skimmer
- Thread starter dayday
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fraggle_a
Member
Does the same job. Less chance of flooding should the power go out (unless the sump is totaly enclosed and tight scealed.) Takes up a lot of room on the back of the tank. Usualy simpler to setup. Good for smaller tanks. Can be a bit of an eye sore.
I have a hung skimmer on my 40G. When I go bigger Ill have a Sump type with my little Hung as an emergency backup.
I have a hung skimmer on my 40G. When I go bigger Ill have a Sump type with my little Hung as an emergency backup.
cain420
Active Member
Originally Posted by Fraggle_a
Does the same job. Less chance of flooding should the power go out (unless the sump is totaly enclosed and tight scealed.) Takes up a lot of room on the back of the tank. Usualy simpler to setup. Good for smaller tanks. Can be a bit of an eye sore.
I have a hung skimmer on my 40G. When I go bigger Ill have a Sump type with my little Hung as an emergency backup.
my sump is not closed or sealed and cannot flood.. that cannot happen if u set it up correctly.. my sump also cannot overfill my tank if the intake ever gets clogged, for ANY reason.. i have a low water level cut off switch that i bought at a hardware store as a safe guard.. its just a normal sump shut off for a house.. one with no mercury inside, lol... costed a little over $20.. if the power goes out, my sump has enough room to allow water to drain from tank.. the siphon from the return hose can be broken by drilling a hole in the return head, below the water level.. this will stop it from sucking water in that hose when it gets down to the hole.. i am flood proof baby!
they do sell smaller cut off switches for sumps, but this one can get all the algae it wants and will not effect the operations of it.. its basically just a rubber floaty thing that when it gets to a certain angle, it shuts the pump off.. when the water fills up the sump to make the float raise to about a 45 degree angle, the pump will come back on all by itself... the pump plugs into the back of the plug for the cut off switch, just like christmas tree lights...
Does the same job. Less chance of flooding should the power go out (unless the sump is totaly enclosed and tight scealed.) Takes up a lot of room on the back of the tank. Usualy simpler to setup. Good for smaller tanks. Can be a bit of an eye sore.
I have a hung skimmer on my 40G. When I go bigger Ill have a Sump type with my little Hung as an emergency backup.
my sump is not closed or sealed and cannot flood.. that cannot happen if u set it up correctly.. my sump also cannot overfill my tank if the intake ever gets clogged, for ANY reason.. i have a low water level cut off switch that i bought at a hardware store as a safe guard.. its just a normal sump shut off for a house.. one with no mercury inside, lol... costed a little over $20.. if the power goes out, my sump has enough room to allow water to drain from tank.. the siphon from the return hose can be broken by drilling a hole in the return head, below the water level.. this will stop it from sucking water in that hose when it gets down to the hole.. i am flood proof baby!
they do sell smaller cut off switches for sumps, but this one can get all the algae it wants and will not effect the operations of it.. its basically just a rubber floaty thing that when it gets to a certain angle, it shuts the pump off.. when the water fills up the sump to make the float raise to about a 45 degree angle, the pump will come back on all by itself... the pump plugs into the back of the plug for the cut off switch, just like christmas tree lights...
fraggle_a
Member
So your saying that you have to manualy drill the hole to let air into the pipe to prevent syphoning?.
Your sump doesnt look like it has that much room. How big is the tank? (in inches) and how far down into the water does the syphon tube run? (in inches also..)
Im interested to ork this one out...
)
Your sump doesnt look like it has that much room. How big is the tank? (in inches) and how far down into the water does the syphon tube run? (in inches also..)
Im interested to ork this one out...
)
cain420
Active Member
i have a 75 gallon tank with overflow box.. the return pump i have will allow water to travel back thru it in the event of a power outtage..the small hole below the water surface stops the siphon when it hits the hole.. the sump is a 20 gallon, and i am going to add on a separate 15 gallon fuge to it soon.. when i stop being lazy..
turn off your return pump and watch the hose to see if it siphons.. im not sure if some pumps prevent this or not.. you can set the hole where u need to in order to not overlow the sump.. just dont fill the sump all the way up.. leave room for your overflow to drain (unless u dont have one, lol). my siphon hole is about 1/4" below waterlevel.. its spits a small amount of water out of it when the pump is running.. doesnt noticeably effect my waterflow from the return head...
i fill my sump 3/4 full.. plenty of room for draining from the tank..
turn off your return pump and watch the hose to see if it siphons.. im not sure if some pumps prevent this or not.. you can set the hole where u need to in order to not overlow the sump.. just dont fill the sump all the way up.. leave room for your overflow to drain (unless u dont have one, lol). my siphon hole is about 1/4" below waterlevel.. its spits a small amount of water out of it when the pump is running.. doesnt noticeably effect my waterflow from the return head...
i fill my sump 3/4 full.. plenty of room for draining from the tank..
fraggle_a
Member
Right. one of the LFS near me are a little bit stupid.
The run sumps like you... The drain from the tank is gravity feed, the return is pumped.
When the hurricains came, all 9 of their tanks syphoned out and their Sumps are the usual sumps you see in the pet stores. But the drain in their tanks is about 3 or 4 inches below the water level.
Figure it out.
An average petstore tank is what?. 40Inches long and say 20 inches deep.
So 40x20x4 would work out to about 13Gallons of overflow per tank....
LOL so that 117 gallons of water on their floor!!
The run sumps like you... The drain from the tank is gravity feed, the return is pumped.
When the hurricains came, all 9 of their tanks syphoned out and their Sumps are the usual sumps you see in the pet stores. But the drain in their tanks is about 3 or 4 inches below the water level.
Figure it out.
An average petstore tank is what?. 40Inches long and say 20 inches deep.
So 40x20x4 would work out to about 13Gallons of overflow per tank....
LOL so that 117 gallons of water on their floor!!
kent'sreef
New Member
I use a CPR backPak hang on and it is great, I've has it for 5 years.
boo-yaa138
Member
i also have a cpr bakpak skimmer. i have only had it for a year but it works great
dayday
New Member
you guys are very helpfull I'm getting the water and rocks on friday and just going to let it sit the guy at the lfs said if i use saltwater i don't have to wait long but after reading on this site its best to wait and be patient for best results for now I just want to learn with a fish only tank sand at the bottom and maybe two pieces of rocks is that ok for now untill I get better in the hobby...
