# Freshwater sump



## chili_is_hot (Dec 2, 2005)

Hi 
i'm in the process of setting up an, in wall 125 gal planted aquarium. and i want to have as little hardware in the tank as possible so i am looking into having a sump to put every thing in, instead of having a cluttered display tank or loads of inline heaters and Co2 diffusers and stuff. I'v made a sorta plan for it but its on my other computer so i will post it as soon as possible. i was thinking of having a syphon going into the sump then have the ehiem 2028 take it out of the sump into the tank again. is this a good idea? and it would be great if i could have some links.

thanks(this site is great)


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## Gumby (Aug 1, 2005)

I have my 125g set up with a 1800GPH GPR overflow box. I run a 1280gph return pump (set up for piranhas at first, lots of flow). Degassing is a huge issue with a sump. You need to seal that sump as much as possible. If you go with an All Glass 4 Megaflow sump it's sealed pretty well. 

In my tank I have a custom built 29 gal sump and I use styrofoam to seal whatever air leaks are possible in the sump. 

If your over flow box is drilled, just cover the inflow(top) with plastic wrap. The big issue with sumps is gas loss if you are doing CO2. Seal every nook and cranny and you should be alright Weather stripping works wonders.

I have my CO2 reactor plumbed right into the intake of the return pump. My heaters are in the sump as well as the powerhead to suck off excess air from the over flow. 

My CO2 sits around 20-30ppm. If you want pictures let me know and I'll post them within the next few days. The biggest problem with a sump is keeping the CO2 gas in solution. You'll have to tape/weather seal the bejesus out of the sump to keep those CO2 levels up; but it is completely possible in a tank that size with a sump. I did it 

To be 100% honest, If I did this system again I'd go with an Ocean Clear Pressurized Canister with the CO2 reactor in line. But such is life =\


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## Gumby (Aug 1, 2005)

Alright, here with go with some pics of my set up. It's not in wall but it should be with as messy as I keep under the stand :x

Starting with the Overflow box:









This is a CPR overflow box that has dual 1" bulk heads. I tried to ghetto rig some standpipes so that It would quiet down some. It worked... kinda. Max flow rate is something like 1400-1800 GPH. Great way to go if you can't get your tank drilled (I couldn't).

From the OF box, we go to the sump:









Basic sump built out of an old 29 gal tank. Water comes in thew the bulkheads at the top, goes over some filter pads, through a drip tray and over the bio balls. I have about 3 inches clearance between the bottom of the bio ball box and the tank bottom glass... this is where the heaters live. The styro lid on the sump is to help prevent degassing. You notice the Magdrive sits in the sump, that feeds this:










That picture should be pretty self explanitory. I plumbed the outflow from the reactor on the suction side of the pump because if it was on the pressure side the reactor wouldn't function properly. (I think that made sense).

Lastly, a shot of the return pump, CO2 tank and all that business.










If you have questions, ask away. I'll do my best to help ya out.


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## chili_is_hot (Dec 2, 2005)

i made a sketch on paint, of what i am planing on doing. But it is too big, how do you compress a drawing on paint?its anoying.

thanks alot for all the info and picks.


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## neonfish3 (Feb 12, 2004)

Chili, 
for resizing in Paint go to the toolbar on the top, Image--> Stretch/Skew. Then in the horizontal and vertical, change the percentage to a lower number such as 50%. Then click OK. You can also check the size of your pic by looking in the Image-->Attributes
Hope that helps,


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## chili_is_hot (Dec 2, 2005)

Thanks alot neonfish.
this is what i was thinking i could do for my sump, what do yuo think?


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## czado (May 26, 2005)

The siphon break on the return should be right below the water line of the main tank. If power temporarily goes out and the siphon breaks on the drain, how does the siphon restart when power comes back on? How about a DIY overflow instead?


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## chili_is_hot (Dec 2, 2005)

I thought that it would be better to use just a syphon, with a hole (right below the water line,bad drawing) to stope the syphon, instead of an overflow because it would stop the water from comping in contact with the air more, i was planing to put a air tube with a valve on the intake to make it easy to start the syphon again.also since it is in my moms office i could teach her how to start it aginif the power does go off. if this turns out to be to much trouble i will build a overflow, but for the time being i think it should be suficient.

czado: the syphone break is going to be right below the water line, otherwise it would be almost usless, just a incorect drawing.


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## Gumby (Aug 1, 2005)

My syphon break is drilled on the return spray bar. The tank will only drain down to the hold in the return line. 

One thing you're going to have to consider is what happens with the syphon breaks on your intake line? A power loss will cause this. Bubbles will slow it down, if not break the syphon. You're going to need something to pull excess air out of the syphon intake tube. 

In my case my overflow box has a hole right at the top which I have connected to a venturi style powerhed placed in the sump. Power goes out, tank drains down, sump fills up but stops filling once the syphon break point is reached. The syphon in the overflow is also broken. BUT when the power comes back on, the return pump kicks back on, and fills the tank back up. While the tank is being filled up the venturi powerhead is pulling all the air out of the overflow box and restarting the syphon. 

I've had quite a few power outages and no burned out pumps or flooded tanks/rooms 

If you want me to draw some diagrams I can attempt to do so over the weekend (I have some finals this week, busy).


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## chili_is_hot (Dec 2, 2005)

i think i pritty much know what you meen. the thing i dont get though is the syphon break at the spray bar? how does this work? i get every thing else so i dont think you have to draw anything.


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## Gumby (Aug 1, 2005)

Well unless you are plumming a check valve into the return line(which I wouldn't reccomened), water will syphon back into the sump via the return line unless the Ehime has something to prevent this. Depending on the level of your spray bar, enough water could eventually drain back into the sump to over flow it. 

If your spray bar literally sits right at the surface then you probably wont have to worry about this. My spray bar is about 3-4 inches under the surface of the water to avoid surface ripples and CO2 loss. If the power were to go out, the water level in my 125 would have to drain down 4 inches before the syphon broke on the return line. This would over flow the sump becuase 4 inches of water in a 125 is probably around 30-40 gallons. My sump is a 29 gal tank that is usualy half full at any given time. I'd have big problems if I didn't drill a syphon break right at the water surface on my spray bar. The power goes out, and 30-40 gallons of water would drain into a sump that only has room for maybe 15 more gallons of water.... Flooded basement, no fun 

The way I have the set up now, if I kill the power the sump fills up within an inch of the top. Perfect, in my opinion.


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## chili_is_hot (Dec 2, 2005)

ok that makes sence, i understand now. i belive i'm going to use a 20 gal tank for the sump with 2 300/200 watt heaters, and bio balls. I'm going to use styrophome for the cover of the sump(thanks for the idea), and i think i'm going to build an overflow, instead of a syphon.

thanks alot for all the help, i think that should be enought for now i think


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