow is needed. The manufacturer installs overflows, provides the durso/return plumbing and bulkheads.
Sumps
- Thread starter jaws7777
- Start date
The way I personally planned mine out was to start with the amount of flow I wanted going into the tank. I wanted to turn over the tank water 7-8 times an hour. So multiply the gallons of your tank by 8, that's the flow rate of the pump (s) you need. I like the idea of having 2 pumps so if one dies, I'll still have SOME flow while I get a replacement. So 8 times my tank volume turned out to be 2 Laguna 2400's.
Now that I knew that, I looked up what size pipe can drain that amount of flow. That's how you know what size pipe to run for drains, and what size holes you need in the bottom of the tank.
For the size of the sump, I've heard a rule of thumb is 20-30% of the size of the tank. My sump is 125 gallons, which is kinda 20% of my tank volume. But, like tanks, biggest sump you can fit is really the size sump you want.
Then you just need to be sure the overflow box/weir can drain water at the rate of your pump output. They mostly do. If not, cut some teeth out of the weir.
So, for your 200 gallon tank, you'd want 1600 GPH pump output. You'd want at LEAST a 40 gallon sump, I'd go with a 75 gallon sump personally or bigger ir you want to have 2 pumps.
Drain lines -- The size depends how many you have. If you only had 1 drain line for the whole tank, you'd need 1.5 inch to drain 1600 GPH. If you have 2, you could use 1.25" drain lines. If you have 4 drains like I do, you could use 1 inch drain lines. There's a chart right here.... http://flexpvc.com/WaterFlowBasedOnPipeSize.shtml
This number of drain lines is very important. I know you're thinking "less holes I drill, the better". But not so fast. If you had four drain lines, you could use 2 to drain the tank (primary drains), and have 2 on standby (emergency drains). That gets you peace of mind knowing it's gonna be almost impossible to flood the house. And, it also lets you control the drain rate. If you match the drain rate to the pump rate closely enough you get ---- silence! A dead quiet fish tank. If you're off a little bit, a little extra water will creep down the emergency drains and you won't hear it. That's what a Herbie style overflow is.
How a sump works, very basically, is visualized here http://www.melevsreef.com/node/1658 This is an article with a cool animation, but it's focused on marine tanks. You don't need a bubble trap, a skimmer, or a refugium. But, this explains it very well, and it has a visual.
I, personally, would not do an HOB overflow box type contraption. I'd buy a tank that's reef ready, or I'd drill it myself. Drilling is not bad--sounds scary, absolutely terrifying if you've never done it and you're not sure a bulkhead will really seal. Don't worry, just drill it. Bulkheads are incredibly reliable. You can always plug a drilled hole if you mess up.
Now that I knew that, I looked up what size pipe can drain that amount of flow. That's how you know what size pipe to run for drains, and what size holes you need in the bottom of the tank.
For the size of the sump, I've heard a rule of thumb is 20-30% of the size of the tank. My sump is 125 gallons, which is kinda 20% of my tank volume. But, like tanks, biggest sump you can fit is really the size sump you want.
Then you just need to be sure the overflow box/weir can drain water at the rate of your pump output. They mostly do. If not, cut some teeth out of the weir.
So, for your 200 gallon tank, you'd want 1600 GPH pump output. You'd want at LEAST a 40 gallon sump, I'd go with a 75 gallon sump personally or bigger ir you want to have 2 pumps.
Drain lines -- The size depends how many you have. If you only had 1 drain line for the whole tank, you'd need 1.5 inch to drain 1600 GPH. If you have 2, you could use 1.25" drain lines. If you have 4 drains like I do, you could use 1 inch drain lines. There's a chart right here.... http://flexpvc.com/WaterFlowBasedOnPipeSize.shtml
This number of drain lines is very important. I know you're thinking "less holes I drill, the better". But not so fast. If you had four drain lines, you could use 2 to drain the tank (primary drains), and have 2 on standby (emergency drains). That gets you peace of mind knowing it's gonna be almost impossible to flood the house. And, it also lets you control the drain rate. If you match the drain rate to the pump rate closely enough you get ---- silence! A dead quiet fish tank. If you're off a little bit, a little extra water will creep down the emergency drains and you won't hear it. That's what a Herbie style overflow is.
How a sump works, very basically, is visualized here http://www.melevsreef.com/node/1658 This is an article with a cool animation, but it's focused on marine tanks. You don't need a bubble trap, a skimmer, or a refugium. But, this explains it very well, and it has a visual.
I, personally, would not do an HOB overflow box type contraption. I'd buy a tank that's reef ready, or I'd drill it myself. Drilling is not bad--sounds scary, absolutely terrifying if you've never done it and you're not sure a bulkhead will really seal. Don't worry, just drill it. Bulkheads are incredibly reliable. You can always plug a drilled hole if you mess up.
You just need a sump and these items.
Overflow box
http://www.amazon.com/Eshopps-AEO11...d=1437529785&sr=1-5&keywords=eshopps+overflow
plumbing from tank to sump
http://www.amazon.com/Eshopps-Foot-...=1437529785&sr=1-12&keywords=eshopps+overflow
Pump to bring water from sump to tank. If you want to save money look for a used mag drive, rio por any other water pump.
http://www.amazon.com/Jebao-DC-9000...TF8&qid=1437529839&sr=1-1&keywords=jebao+pump
Plumbing from sump to tank
http://www.amazon.com/Watts-SVNL20-...sim_199_4?ie=UTF8&refRID=0TV5DN4180SCNW8T67W4
http://www.amazon.com/CPR-Aquatic-T...sim_199_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=0TV5DN4180SCNW8T67W4
Overflow box
http://www.amazon.com/Eshopps-AEO11...d=1437529785&sr=1-5&keywords=eshopps+overflow
plumbing from tank to sump
http://www.amazon.com/Eshopps-Foot-...=1437529785&sr=1-12&keywords=eshopps+overflow
Pump to bring water from sump to tank. If you want to save money look for a used mag drive, rio por any other water pump.
http://www.amazon.com/Jebao-DC-9000...TF8&qid=1437529839&sr=1-1&keywords=jebao+pump
Plumbing from sump to tank
http://www.amazon.com/Watts-SVNL20-...sim_199_4?ie=UTF8&refRID=0TV5DN4180SCNW8T67W4
http://www.amazon.com/CPR-Aquatic-T...sim_199_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=0TV5DN4180SCNW8T67W4
At ragin and cu45 thanks so much for the links and explanation. Goona read up on the links and peobably come back with more questions. I still have some time before i actually do this but wanted all my ducks lined up
When you have a drilled tank, you never worry about losing siphon, because water runs to the sump by gravity. Water is pumped to tank from sump, and overflows back to the sump.
With an overflow box, there is always the question of siphon, but after the siphon, water also runs to the sump with gravity.
I have both drilled tanks, and some with overflow boxes (because they worked well enough that I never got around to drilling).
If flow is somewhat slow, there is a chance siphon gets interrupted, bubbles build up in the siphon tube, and the tank can overflow. I have one overflow box I need to check daily, and every few days reset the siphon flow.
If flow is a bit much for a siphon, bubbles can build up in the siphon tube, the tank overflows.
Snails, plant leaves, dead fish, all can plug siphons and cause an overflow, they can also get into drilled overflows and do the same, especially with cichlids, because they uproot plants, tear them apart, and kill each other overnight.
I make weir boxes to catch debris for my drilled overflows.
The most troublesome pollutants in a tank are on the air water interface.
You can't see them (unless your flow stops, and they show up as a film on the waters surface), but these proteins are there, and getting them into the filtration system where beneficial bacteria can break them down is key.
Sumps do not negate the need for vacuuming detritus.
I have some tanks with vegetarian cichlids I need to vacuum at least every other day, because they constantly produce copious amounts of fibrous waste, which is heavy and always sinks straight away. Vegetarians like bocourti, pearsei, (many Vieja) and Etroplus suratensus all can eat enough large bunches of fibrous plants to cover the bottom of my tanks with plant mulm.
With an overflow box, there is always the question of siphon, but after the siphon, water also runs to the sump with gravity.
I have both drilled tanks, and some with overflow boxes (because they worked well enough that I never got around to drilling).
If flow is somewhat slow, there is a chance siphon gets interrupted, bubbles build up in the siphon tube, and the tank can overflow. I have one overflow box I need to check daily, and every few days reset the siphon flow.
If flow is a bit much for a siphon, bubbles can build up in the siphon tube, the tank overflows.
Snails, plant leaves, dead fish, all can plug siphons and cause an overflow, they can also get into drilled overflows and do the same, especially with cichlids, because they uproot plants, tear them apart, and kill each other overnight.
I make weir boxes to catch debris for my drilled overflows.
The most troublesome pollutants in a tank are on the air water interface.
You can't see them (unless your flow stops, and they show up as a film on the waters surface), but these proteins are there, and getting them into the filtration system where beneficial bacteria can break them down is key.
Sumps do not negate the need for vacuuming detritus.
I have some tanks with vegetarian cichlids I need to vacuum at least every other day, because they constantly produce copious amounts of fibrous waste, which is heavy and always sinks straight away. Vegetarians like bocourti, pearsei, (many Vieja) and Etroplus suratensus all can eat enough large bunches of fibrous plants to cover the bottom of my tanks with plant mulm.
i personally dont like using overflow boxes or hobs other than for surface skimming.
as for plumbing i like to use every hole if not most holes as a drain and return with pvc
overhead connected to a pressure nozzle,loc-line, fx5 dual outlet nozzle, spray bar &
etc. this way you can maximize the amount of flow and turn over rate significantly.
also another you can do is drill a hole on the upper side of the sump around 4-6" below
the rim and plumb a drain into a drain or outside in case of a power outage or equipment
failure. this way if you lose power you wont have a big mess and a puddle to deal with as
water drained into the sump will drain out to the drain or outside. make sure you have
valves on your plumbing btw.
as for plumbing i like to use every hole if not most holes as a drain and return with pvc
overhead connected to a pressure nozzle,loc-line, fx5 dual outlet nozzle, spray bar &
etc. this way you can maximize the amount of flow and turn over rate significantly.
also another you can do is drill a hole on the upper side of the sump around 4-6" below
the rim and plumb a drain into a drain or outside in case of a power outage or equipment
failure. this way if you lose power you wont have a big mess and a puddle to deal with as
water drained into the sump will drain out to the drain or outside. make sure you have
valves on your plumbing btw.
Seems kinda pricey to me. I got a custom built acrylic sump with sock holders built in for about the same price. All I bought after that was 2 pumps and some pond matrix. If you went with a used 90 gallon for a sump and bought your own pumps, you'd save $400-$500 I figure?
I DO understand just getting it bought and regretting it later. Sometimes, a decision just needs to be made.
I can't really tell you if that'll work just from the parts list. What's a "tub"? There's 3 tubs?
I DO understand just getting it bought and regretting it later. Sometimes, a decision just needs to be made.
I can't really tell you if that'll work just from the parts list. What's a "tub"? There's 3 tubs?
Will all the crap that i have going on this year amd it doesnt look like this summer will be any easier it may just be more realistic to buy something already made. The link has a diagram of how it supposed to work
