How big of a sump do I need?

maryd

maryd

Member
I have a 90 gallon tank and I have a wet/dry filter and a protein skimmer in the open section of that. Now I find out I need to put all this stuff into another smaller tank to prevent floods. (Already had one). Would a 20 gallon aquarium be big enough? Or would it be cheaper to use a clear plastic bin?
I am still in the learning process and only lost one fish so far and that was a small clown who got sucked up into the overflow box.
Thanks.
 
maryd

maryd

Member
I don't know what a RR tank is. HOB is hang on back....not that. The wet/dry filter is under the stand. I don't need to put the filter and the skimmer in another vessel?
When I had the electric off not long ago, the tank started to empty and the filter box overflowed and I lost maybe 10 gallons of water...on the carpet (crappy anyway), and into the basement.
I thought if I had this equipment in another container this would prevent flooding like that. Maybe I am wrong?
thanks.
 
turningtim

turningtim

Active Member
RR means reef ready, are the OF's in the tank itself and drain through the bottom?
It all depends on what type of skimmer and filter you have.
What you're getting is back wash from the tank in a power out situation. There are mnany things you can do to prevent this. It ios possible to set it up so the back wash can be absorbed by the W/D when power is lost.
I just need to know what you have and go from there.....
Tim
 
maryd

maryd

Member
Originally Posted by TurningTim
RR means reef ready, are the OF's in the tank itself and drain through the bottom?
It all depends on what type of skimmer and filter you have.
What you're getting is back wash from the tank in a power out situation. There are mnany things you can do to prevent this. It ios possible to set it up so the back wash can be absorbed by the W/D when power is lost.
I just need to know what you have and go from there.....
Tim
No, this is just a regular aquarium, can be used for freshwater. The OF (Over flow?) is a skimmer box which drains into the wet/dry filter, goes over the bio balls then into anothe section where the protein skimmer is.
Yes, it's back wash then that I get. I don't know what W/D means. I'm sorry I'm new to this and learning.
I read several posts about having another tank underneath with the filter, etc in them to prevent overflowing.
Thanks Tim.
Mary
 
turningtim

turningtim

Active Member
OK so the OF has a box on the inside that skimms the water and one on the out that takes the water to the wet/dry (W/D). Inbetween the 2 boxes is a u-tube that siphons the water between the two. Yes?
Then it goes down through the Bio-balls (BB's), passes under the BB and in to another chamber where there is a return pump that returns the water back to the tank. Yes?
Tim
 
turningtim

turningtim

Active Member
Morning Mary, How far down in the tank is the return pipe under thwater level? Do you have "stand pipes" in the rear OF box? before it goes down the drain pipes.......
 
maryd

maryd

Member
Originally Posted by TurningTim
Morning Mary, How far down in the tank is the return pipe under thwater level? Do you have "stand pipes" in the rear OF box? before it goes down the drain pipes.......
I would guess that the return pipe is about 2-3" under the tank water level, then it goes into the wet/dry filter system.
What are Stand pipes? In the overflow hang on box there is a U which comes from the skimmer box in the tank, then there's a filter and then the water goes down into the filter.
 
turningtim

turningtim

Active Member
OK first thing to do is drill a small hole in the retrun line just below the waterline in the tank. This will break the siphon amost as soon as the power is lost.
A stand pipe is a pc of PVC that is in the outter box of the OF. Sp rather than the water directly flowing down the drain the outtter box will fill with water until it reachec the standpipe. So not all the water in that box will be drain to the W/D.
I'll see draw a diagram of the standpipe and a durso mod so it stays nice and quite.
HTH
Tim
 
maryd

maryd

Member
ok that's what it looks like. I'll give this info to my husband and see if he can accomplish this task. Thanks so much.
 
maryd

maryd

Member
So a small hole has to be drilled in the plastic return which puts the water back into the tank? Just put a little hole there and that's all that's needed?
I'm no plumber !
 
turningtim

turningtim

Active Member
Originally Posted by MARYD
So a small hole has to be drilled in the plastic return which puts the water back into the tank? Just put a little hole there and that's all that's needed?
I'm no plumber !
Yup, b/c what is happeneing is the return line is siphoning the tank water back to the W/D (reverse siphon) and it will do this until air enters the pipe and breaks the siphon. So if you drill a small hole 1/8"-3/16" just below the waterline then when the power goes off it will only siphon a small amount before the air enters the line and breaks the siphon. Just make sure you keep that hole clear during maintenance.......
Do you have a standpipe in the OF? The durso mod works very well at silencing the drain. I have a more detailed pic if you would like.
HTH
Tim
 
maryd

maryd

Member
Originally Posted by TurningTim
Yup, b/c what is happeneing is the return line is siphoning the tank water back to the W/D (reverse siphon) and it will do this until air enters the pipe and breaks the siphon. So if you drill a small hole 1/8"-3/16" just below the waterline then when the power goes off it will only siphon a small amount before the air enters the line and breaks the siphon. Just make sure you keep that hole clear during maintenance.......
Do you have a standpipe in the OF? The durso mod works very well at silencing the drain. I have a more detailed pic if you would like.
HTH
Tim
You mean put duct tape on the hole during a water change?
There's a short little tube in the OF of about an inch or a little over I think. What is a durso mod?
Thanks for all your help
 
turningtim

turningtim

Active Member
Sometimes the hole will get clogged with algae so just keep it clear. If it gets clogged than it won't break the siphon......
heres a pic of a durso standpipe. This will silence the drain noises from the OF and will give a bit of added height to the water level in the rear OF box, so it won't drain all the water out during power out. Do you have 2 chambers in the rear OF box of your system?
there are very simple to make and cheap to!
Tim
 
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