Tank upgrade - need help with sump setup.

[MrsE88]

I finally stopped dragging my feet and got a bigger tank for my terrors.

It’s a 135gal with drilled overflows in the back. No sump came with it, but I have the pump(still need to test it) and some random hoses. I’m not a fan of how it was set up, so I’ll be asking questions here for help changing things.

This is were I am right now:
Glass tops just came yesterday, background arrived today and my husband helped me put it on. I’m looking at heaters, and haven’t decided on a light yet.
We did stop and pickup my black sand on the way home with the tank, so I’ve got that too. I just need to wait for a warm day between snow storms to rinse it out.

They gave me a fluorescent light that they made for the tank. Again... need to test it still. But I’m more then likely not going to use it even if it does work. It won’t give the look I want. And all the wires with wingnuts make me nervous.
I just tested the two topfin filters that came with it and both work.
I was thinking of starting those on my 75 and 70 to get them established. Then when I’m ready to fill the tank I can pop those on till I get the sump set up. I’d just have to keep the water level lower then the overflow.

This is the tank, the glare is awful. You can sorta see that the back has been blacked out.


I’d appreciate any pointers or advice on setting up sumps. I’ll have specific questions as I go along, but if there is anything important you can think of feel free to share.

Right now I’m debating on heater wattage and sump size. Would a 40 or 20 gallon be good? Bigger? And is a 300watt enough to keep it at temp in a heated room?

 

[DN328]

Some will say the bigger the sump, the better. This is true to a certain extent, but for a 135G tank, I think a 40 would be sufficient. Some pictures of the overflow would helpful to see what kind, size, number drains you can run as is.

 

[JK47]

Some will say the bigger the sump, the better. This is true to a certain extent, but for a 135G tank, I think a 40 would be sufficient. Some pictures of the overflow would helpful to see what kind, size, number drains you can run as is.

Agreed. Simple, affordable and can be made into a nice looking sump with a small amount of effort.

 

[Nate77]

Long as the sump holds the exess water in the event of a power outage you dont water all over the place, if the tank is going to be in say living room get a pump that is to big and dial it back will help with noise ,there is probally a way to silence the overflows but not sure on this,the best advice i can give is don't over think it. If I remember right there is a pretty good thread in the diy section about sumps. As far as heater, try it if it is enough great if not buy another.

 

[MrsE88]

Here are some pictures of the pipes coming out of the overflow. There is one on each end for a total of two. Looks like it says it’s 1 1/2in interior diameter and 2” exterior?
Left overflow pipe side view

Right overflow pipe side view

Right overflow top view

Left overflow looking into the overflow box

The one has a broken pipe sticking out, so that’s going to be fun to fix. The other just has the rubber hose and the hose clamp.
Now the one with the hose clamp has a hole in the top. That will need a pipe placed in it, right?

Nate77 Thank you for that. That was a worry I had about using a sump. I don’t want to leak water all over the floor when the power goes out.
A d I’ll be reading more in the diy section. This past weekend and beginning of the week has been so crazy busy. I haven’t really had time to look things up or do much reading. Hopefully I’ll have more time the next few days here.

For the heater I’ll get the 300w for now. Then like you said add another if needed. Since spring will be coming eventually I won’t need a heater to do much work till fall anyhow.

 

[duanes]

As long as flow doesn't overflow the hole, it doesn't need to be patched. The hole may be there to stop the toilet flush gurgling sound some overflows create.
It seems to me the one with the hole may be the main flow, and the other with smaller PVC (the broken piece) as a safety to catch excess, in case the main flow becomes blocked (or partially clogged).
A rubber clamp may be sufficient to fix it, if there is enough PVC to hang on to.
If there is room, in the cabinet for a larger sump, I'd go bigger, beside room for extra media and heaters etc, the extra room would make it easer to get arms in, for maintaining. Tall tanks as sumps make it difficult to maneuver, so a larger shallower tank, provides space, and maneuverability.
Since you don't look into a sump much, 2nd hand, cheap, older scratched up tanks work well.
I used an old scratched 75 gal for years as a sump.

or not just tanks, I've used 100 gal Rubbermaid stock tanks from hardware/garden stores as sumps.
Below is a 1.5" overflow that became partially blocked with leaves after a couple cichlids decided to spawn and rip them up.

A filter sock mechanically filtering water entering the old 75 gal sump

 

[MrsE88]

Thank you duanes I’m a visual person so I really appreciate the pictures. I am keeping an eye out for a used tank for the sump. I should be able to comfortably fit a 55 into the stand. The stand is crazy tall and the two middle doors give me a nice big opening to fit a tank inside. Down side to the tall stand is I’ll need my step ladder just to feed the fish. And a regular ladder to do my decorating:/ but it will be great for equipment room.

And I think there is enough pipe there for a rubber clamp to attach to. I’ll be having my husband help me do the plumbing since he is handier then me. I’ll see if he wants to try the clamp or just replace the whole thing. Not sure why the guy broke the pipe off to begin with. Cutting it would have made a better edge to work with. I’ve gotten cut so much on this tank from broken plastic. Ugh.
And what you said about the hole in the pipe makes sense. Do you suppose wrapping foam pipe insulation around would help if the noise is really bad? I like the sound of water and all tanks are in the sunroom with no tv to compete with. Just sun, fish, and plants. My relaxation room.

 

[duanes]

If not enough pipe to snuggly wrap a collar on, a pipe with a braced sanitary T opening can be propped under the open line.
I use them under the effluent of fractionator openings (above).
One reason pipes often end up broken, is the lack of using union connections.
Unions allow you to unscrew pipe if needed. I put them every couple feet of PVC to allow changes, and to take PVC apart for reaming out clogged pipes.They add some extra cost, but make every thing else easy to take apart later. I also like to use them near the pump effluent to make maintenance of the pumps easier, by just unscrewing the union to get the pump off the plumbing.


There are also union shut off valves, to stop water flow, but still unscrew the joint if put on with the shut off in the up stream side.

 

[SOLObucky]

My sump is as simple as it comes. From left to right: Two 1 1/2" pipes from the overflow enter two filter bags. The submersible pump on the right hand side pulls the water through a large black bag of bio balls and then is sent back up into the tank.

Up and running my 300 gallon for about a year without any issues.

Swap out and clean the 100 micron filter bags twice a week.

 

[Nate77]

Don't have any good pics of the overflow boxes i had , but if it helps here is a pic of the sump I made