Will this sump diagram work?

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frazzlerock5

Gambusia
MFK Member
Jun 19, 2008
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Here's a sump diagram I drew, that I want to get idiot-proofed by you DIY experts before I go screwing things up.

sumpdiagram.JPG


I know I know... people get sick and tired of reading virtually the same posts over and over again... but I am seriously in need of help.

After spending hours and hours of reading through different threads about DIY sumps, I feel like I come up with just as many new questions as I do get questions answered.

Here are my questions:
1) Obviously to start with, will this drawing work? Are there any obvious flaws with my diagram?

2) The tank is a 210 gallon (7ft x 2ft x 2ft). The pump I have is an Eheim 1250, with a rating of 320 gph. Is this a strong enough pump?

3) The actual sump is going to be a rubbermaid bin, about what size should it be?

4) The chambered compartment is going to be one of those Sterilite plastic 3 drawer bins. Will the pipes going into and out of the bin need to be water tight? If they leak will I have major problems?

5) Where do I want the water level inside the plastic bins, and how do I attain and maintain that water level?

6) Are my shut off valves (the small red rectangles on the piping near the tank) in good places, or does that not matter?

7) How would I "prime" the sump?


I know this post is long, but I want to start on this ASAP, I don't want to prolong this project any longer, so any help would be greatly GREATLY appreciated.

Just to get an idea, the tank is already drilled, with 4 total holes (2 on each side), with one overflow box built in, I'll need to get another one for the other side.
 
it will, but seems like a complex array of pipes. i would try to simplify, maybe have one return and one outlet, not really nessary to have two, but its your tank. also i would swap the bio balls for something else like matrix or scoria. For one from your pic your last tier will be submerged and bioballs or pot scrubbies do not breed backteria very well when submerged du to lack of oxygen.

Im designing my own sump also and am going to have an outlet either end of the tank but have the return at the centre of the tank thus alleviating the want/need for 2 returns. either way dude good luck. :)
 
Ok thanks a lot. I've thought about simplifying the piping for sure, just wasn't real sure on how I could do it. I have to use the 4 holes that are in the tank or cap some of them and I don't really want to do that. I guess I could combine the inlet pipes going to the sump instead of having them both go all the way to the sump.

So once it's all set up and ready, All I have to do is open the valves and plug in the pump?
 
1. If you already have the holes.....use them. Your setup will work fine.

2. I would be looking for something in the 3-5x area, so about 900-1500pgh, but that is not to say your pump won't work. I think that you will eventually want more turnover than what you have. Your pump may not be able to push to two outputs very well.

3. A good number to go by is 1/3 of your tank, so about 50-65 gallons.

4. You should be fine. The bin will not have pressurized pipes on them. I doubt you will have any problems.

5. Set your water level by filling the tank and letting the overflows drain into the sump until you hit a solid level. I would say min is 2" about pump inlet. Max would be overflowing the sump when the power is off.

6. I would move the shutoofs a little bit further fromt he tank in case you would have to take them out for some reason.

7. No priming needed. Add water to desired level, turn on pump. Done.
 
I also run 2 seperate overflows straight to the sump, this way if one clogs, my sump doesn't overflow my tank.
 
You would want to have some sort of wall there to allow the debris to settle so that it doesn't get to the pump.
 
SwineFlu;3220415; said:
I'm looking at something similar- would you be putting baffles or anything else in before the pump? I'm kinda looking for ideas on what to do with all that extra space.
Click to expand...
I'm not familiar with what baffles are...

Pharaoh;3220451; said:
You would want to have some sort of wall there to allow the debris to settle so that it doesn't get to the pump.
Click to expand...
Good point, I didn't think about that. What type of material should I use, and would it need to be water tight?
 
As i stated in my first post. if you use matrix or lava rock( scoria) in the last part of your sump this will filter out debris and also assist in breeding backteria under the water line. Baffles as someone mention above are partitions in the filter that will hold your media of choice, generally either ehfi media, matrix media or scoria. ill put up a pic of one of my sumps to give you an idea.
 
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