do i make water to put in the sump?

shoogieboo

Member
i'm ready to set my sump up so what do i do just let the water from the mt flow in the sump or make new water and put it in the sump? hurry
 

aquaman

Member
You will need to make some water to put in due to the new space for the water volume to fill. Make sure it is good and mixed first, fill the sump with this and add some from your tank then let her rip.
 

aquaman

Member
Fill it 1/2 way, but have extra on hand just in case. BTW I forgot to mention to make sure the temperature was the same before you start sending the sump water back to the main tank.
 

aquaman

Member
For temp control. This is important for the animals in your tank. With too much of a temp change the fish could get stresses out, and get sick. Also, the temperature is directly related to specific gravity if you have a hydrometer.
 

shoogieboo

Member
well the tank is 76 and all i have right now is rock....also when i do a water change where do i take the water from the sump?? i turn everything off or do i get it from the tank??
 

aquaman

Member
Yeah, I take the water out of the sump, because it is less stressful to the fish. Also it keep me from dripping salt water onto the outside of my display tank. If toy do a search on sumps you should be able to find some good pics that will be very helpful.
 

shoogieboo

Member
hey how do i know if i have enough current? and my sump is up and running took a lil while to get the suction and was a lil scary but its finally going
 

dmc888

Member
I would make a temporary water level mark .
If it stays the same and doesn't rise up and down i say its good flow.
Keep an eye out for leaks since its new.
 

shoogieboo

Member
well its actually used i bought the whole set up used. and the water level is staying the same hasn't moved in niether sump nor tank...and where does this whole need to be drilled to break siphon? in the main tank? on the return?
 

aquaman

Member
if you have some pics of your set up it would help a lot. As for drilling a hole, is this for the return or the intake?
 

dmc888

Member
How big is the sump? If there is enough space in the sump then its not needed. Since the overflow is only a couple inches deep in water.
 

dmc888

Member
Not sure about that hole. I never heard of it.
Your sump might be able to handle around 10g it would drain with no power.
10g is my guess.
It will only drain to the level of your overflow.
If you can lower your water line , you can probably fit the extra volume.
Mine adds about 5 gallons to my wetdry on my 55 with no power.
 

squidd

Active Member
Hole goes in return line (from pump) to keep it from sucking water back (anti-siphon) in case the power goes out..
Drilled on Tank side of loop just at water level...
 
Top