In need of sump advice!!

[saltkreep88]

Hello all,

I have been in the hobby for seven years but have never had a sump. I will admit it I am completely lost. So now for the questions:

The tank is not drilled and is full and I do not want to empty it. Would you trust a eshopps overflow? They seem like the most reliable....

What skimmer would work in a 10 gallon, I MIGHT be able to fit a 15 gallon.

What gph overflow would work best?

Thanks for all your help guys!!

 

[dirtycontour]

I have an Eshoppes overflow and it has been flawless for over a year. What size is your DT?

 

[saltkreep88]

it is a 40 breeder. what would you recommend. the nano or 300 gph overflow?

 

[Rwc]

I have an overflow on my 55 it works fine once running , starting the siphon for the overflow hah enjoy maintenance sucks on them and unless you keep a couple turbo snails in the box it just breeds algae. This just my personal experience. My next tank will def be drilled. I would go for at least the 300 gph ,don't they recommend 10x tank volume turnover?

 

[redfishbluefish]

Johnny says drill it and put in a Glass-Holes……either Super Nano or 700 gph complete kit! If the sump is only 10 gallons, you might want to stick with the Super Nano.

 

[Fish Brain]

I have a G-H 700 on my 40B. 300 i think is too low for 40 gallons. 300 is max so you can only push 200-250 GPH.

 

[dirtycontour]

I use the 300 on my 55. I like my sump to be low flow allowing the skimmer to get a shot at a majority of the water and detritus to settle. I use a mag5 return pump at about 3/4.

Starting the siphon on the Utube can be a pain but its not often you have to do it. The first time you hook it up and whenever you decide to clean the overflow box or tube.

I think the "rule if thumb" is to have 3-5x the DTs volume as a turnover rate. So your 40 would need 120-200 gph overflow.

Folks try to match return rates to what their skimmer can handle as well.

 

[Chrisgarrick]

I was going to write a Johnny reference and then stopped. Then Paul opened the door..... . Lol

 

[saltkreep88]

I understand that drilling is the better method, however the tank is full and my rocks are covered with coral epoxied/growing on them....I will tackle the challenge when I upgrade to the 57 rimless in around a year.

Now I decided that I am going with the eshopps 300gph overflow.that is roughly 7x my DT. Now I need to decide on a pump....

 

[redfishbluefish]

If you're looking for an in-sump pump, I'd consider a Danner MAG pump. You'll have to check your head-loss, but if the return pipes are not too long, with multiple elbows, a MAG 3 would give you a flow rate in the low 200's. Once you decide on the plumbing, check the head-loss HERE.

 

[falconut]

I've been running an Eshoppes dual overflow since 2004. They are very reliable. Not hard to install, then just hang over the edge, then you plumb it down to the sump. I have a 20 gal sump with a Mag-Drive 9.5 and an SCA skimmer (Bubble Magus clone), plenty of room. I imagine you could get a smaller Bubble Magus and a Mag-Drive in a 20 gallon. Just need to put baffles between the skimmer and return.

 

[MadReefer]

If you plan to have baffles in your sump how big is the chamber you plan to put the skimmer in? You can then search for that footprint on the skimmers you are interested in to see if any will fit.

Edit: For some strange reason my PC showed no replies when I posted, so feel free to ignore this.

 

[saltkreep88]

The biggest sump I can fit with the aqueon wood stand is a ten gallon.....all I want in the sump is the skimmer, heater and pump. So I am going go with a mag 5 or 7.

Would the sca 301 skim a forty breeder well enough?

 

[saltkreep88]

Also should I use PVC for all plumbing or is the flexible stuff okay?

 

[redfishbluefish]

I personally prefer rigid PVC. I’m very comfortable measuring, cutting and gluing.

Your other option is flex-PVC (also called spa flex). What’s nice about this is that you have the potential of eliminating some elbows, which could save you on head-loss. Cuts easy and glues up to standard PVC fittings.

The last choice is flexible tubing. I’m not crazy about this stuff because it requires clamps. Now you can get plastic clamps, but still not liking it. The second potential issue is that if the tubing is clear or transparent, it will grow all kinds of stuff.

 

[saltkreep88]

I want to eliminate any failure points so I do not like the idea of clamps....I will look into spa flex.

Acrylic or glass for the baffles?

 

[redfishbluefish]

It doesn’t matter. Whatever is readily available or easiest for you. Don’t believe those negative sooth-sayers who tell you that you need to use glass in a glass sump and acrylic in an acrylic sump. In either case of glass or acrylic, the baffle is physically trapped within the silicone, so it doesn’t matter. You just want to make sure you get whatever you decide thick enough. As an example, you don’t what glass pane glass….it’s too thin and will bow. Same with acrylics….you need to get it thick enough so that the water pressure doesn’t cause it to bow. Have whatever you buy cut a 1/16 shorter than the interior width of the tank. And this is the reason I personally like acrylic. If it’s just not right, I can trim it with my saw.

 

[saltkreep88]

Thanks for all your help Paul. do I need any check or ball in the plumbing? any other secrets?

 

[redfishbluefish]

You mention putting in a MAG 5 or 7 with a 300 gph return. You don’t want to exceed the rating of the overflow, and I would guess, unmetered, both this pumps would exceed the overflow.

If you insist on putting in one of these pumps, I would suggest not metering the pump by simply putting in a valve. Instead, tee off the return and direct that water back into your sump. Here’s an example where you would have a valve on the tee’d off line returning to the sump to control flow rate to the DT.

The other option is to build a manifold to run other equipment….reactors, etc.

Or the last option is to use a pump that does not exceed the overflow.


One more point; use unions were you think you’ll need to pull things apart. As an example, and seen in the picture above, to remove the pump for cleaning/replacing.

 

[falconut]

Instead of using a check valve on the return line, just drill a small hole in the piping at the water level. It's called a siphon break, if kept clean and open, it keeps the line from siphoning out the tank. I had a check valve that stopped working, over time the flap just got stuck open. So, I don't use checks anymore.

For my return, I have a valve after the pump, barb, 2' of 3/4" black hose, barb, hard pipe up the tank and over the wall, then lock-line. I used S.S. clamps and they've been fine for years now. The hose allows for some movement in the pump placement.