92 GALLON SUMP QUESTIONS

b.armstrong1

New Member
I CURENLTY HAVE A 92 GALLON CORNER TANK WITH A AMIACLE SL250 AND 2 LIFEGUARD MODULES BELOW THE TANK. I WANT TO DRILL A HOLE IN THE FLOOR AND PUT ALL OF THE EQUIPMENT IN THE BASEMENT. I HAVE A 200 GALLON PLASTIC WATER TANK THAT I AM THINKING OF USING FOR THE SUMP. I AM LOOKING FOR SUGESTIONS ON THE BEST WAY TO DO THIS AND POSSIBLE PROBLEMS FROM DOING THIS ANY INPUT WOULD BE GREAT. :rolleyes:
 

broomer5

Active Member
Aside from having a return pump in the basement sump that will overcome the head pressure, and still give you the flow you're looking for, and allowing room in the sump for drainage back down at powerloss - sounds like a wonderful idea.
I've never had a set up like what you describe. I've heard others here that have done just that, and maybe they can toss in a couple comments.
I will add this ...
Having such a large sump will allow you to add a lot of saltwater to your system.
This is a great thing in my opinion .. but adding that much new water to an "established" tank with fish may cause some shock or stress, especially if the water parameters, temperature, pH, specific gravity and such are not matched as close to the existing tankwater as possible.
You have some nice fish, and I would suggest when you set this up and turn it on, that you really pay extra attention to getting this new water to the same tested parameters.
Also if I was doing this, I would turn on the return pump for a few seconds until I saw water draining back to my sump, then turn it off for awhile, turn it back on for a few seconds, off again ... and continue this for a couple hours to sort of mix in the new water with your existing tankwater. A powerhead or two in the display tank might be necessary if you don't already have them.
You could have up to 100+ gallons of new water in this monster sump, more then doubling your system - very cool - but also a potential risk to any delicate fish you have in the 92 corner.
If you have the room, a nice saltwater mixing tank next to your monster sump would be a nice addition to this project. PVC piped with a pump to the sump, and a PVC drain from the sump to drain in your basement. Water changes would be a lot easier if you had this mixing station nearby.
That's about all I can think of right now.
Love to see some pictures of how you do this ;)
 

bang guy

Moderator
I currently run a basement sump and Broomer has given excellent advice for someone that hasn't run this setup. I don't know Broomer but there must be some smart people in Toledo.
I have just a couple comments to add:
Make sure you use a pressure rated pump and look closely at the head loss charts. You're probably going to want something similar to an Iwaki MD55RLT or a pair of Iwaki MD40RLT's.
Add a ball valve after the pump in an easily accessible location. I have two, one upstairs and one downstairs.
You are going to have some microbubbles in the overflow water. This happens because the long drop really churns up the water. You will need to eliminate these bubbles before they get to the return pump. Baffles, buckets, etc are ways to do this. I invented a bubble eliminator that is cheap to build and also acts as a crude (but very efficient) skimmer.
I've found that SPA FLEX PVC is expensive but worth the extra cost for the return plumbing.
Expect more evaporation and more need for heaters and absolutely no need for a chiller.
Also expect a whisper quiet display tank and an almost empty aquarium cabinet. :D
I also recommend a refugium sitting next to your sump.
 

b.armstrong1

New Member
I was thinking of a dolphin 3000 pump for my return this will give me 20 gpm at 12' of head. I am thinking of using a 90 gallon tank as the sump instead of the 200 gallon plastic tub. on the 90 gallon I can put a glass top on to reduce the evaporation. I hope to use my old tank 37 gallon as the mixing container and add an auto shut off on my ro for automatic top offs. This whole idea started as I was up at midnight carrying 5 gallon water buckets up for water changes. I want to get out of that as well as keeping the tank cooler in the summer month w/o a chiller or turning the ac on 70 all day. I do think I will add the water slowly to prevent any stress to my fish. any other pluimbing tips or don'ts would be great.
 

joerdie

Member
god i wish i could do some of this stuff!!!! <img src="graemlins//freak.gif" border="0" alt="[freak]" />
 
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