If i had known then.......

[veni vidi vici]

Hi all,
I have a question for ya.I have a 75 gal.DT and it just has finished cycleing,before i start to put any life in the DT i would like to get all the equipment i have HOB in a sump/fuge. It really is a eye sore.I jumped into this hobby with both feet without much research on it.Haveing said that,im slowing down till i get to where i would like my DT to be. Plus i would like to get more LR before i put any critters in DT. SO here is my question,i plan on building my own sump/fuge it seems insane to pay that much money for something i can build myself. If it is built and set up correctly it should not overflow if (i lose power) or if (syphon breaks)? My tank is not drilled so i will have to use a overflow box. I have become addicted to this hobby in only a few short weeks,and i am now haveing nightmares that i will wake up one morning and there will be 75 gal of SW all over my house if a sump/fuge fails.

And the other dream is a 200 gal. reef tank

.Anyway can you guys help me with my nightmare?
TIA

 

[rbaldino]

When you use a sump, you don't fill it all the way. You leave enough room in the sump to safely contain whatever drains down from the main tank when the pump is off. The best way to do this is to fill the main tank to the level of the overflow/return nozzle, fill the sump completely, then turn on the pump. Water from the sump will fill the remainder of the tank, leaving the sump about half empty. That's your total water volume.

 

[veni vidi vici]

what if the pump is on and the syphon breaks wont the pump overflow DT?

 

[veni vidi vici]

i feel another nightmare comming.

 

[myreef05]

Originally Posted by Veni Vidi Vici
what if the pump is on and the syphon breaks wont the pump overflow DT?
Continuous overflow will not break syphon. If power goes out pump will stop, water will drain down into 1/2 filled sump (see the reason to leave room there) and then when power is restored, pump takes water back up to main tank and when the water level gets high enough, overflow will start draining the maintank water again to sump.

 

[veni vidi vici]

Originally Posted by myreef05
Continuous overflow will not break syphon. If power goes out pump will stop, water will drain down into 1/2 filled sump (see the reason to leave room there) and then when power is restored, pump takes water back up to main tank and when the water level gets high enough, overflow will start draining the maintank water again to sump.
is that 100% or 99.9% sure "Continuous overflow will not break syphon"?i wanna make sure i will beable to sleep at night.

 

[rbaldino]

Originally Posted by Veni Vidi Vici
what if the pump is on and the syphon breaks wont the pump overflow DT?
That depends on how much water there is in the sump that can be added to the main tank. Too much, and it will overflow. Honestly, the best way to avoid worrying about it is to just not do it. If it will help you sleep better, either go without a sump or get a new tank with a built-in overflow.

 

[myreef05]

Originally Posted by rbaldino
That depends on how much water there is in the sump that can be added to the main tank. Too much, and it will overflow. Honestly, the best way to avoid worrying about it is to just not do it. If it will help you sleep better, either go without a sump or get a new tank with a built-in overflow.
Built in overflows are great yes; but if there is not room left down in the sump there will still be overflow/flood. I have not had my "continous syphon" break syphon in over 2 years of use with countless power outages.

 

[veni vidi vici]

TY for all your help ......i think im gonna go with sump. any suggestions on CRP and gallon size for sump
TIA

 

[rbaldino]

Originally Posted by myreef05
Built in overflows are great yes; but if there is not room left down in the sump there will still be overflow/flood.
Yes, but he's also worried about the DT overflowing if the siphon breaks but the sump pump keeps going. With a built-in overflow, there's little chance the DT will spill over its edges; any excess just goes down the overflow.

 

[rbaldino]

Originally Posted by Veni Vidi Vici
TY for all your help ......i think im gonna go with sump. any suggestions on CRP and gallon size for sump
TIA
Your sump will need to be at least big enough to hold the volume of water in the DT above the overflow/return, but not so big that you can't get it in and out from under the DT if necessary. I think a 20-30 gallon tank would be fine.