Help with SUMP...

[Geoff]

Looking Great!!

spray bars are nic, but if they are on a return they need to be at the waters surface not near the bottom of the tank. if at the bottom of the tank you run the risk of the entire tank draining if the power goes out. the spray bar will act like a siphon.

G~

[Omar 69]

Ohh thanks for the point. I though about that so thats why I boght a check valve in case the power goes out that valve stop the water to return to the sump. But I am placing the at the surface and maybe I give it a try to lower it a little.

Does a 500 GPH pump will work or do I need a bigger one?

[Bergovoy]

you will hear it a bunch of times I am sure, but forget about the check valve.

Most check valves, (unless they are clear, usually) are 'spring' loaded check valves.. They rely on a spring to keep the valve closed.

This will increase your HEAD pressure, and reduce your flow even more. (and it is significant, just try breathing though it)

But even the flapper type check valve will leak water back to the sump, (and in a relatively quick period of time, in case you were thinking about it just slowing it down an hour or so, would be wrong)

If you dont have enough room in your sump for the power failure, you will need to plan for a back up resevoir. Pit the sump into another waterproof container, or Tub. or waterproof the inside of the stand, or have the sump near a drain.

you could also drill a hole near the top of the sump and plumb it to another empty tank, or container...

Good luck

Bill

[Geoff]

just to add to Bill's post. the springs that are in most of those check valves are just steel. they will rust. algae loves iron. i know i was battling that for about a year.

things get coated in calcium carbonate at an incredible rate in the saltwater environment. open up any PVC pipe used for plumbing in a SW tank you will find it completely covered in Ca. this builds up on the valves rendering them useless in a very short time.

G~

[Omar 69]

Well guys finally I set up the Sump !!!

This is temporary, until my friend finish praparing the 20 long.

Here are some pics. Its running with a Resun Pump King 3.

[Bergovoy]

Looks good.

That will definately hold the backflow water. Try unplugging the pump and see where the water rises to.

Measure the difference between the two marks, The high level and the normal level.

After you get that dimension, work backwards from the top to find your normal water level. i.e. make a mark about an inch or two from the the top of the sump, (That will be MAXIMUM WATER LEVEL HEIGHT), Then mark down the dimension you figured out from before and and mark that as WATER LEVEL.

Then you can figure out how much water you have to spare for evaporation by measuring from the water level mark to the top of the pump where the water syphon would break and you would lose water flow to the tank. hopefully you have lots of room to play with here, as this will determine how often you will need to top off.

btw: Is that five gallon jug your top off system? I can tell by way of the water lines you have running that dont go to the tank?

If it is top off water, you will want to raise it up as high as you can so you can have a gravity fed top off system, (no pump needed)

You can make a mark on your sump for the low water level so you can make sure you can see where the water level is at a glance.

I have the top off system kicking in way before the low water level mark. I want to minimize the amount of pH swing and I dont want to risk sucking air into the pump as it starts to get near the low water mark as the water will 'whiirlpool' effect air down into the system.

anyways, good job, and maybe you might want to throw a filter sock on the end of the drain line tohelp polish the water. You can buy tghe filters in different sizes, i.e. filter spaces,,, 100 micron 200 micron 700 micron etc.


I run 100 micron, but after a few washes, they are much larger now.

The issue would be to not filter out pods, but I have the filter sock top at water level, and if the filter starts to clog, (one days worth), the water spills out over the top of the sock and any pods that are smart enough to swim can make it, The strong will survive...

My tank has no shortage of pods, but I did remove the filter socks when my cleaner shrimp hatched her / his eggs last night. I guess I should bput the socks back on, but actually looking at the tank right now, I cant tell by looking if the socks are on or off... I lovesalt water aquariums and live filters systems....

[luvmylo]

lol your sump looks eerily similar to mine all the way down to the css