Hey all, setting up a 180 tank and had a question about a sump and setup. The cabiinet the tank is on doesnt have enough space for the sump (plus the tank is not drilled anyway) and dont wanna use a Hang on Overflow so i am gonna put the sump above the tank. The sump will be about 20-30 gallon in capacity. So, for those of you with it above the tank, my question is: What size pump (gph) do you use? The sump is at the same height as the top of tank and the placement of the pump will be about 24" below the sump. I will be using either 3/4 to 1in flex tubing. Thanks!
W/D sump question
- Thread starter aro-man
- Start date
You are just going to have to size your pump according to your head preasure, which you say is two feet, so depending on what Make pump you want, thats how to size it. I would get something that moves around 700 gph or even a little more, it wouldnt hurt.
Other than cosmetics and accessability..there are a number of advantages to having the sump above the tank. Its definatly safer during a power outage. I don't know how much higher than the tank your thinking of putting the sump but the head pressure shouldn't be much differant than it would if the sump was under the tank....the main differance here is that the ballance is less critical with the sump above the tank. The return will automaticly match the flow of the pump while in normal systems you have to match the pump rate to the overflow.
The return will match the pumps flow as long as the return is not too small or becomes clogged.
One thing you might want to do is set your pump high inside the tank if you run is submergered or your intake line high because if for whatever reason your return line from the sump ever gets plugged, you could pump ALOT of water into your house. You could even set your pump is the float switch on it so that if the level of water ever gets too high in the sump is shuts the pump off, you could do the same thing in the tank as well to keep it from ever getting too low if there was a problem. Just some things to think about.
One thing you might want to do is set your pump high inside the tank if you run is submergered or your intake line high because if for whatever reason your return line from the sump ever gets plugged, you could pump ALOT of water into your house. You could even set your pump is the float switch on it so that if the level of water ever gets too high in the sump is shuts the pump off, you could do the same thing in the tank as well to keep it from ever getting too low if there was a problem. Just some things to think about.
Balance is just as important here as it is with the sump below the tank... it just works the other way around... if your pump is faster than your return, you suck the tank down and overflow the "sump" (not really a sump if it's above the tank, but that's semantics). You also have to set your water level accordingly, so that in a power out, the sump draining into the tank won't overflow the tank.
No reason it shouldn't work just as well above the tank as below though, as long as you put some thought into it.
No reason it shouldn't work just as well above the tank as below though, as long as you put some thought into it.
Yeah, draining my tank on to the carpet is probably a bad idea. At least above the tank dont have to worry about overflowing it to much. just as long as i keep the water level in the tank just right. AND it will be in plain viewand not hiding under the tank! You dont know how many times i overflowed my other tanks sump cause i wasnt paying attention! The tank looks fine till you see water leaking from under your cabinet stand! Was probably gonna use 1" diameter tubing for the return and intake. Should i go bigger or smaller if i use a 700gph pump. Assuming the filter is well maintained and free of clogs.