Questions/help with sump

R

rogeta

Guest
Ok everyone...I have a 55g tank that I think needs a revamp in the way of a sump. This way I can get rid of all the hang on back stuff. and I want to institute a spray bar to so I can get rid of the powerheads. I just need to know what to do thats all lol. I need some over-flow things to look at and just basic wherefores. The main reason like I said is to hide everything under the tank. I orginally was gonna put a 20L under my tank but I didn't have the room :S So just tell me what you guys think! Educate me please!
 

scottnj

Member
Do some searches.
But yep basically you will need an over-flow box that hangs on the tank and feeds down to your sump. You can get them at a LFS, online, or build you own. (Search here for DIY Overflow or check about.com.)
Then you will need some type of sump, either a tank or a rubbermaid container. On my 55 gallon I am using a 16 gallon plastic garbage can for the sump because its got a narrow foot print for the amount of water it holds.
You will also need to set-up a return pump from the sump to the tank and can buy or build your own spray bar. You may not want to get rid of all the power heads though. Some of that will depend on how fancy you get with the spray bar returns from the sump.
The last thing to look at on your sump is a way to make sure that if your overflow from the tank to the sump stops flowing you do not flood the main tank. Either a float switch in the main tank, or a lot of people use a baffle type design in the sump so that the pump sits in a small pool of water. As the water flows back into the sump, it feeds back into the pump pool and is pumped back to the tank. If the over-flow stops, the water in the pump pool will pump into the tank and the pump will start to suck air before over-flowing the main tank.
Lots and lots of options. About.com is a pretty good place to get a lot of info as well as these msg boards.
-Scott
 

stumpdog

Member
RoG-
Here is what I did. I purchased a Lifereef overflow, which works great. A mag 9 for the return pump, and a 96 quart rubbermade container for the sump. It was cheap and easy to set-up. If you need some pictures let me know.
HTH-
Jeremy
 
R

rogeta

Guest
SOme pictures would be great! Thats sounds exactly like what I wanted to do! Thank you! And Skott thank you for the good advice and the about.com. While building my own overflow sounds tempting (money wise) I Think I would be better off just buying one. The spray bar I am still looking into...Thank you!
 

cordell

Member
does the mag9 have to be held back any so that it doesn't pump more into the tank than the lifereef can drain? Oh, what model lifereef do you have? Single or dual?
 
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