Sump in Basement

[bryan01601]

I have a 92 gallon corner tank that is very space restrictive on filtration equipment under the cabinet. I am Thinking of taking all my filtration out and putting it in my basement by drilling two holes in the floor for the pipe to get to the sump. I was thinging of getting a 120 polypropaline water storage tank from agway and using this as a sump ( I do relize 120 gallons is way overkill but why not) then my wet dry would pump from the sump and into my 3 stage lifeguard and uv then back into the sump. Then I would have to get a prety big pump to pump back up 12' to the tank. any thoughts?

 

[broomer5]

Sound pretty cool !!!
The more water the better, and all your supporting equipment would be down in the basement ..... neat idea
You are right - you will need a really good powerful return pump to lift against 12 feet of head, but I'm sure if ya got the buck$ they got the pump !
Only couple things I would watch out for, one would be any large temperature changes from upstairs to downstairs. Measure your water with thermometer in the tank, and adjust heater accordingly. The other would be to insure you have addressed power failures and return line siphoning.
I like this idea a lot BRYAN01601.

 

[marine qa]

BRYAN01601,
Let me know how this goes. I am considering a similar setup for my next tank.

 

[orby]

I love the idea. You can solve the problem of the return line buy placing it just below the water line in the the tank, that way when the power does go out it will only draw out a minimal amount of water before it stops. I would also take into consideration that you may need to have the return line above the water line because back pressure may slow down the system. Speaking from experience, remember that by adding a very large sump your water change % will need to be higher along with additives if you use them.

 

[bryan01601]

With the added volume of water would my water changes be less frequent??

 

[orby]

Yes they could be less frequent, however you may run into the problem that i have now. If your nitrates and phosphates start to climb it becomes harder to bring them down to minimal levels with water changes. this is why: once the levels are low you need to do more water changes to accomplish the same levels you would if you had a smaller water volume because the live rock and other sources for nitrate and phosphate removal(xnitrate, nitrate phosphate sponge) need to filter out a greater amount of water.(because you are trying to get out what are now trace amounts of nitrates and phosphates out of a substantial amount of water) Make sense?
I guess it all depends on how low you want to keep these levels. Frankly i still prefer having the greater water volume even with this draw back.