Water from Sump to Tank.. how?

[Mnemic]

Possible Silly question Alert!!!

Ok, I've got my tank mostly planned out now, and I'm writing up my plan, and I've run into a strange problem.

Right now I plan on running a CLS in the canopy, and running a Sump under the tank.

My issue is two fold.

I don't understand how a skimmer works as far as the water is concerned. (I understand the airstone based ones) I'm planning on getting a Skimmer from myreefcreations, and getting a recommended pump for it, but I don't understand exactly what the pump is for in this configuration.

Secondly, will I need an additional pump to get water from the sump back to the Tank, or is the skimmer pump somehow used in part of this?

This is prob a Very silly question, but its confuzed me, so I'm looking for some answers..

thanks!

-Paul

[Stang69]

One pump will run the skimmer one will be the return to your tank.


Jeff

[Minnreefer]

Myreef skimmers are a "beckett" type of skimmer. A beckett skimmer forces water thru a becket which also gets air into it. The beckett makes a ton of small bubbles similar to an airstone. HTH on that part

As for getting water from the sump to the tank another pump should be used, what size tank and sump and what kind of overflow are you going to be using?

[Mnemic]

I haven't decided on what kind of overflow I will be using, and I'm debating on how I should do it.

I'm considering having a hole drilled in the back of the tank and using that as an overflow. will that work? I've heard that the overflow boxes people use in the tanks with the teeth at the top can be on the noisier side.

[Minnreefer]

I would recomend getting at least one hole drilled in the back of the tank, there are tricks to make it more quiet. What size tank again?

[Mnemic]

Going to be a 75 Gallon Setup w/ 20 gallon Sump under the tank in the cabnet.

Since I live in an appartment, I'm trying to make the Aquarium plumbing and water supplies/treatments as built into the Stand/Canopy as possible. I simply don't have the room to keep alot of things external to the tank yet.

Another good reason I'm building the stand/Canopy myself.

I've read about some Super Quiet Overflow setups, but require holes drilled in the bottom of the tank. The aquarium I'm planning on getting is tempered glass on the Bottom, but not the walls, so Doing this kind of setup is not really feasable.

Thanks for all the help

-Paul

[JT]

Mnemic:

I'd drill the back of the tank in the top two corners for the largest size bulkheads you are comforatble working with. The larger the drains, the more water can flow unrestricted which results in quieter drains. I prefer 1.5" or 2" drains. Yes, even on smaller tanks. 1.5" would be great for your tank. Then you'll want some type of skimmer box over each drain. This skims the top of the water where junk builds up and brings it all down to the sump. A good example of one is pictured here:



Any acrylics manufacturer should be able to build two for you for pretty cheap. Maybe even MyReef. You'll want to make yours slightly bigger as this one was on a 30G breeder. 6x5x5 may be a good size for a 75G.

For pumps, I'd go with a Mag 950 for your return from sump and a Mag 12 for your skimmer. You may want to consider upgrading your sump. Get the largest tank you can fit in the stand and still be able to reach in and work on. You may want to spend a little money on this for a custom job. You'll thank yourself later. Sumps are never large enough IMO.

HTH

- JT

[Minnreefer]

We have a 90 gal with 1 hole drilled into the back, we hear very little noise with our setup. On our tank we have the 1 bulkhead in the drilled hole, with a elbow on the tank side and a screen. On the out side there is an elbow with a small hole with a small airline in the top to help reduce the toilet sound. I would strongly suggest getting either 1 1" or larger hole bulkhead or 2 holes drilled. You can use a pump like a mag 5 for the pump from the sump into the tank. HTH

Jon

[Mnemic]

Ok, Little progress made. I'll be having a 1 1/2" Hole placed in the tank for the overflow (Thanks for that Pic refrence).

We are going to build a sump that will fit in the tank stand- Custom job (20x30x18), (getting off cheap too, buddy that is helping me works for Local Lumber yard/Hardware store.. stuff at cost.. whooo) going to hold 50 Gallons right now, but that will prob go down some as I want more clearance from the top of the sump to the top of the stand. only have 4" clearance with the current plans now, and I don't think thats enough by any means.. opinions on that? if I drop it 2" I'll loose 5 Gallons of capacity.

but I will have have 6" of clearance then.. Would that be enough room to get in/out of the sump and get the skimmer in/out if needed? (MR1 From Myreef). I have not purchased anything yet, as I'm Planning this out as much as possible first, so sometimes its tough to get a bearing on what will work and whatnot w/out having an object in hand to work with.

I really appreciate all the Help, and every question I ask, gets me closer to having my plan done for this thing. Many thanks to you guys for helping out!

-Paul

[JT]

Originally posted by Mnemic
I'll be having a 1 1/2" Hole placed in the tank for the overflow.

Careful. A 1-1/2" hole or a hole for a 1-1/2" bulkhead? A 1-1/2" hole will only fit a 3/4" bulkhead. A 1-1/2" bulkhead requires a 2-3/8" hole. * This is for Rainbow Lifegard bulkheads - some others, such as schedule 80 bulkheads require slightly larger holes.

Originally posted by Mnemic
We are going to build a sump that will fit in the tank stand- Custom job (20x30x18)

If it were me, I'd make the sump 16" tall.

- JT

[Rick O]

You don't need much flow through your sump. A large flow through the sump means more chances of micro bubbles returning to the tank. I have slowed my flow down considerably and the water is much clearer. I really like the overflow box that JT has pictured. The factory built in ones take up too much room. You could also just drill through the back and use a PVC elbow with a strainer on top. Since the tank is still empty I would strongly consider having it drilled for a closed loop system.

[Mnemic]

I will be implementing a Closed Loop System in the tank. right now my current problem with doing a CLS with holes drilled is, well I have no clue where to put the holes at.

I've been researching it, and well everyone has done it diffrently.

The Method I've liked best, is having the pumps In the canopy just above the water, this allows for very effective utilization of the pump, as it is very close to the water level of the tank.
however this makes the plumbing for the CLS very visable, which I am trying to avoid.

still researching it however

-Paul