10g sump

20g sump

I'm in the planning stages of turning my spare 10 gallon into a 3 chamber sump for my 40 gallon breeder, I've already got a good quote from a glass shop for the baffles, I'm gunna make a pvc overflow and return since I don't want to cut my tank. I'm thinking of using 1 1/4" for the overflow and 3/4" for the return. Most likely a pump rated for 500-600 gph. I still haven't decided how I want to set up the filtering section of the sump.

Any comments or suggestions or pics of your own sump would sure be appreciated

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Do you plan on wet dry or wet? ll id suggest dumping water into one side with baffle up about an inch and using water sockssubmerged in first chamber use an eggcrate or something similar to allow water to enter next chamber from under baffle stacking course to fine filter pads or matts . Then water will go over that baffle into pump section if enough room you could put carbon sock or pads if you want. Imo I think its going to be a lot of work for a small tank but I understand wanting to do projects

I used a couple 2x4 chunks one per baffle to give me an even space

Another thing make sure you don't make baffles to tall need to make sure when power goes there's enough room for water to drain in and not flood

 

This was a pic before sump setup rough draft so to speak if it helps any

 

It's gunna be wet, and the middle section where filter material will go, I'm definitely gunna use eggcrate for the water flow, for a filter pad I'm not sure if it would be better to get a solid pad or use loose filter material, I'm gunna get maybe a couple sacks to put in carbon and ammo chips and I'm also thinking about throwing in some of those ceramic disks

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The pads are good to use just buy em and cut em to fit the ceramic is good but you could use pot scubbies and the do the same thing and are much cheaper just make sure there are no chemicals on it

 

The pads are good to use just buy em and cut em to fit the ceramic is good but you could use pot scubbies and the do the same thing and are much cheaper just make sure there are no chemicals on it

Pot scrubbies? Do you mean like just a coarse scrub pad for washing dishes?

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Yep the plastic ones not the brillo pads.

 

Started gathering supplies today, got about 37 bucks worth of pvc (more than I need I hope) including 1 1/4" and 3/4" fittings and a 10' stick each.

I Also got my pump, from harbor freight. PacificHydrostar rated for 620 gph with an 11.5' max head lift, although I'll only need about 4'.

I also made a deal with a buddy to get a 20 gal tall tank to use instead of the 10 gal I was planning on using,

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My overflow

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Wicked rough sketch of how I'm thinking of setting it all up

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It took way longer than I had hoped to get this stage of the project done, but I'm happy to say that all my baffles are finally glued in. once it finishes curing I can clean it out and start the final set up (I know the glue lines look bad, its my first time cut me some slack lol)

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Make sure you understand whenif power goes you will have some siphon back to sump maake sure to leave plenty of space for that. Looks like baffle is at the top that could be bad.

 

I see it better now but they still look a little high. Id set it up and get it running pull plug to see what kind of return you get. Start with min water you can but I think it may overflow sump. Just my op inon of what I see. Not trying to bust your spirits

 

I see it better now but they still look a little high. Id set it up and get it running pull plug to see what kind of return you get. Start with min water you can but I think it may overflow sump. Just my op inon of what I see. Not trying to bust your spirits

Thanks for the advice, the glass doesn't go all the way to the top its just the angle I took the picture from, I still have to get a few more pieces before I can finish the plumbing and before I test it all. There will be enough ball valves with my plumbing that if the power goes out or I turn it off there won't be much back flow

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Today is the install, I wrote out a page long check list to help me keep track of everything I have to do, unfortunately since I only have 1 tank I have to put my fish in a couple buckets the whole time until everything is done so I probably won't bother taking pics until the very end. I'm so excited to finally be ready for this

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Woo I'm done!

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OK, so I got a 20 gallon community tank & I thought after seeing a diy sump to make my 10 gallon tank the old community tank btw. into a sump. Yes, I know a 20 gallon doesn't need one that big, but if I ever wanna upgrade my tank I can go a few sizes up without needing to change the sump size. So back to what I was saying. I thought I'd create one. I figured out how to easily get water from the sump, which is above my community. my bed is at floor level so my community tank is at 6" off the ground. My problem is using my pump to get water into the sump, I got an Sun Sun JVP 022. I tried an air hose then found out that was for air not an intake. So can someone help me figure how to make my pump pump water from my community into my soon to be sump.

 

Cheapest and easiest route would be to take it with you to a hardware store and match up hose size. They sell hose by the foot.

 

oh ok, so ditch my air hose and just use another hose?

 

I am confused....

You are using air line tubing to plumb the sump?

And the sump is above the tank?

 

oh ok, so ditch my air hose and just use another hose?

The air hose won't fit so all you need to do is buy hose that will fit. How are you getting the water to the sump.

 

I was trying to pump the water from community tank floor level to sump tank chest level. I'm 5'10" so you can kinda see the difference in height. Oh yea I did get a black hose with my air pump, but either i'm horrible at figuring things out or it don't fit. The idea was push or pull the water into the sump with a powerhead since it can suck or release water.

 

Powerheads usually don't have enough power to push water up.

Every foot of head pressure (how high the water must travel upward) through the hose, there is 0.4333 psI of pressure the pump must over come.

Usually a water pump, not a power head, is used for transferring water upward to over come the head pressure.

Most water pumps will have a chart (either on the box, listed in seller's website or the manufacturer's website) that plots gph output vs height the water must be pumped to.

For example a 500gph pump will not pump 500gph if the height the water must over come is 5ft. It may be something like only 20-50% of rated output.

So you would need to determine your wanted actual gph through the pump and the height, then find a pump that will delivery that.

Also, how do you have planned for the water to return from the "overhead sump" back to the tank? Are you going to drill the bottom or lower side to install a bulkhead?

I would recommend having an emergency drain line bulk head right above where you want the water line to be in the sump.

That was, if the water in the sump starts to back up, it doesn't overflow over the side. Ot will simple flow into the emergency drain bulkhead and safely back into the tank.

As far as tubing/hoses are concerned, a minimum inner diameter (ID) hose would be 1/2". For an over head sump, I would suggest using a larger ID hose for the return hose, compared to what is used for the supply line.

 

OK, TY & the power head came in a box with a hose but no directions. I accidently flooded my room a bit when figuring out how it works. I was using a simple air line to return the water. As long as the water in the sump is higher then water in community tank gravity or something will keep the water running through the airline, which caused the community tank to overflow because I didn't realize the water wasn't getting pumped out. I know in the video I watched on sump he uses a powerhead to push water back into his tank. Here a picture of the tank posirions.

 

Problem is if your gravity fed siphon continues to drain the sump into the main tank, the main tank will over flow.

If you keep the "elevated sump" half full (5 gallons), you need to have 5 gallons worth of empty space in the main tank. Thay way of the sump totally drains into the tank, it won't overflow.


Did the video you watched have air line tubing to run the sump? I have never heard of this before. It has such a small ID, it is going to have very little flow.

Is there a reason why you don't want the main tank elevated and the sump below it?

 

I told you the reason the community tank is on the bottom. my bed is on the floor, so I want to be able to wake up or just be lazy and look into my tank. & they used PVC pipe and a powerhead & a drainage box. & I already overflowed my tank once lol. That problem getting fixed. I just need to get my water into my sump & slow water flow is great for some filtering things. It allows them to clean the water better. I'm thinking of just switching to PVC to get the water into my sump.

 

What you're doing is essentially what anyone with a sump is doing, except you are keeping fish in the "sump" (on the bottom) and putting filration into the "tank" on the top. Getting the water to the sump is as simple as finding the correct size hose for your pump/powerhead, as long as it is capable of pumping that high.

The problem that might arise is this: in a normal tank/sump system, the water overflows from the tank on top, which means that the water level in the tank is constant. The water level in the sump rises and falls due to evaporation, water changing procedure and, in the case of a relatively small tank like you have, simple displacement (as when you put your hand into the tank to do some type of work). In your set-up it is the sump (on top) that will have a constant water level, and the tank water level will rise and fall due to those influences. You'll have to watch your water level carefully.

Also, make sure that you do something to break the siphon action which will occur if the power goes out. If the pump outlet delivering water to the sump (on top) is above the water level, no problem. If it extends below the water line, you need to drill a hole in the hose or fitting right at or just barely below the water line, so that it won't siphon any lower than that...otherwise, it will drain the sump back into the tank below, causing another flood.

Try to foresee every eventuality. That will minimize problems...but not eliminate them! Be prepared to do some fine-tuning.

Just a question: are you willing and able to drill a hole in the bottom of the sump? If yes, you might consider installing a bulkhead fitting in the sump bottom, filling the sump with biological media and creating a trickle-type filter. I don't know if those are still in vogue nowadays. They still work, and doing it this way would make the sump much lighter, plus there will be very little water to overflow the lower tank if something goes amiss.

 

You may want to ask Homeslice about setting up over head sumps.

I believe he has built some over head sump/trickle filters