faq that everyone thinks about but probably doesnt ask:Sump questions

1. Do you have to have a light on your sump?
2. does adding more bio balls help?
3. what are some negative effects to having a sump?
4. what are some common cleaning practices?
anyone who wants to answer these questions would be great i know the answers to 2 and 4 but the rest are blanks...lol this thread is to help everyone whose had these questions and never asked. lets keep this thread going, anyone with sump questions not on here feel free to post and hopefully youll get a reply
 

beaslbob

Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by fitbmxdude989
http:///forum/post/3279166
1. Do you have to have a light on your sump??
no. But best to have some light on the refugium and grow macro algaes
2. does adding more bio balls help
maybe maybe not.
3. what are some negative effects to having a sump?
increased complexity, floods, noise, sump running dry with fire risk. Costs
4. what are some common cleaning practices?
take the sponge pump intake filter out and clean it
anyone who wants to answer these questions would be great i know the answers to 2 and 4 but the rest are blanks...lol this thread is to help everyone whose had these questions and never asked. lets keep this thread going, anyone with sump questions not on here feel free to post and hopefully youll get a reply

Can a sump be made for less the $50 plus the cost of the pump?
 

flower

Well-Known Member

Can you do a sump without drilling the tank?
I have an auto top off unit, with a 10g holding tank under the stand. I pump water from that to my tank..can a sump be created that does about the same thing?
 
J

jstdv8

Guest
Flower,
My tank isnt drileld, just has a HOB overflow. this is fairly common. All the tanks Ive ever seen with sumps except one had the HOB overflow similar to mine.
 
S

shrimpy brains

Guest
Originally Posted by beaslbob
http:///forum/post/3279230
Can a sump be made for less the $50 plus the colst of the pump?
Rubbermaid tub(depending on size) $4 to $10 PVC (Size and length vary) with all connections not more than $15
Leaves plenty for whatever you want inside.
You did say plus the cost of pump!
 
Originally Posted by Flower
http:///forum/post/3279333

Can you do a sump without drilling the tank?
I have an auto top off unit, with a 10g holding tank under the stand. I pump water from that to my tank..can a sump be created that does about the same thing?
no as long as you have an overflow box, just remember to clean out the overflow boxes filter sponge
 

flower

Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by fitbmxdude989
http:///forum/post/3279357
no as long as you have an overflow box, just remember to clean out the overflow boxes filter sponge

I understand the no, but what does an overflow box do and cleaning what filter sponge?..are you even talking to me?
 
Originally Posted by Flower
http:///forum/post/3279380

I understand the no, but what does an overflow box do and cleaning what filter sponge?..are you even talking to me?

yes, and an overflow box hangs on the back of the aquarium and syphons water out of your tank into the sump, its the alternative to drilling your tank, and there is a sponge filter in the overflow box that helps catch waste products and needs to be cleaned every so often to keep the syphon at top performance
 
J

jstdv8

Guest
Flower,
You have an overflow box on the inside with teeth on it that the water flows through to fill up the box. There is a U shaped tube that runs from the overflow box on the inside to a drain box about the same size on the outside.once you have the water level right in your tank and your sump/fuge and are ready to start moving some water you stick a hose up inside the U tube and suck on it just like you do to siphon gas out of your car.
You will see the tube quickly fill with water and then you pull out your little siphon hose and now you have a permanant siphon between the box on the inside of the tank and the box on the outside of the tank.
The box on the outside has a pipe going out the bottom that drains the water down into the sump.
The pipe that forms the drain actually sticks up inside of the outside box a few inches so that the box has to fill up with water a few inches before it is able to flow into the drain. This keeps some water in the bottom of the outside box at all times which in turn keeps the bottom of the U-tube under water. As long as the U-tube is under water on both the inside and the outside boxes it will never lose siphon.
So even if a poweroutage happens and your return pump stops working as soon as power is restored the tank will fill back to the normal level which is dictated by the height of the insied box in your DT and when water starts filling that box up again the water starts flowing through the U-tube again and down into your sump.
2 downsides to it.
1.) its not the prettiest thing in the world to have a box in the corner of your beautiful tank.
2.) if You bump the U-tube during maintenance and it pops out of the box and loses siphon yu have to do the sucking thing again.
as far as the sponges in the overflow I don't use them anymore. I just let the stuff run down into the sump and suck it out during water changes.
 
J

jstdv8

Guest
look at the link i posted in an earlier post in this thread now that you have an idea of whats happening so you can get it visually
 

acrylic51

Active Member
Agree no need for prefilter sponges in the overflow box.....Does nothing, but collect junk and your water is constantly running through it.......
 

meowzer

Moderator
Originally Posted by acrylic51
http:///forum/post/3279444
Agree no need for prefilter sponges in the overflow box.....Does nothing, but collect junk and your water is constantly running through it.......
REALLY??? I have a duo overflow and I use both pre-filters.....I figured the more help filtering the better
 

beaslbob

Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by Shrimpy Brains
http:///forum/post/3279355
Rubbermaid tub(depending on size) $4 to $10 PVC (Size and length vary) with all connections not more than $15
Leaves plenty for whatever you want inside.
You did say plus the cost of pump!

Plus the overflow, the refugium lights, and pvc glue.
(even a pvc overflow will cost $10-$20, and the pvc glue is like $5 a kit).
 

meowzer

Moderator
Originally Posted by beaslbob
http:///forum/post/3279476
Plus the overflow, the refugium lights, and pvc glue.
(even a pvc overflow will cost $10-$20, and the pvc glue is like $5 a kit).
For a refugium light you can use a clip on light from Home Depot for $7 and one of those spiral energy efficient bulbs...the ones that say 150w...but equivavlen to 65w I think are recommended
 
Originally Posted by Jstdv8
http:///forum/post/3279424
Flower,
You have an overflow box on the inside with teeth on it that the water flows through to fill up the box. There is a U shaped tube that runs from the overflow box on the inside to a drain box about the same size on the outside.once you have the water level right in your tank and your sump/fuge and are ready to start moving some water you stick a hose up inside the U tube and suck on it just like you do to siphon gas out of your car.
You will see the tube quickly fill with water and then you pull out your little siphon hose and now you have a permanant siphon between the box on the inside of the tank and the box on the outside of the tank.
The box on the outside has a pipe going out the bottom that drains the water down into the sump.
The pipe that forms the drain actually sticks up inside of the outside box a few inches so that the box has to fill up with water a few inches before it is able to flow into the drain. This keeps some water in the bottom of the outside box at all times which in turn keeps the bottom of the U-tube under water. As long as the U-tube is under water on both the inside and the outside boxes it will never lose siphon.
So even if a poweroutage happens and your return pump stops working as soon as power is restored the tank will fill back to the normal level which is dictated by the height of the insied box in your DT and when water starts filling that box up again the water starts flowing through the U-tube again and down into your sump.
2 downsides to it.
1.) its not the prettiest thing in the world to have a box in the corner of your beautiful tank.
2.) if You bump the U-tube during maintenance and it pops out of the box and loses siphon yu have to do the sucking thing again.
as far as the sponges in the overflow I don't use them anymore. I just let the stuff run down into the sump and suck it out during water changes.
thanks, i couldnt think of a good way of describing an overflow box...lol
 

flower

Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by acrylic51
http:///forum/post/3279444
Agree no need for prefilter sponges in the overflow box.....Does nothing, but collect junk and your water is constantly running through it.......

Doesn't the filter material hold good bacteria?
I thought that is what it was for.
 
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