CO2 in a sump

[lwooters]

I'm getting ready to plant a used aquarium I just bought. It's about 200 gallons and it has about a 50 gallon sump. I'm going to use the sump for filtration and to store my equipment. My question is, i was going to diffuse the CO2 into the sump, but I wanted to know if it would dissapate by the time it gets into the tank? Would I be better to diffuse it directly into the tank? Thanks!:help:

[Squawkbert]

If you want to try to do it in the sump, run the CO2 tube inta a cheap airstone and put it right in the inlet pipe so that the return pump can chop up the bubbles (that's how I'd approach it).

[lwooters]

awesome idea! Thanks for your help!

[phanmc]

You'd need to seal the sump so the gas won't escape, effectively turning it into one large canister filter.

[Mgamer20o0]

yes like phanmc said you need to seal it up the best you can so all the co2 your adding wont be lost.

[loaches r cool]

Many have run sumps as I am setting up and doing research... havent seen any myself that have been 'sealed'. We dont have to seal our tanks so sealing the sump shouldnt be needed if the sump is setup right. Is the sump diy? And what type of overflow does it have? The key is to minimize turbulance of the waters surface, so avoid splashing and wet/dry trickle setups. Have the plumbing piped down into the tank so the water comes out underwater. And if you have an in tank overflow chamber(s) use a durso style standpipe to minimize noise and off gassing. As for the diffuser, there are many ways you can go about that. Bubbling it into the intake of the return pump would be the usuall way, some have built inline reactors after the return pump, a few have used venturis inline after the return pumps like Tom Barr. Good luck. I'll be setting mine up shortly (I hope).

[lwooters]

This is completely diy. The tank I purchased came with a sump so it seemed like the best way to filter it. Both tanks, the main and the sump are drilled, the water exits the main tank about 1/4 of the way down, maybe not even that much and enters at the very bottom of the sump. The pump I am getting pulls from underneath and I was going to set it up on a rock or clear a circle of gravel around it and put the airstone with the co2 directly under it. The water will then enter the tank again at the same level as it comes out, no waterfall effect. The media I am using in the sump will be based on the bottom of the sump, I'm not going to utilize any wet/dry system with this at all. I'll let you know how my plan works.

[Mgamer20o0]

keep us updated.