sump

[reefer769]

hey!

i was just wondering when i have my sump all hooked up, do i fill the sump up with water and then start the overflow, and turn on the pump? or do i turn on the overflow let the water syphon down to the sump and when it reaches the mag 5 i turn that on?

how do i go about doing this?

[whitmi]

In my experience, you need to have some water in the sump or there won't be enough to create the siphon effect you need to keep the loop going. I would put about half the water I think I need (maybe enough to cover the pumps) in the sump, and then start the overflow. Be ready to start the pump in the sump pretty quickly, or your sump will overflow on the floor (that water moves fast). It's probably better not to try this alone, like I did (but I did not spill a drop!).

There may be an easier way, my husband prides himself on pointing out that I "do things harder, not smarter"....

[reefer769]

so i just fill up the sump half way with fresh saltwater, not water from the tank, right?

[Geoff]

fill the sump just enough to cover the pumps completely. hopefully this is below the halfway mark. using either tank water or freshly made SW. mark this line with tape or sharpie marker.

fill the back of the overflow.

start the siphons. at this point the siphons should drain the tank until it reaches the bottom of the teeth on the inside overflow box. at this point it should stop. this will be the water level if the power were to go out. mark this level. this is how much lee way you have with the water level when running. you do not want the running water level to be so high that if the power were to go off the sump would overflow.

once you are confident things have settled to a good level start the return pump. this should start filling up the tank again. when the water level gets above the bottom of the weirs then the siphons should start draining the tank again. as long as the pump is rated less than or equal to the overflow you will not need to worry about draining the sump and overflowing the tank.

G~

[reefer769]

hey im attaching a drawing i made of how i want the sump too look like. it wil have 8" baffles, so should i fill the water up to the top of those? or do i still just fill the compartment up covering the pump?

[Geoff]

what sized tank is that? the design looks basically good. your distances between the baffles may be to thin. the closer they are together the more likely bubbles will be able to make it through and get returned to the main tank.

G~

[reefer769]

its a 10gal all-glass aquarium, thanks for the reply