Sump pro/con concerns

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NewObsession

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Aug 27, 2007
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Hi All. I am planning on building a larger tank than the
current 125 gal I currently have. Since it will be custom built I had/have been
toying with the idea of using a sump on it. Note that I have never had a sump on
any of the tanks I have had or currently have so it's somewhat new territory.
I'm loving the idea of constant water level in the main tank as well as skimming
of the bio film and that heaters etc can be "hidden" in the sump.
My initial
concern, being a planted tank, was that the overflow/s would negate any CO2 I
pumped into it. In a previous thread I believe someone assured me it was
possible to run CO2 AND a sump successfully, although I'm not sure how increased
the injection rate would have to be to maintain a decent level.

I'm sorta
back in the mode of considering/planning/calculting things for it and have a few
more questions that I'm hoping you more sump experienced people can answer for
me or at least add their two cents worth

SUSPENDED DEBRIS: I have a
never winning battle (I have yet to come up with a solution for crystal clear
water) with the debris and particles suspended within the water column. While an
overflow would defiitely solve the constant battle of surface scum, if it is
just skimming the water, how effective are they for total water exchnge vs a
canister filter intake which is mounted closer to mid/bottom of the
tank?

SIDE, TOP, or EXTERNAL: I'm back and forth on whether to go with an
external overflow box or drill the tank for bulkheads for an overflow. If I DO
drill it, it occured to me that perhaps drilling the bottom andhaving standpipes
would be more forgiving than drilling the back should I ever want to quit using
the sump or sell teh tank as the bottom holes are easily sealed and concealed
with a piece of glass and silicone and covered with substrate rather than having
a hole/holes mid way up the side/back of the tank.

SMOOTH or NOTCHED
OVERFLOW: It seems that some overflows are smooth, which would lend it's self to
higher flow, thinner sheeting and quieter systems, but notched ( depending on
size of notches) would provide better "screening" to keep anything but water
from going into the drain pipe, but does that lead to breaking up teh incoming
water..which leads to higher noise levels, reduced flow..and even more gasing
off of CO2?

Lastly I'm still toyuing with sizes. It seems everything
thing I read give reccomended sizes for everything from hole and pipe sizes to
linear overflow values but based on other criteria and when read one after
another, I start wondering if it because some mind numbing number crunching to
get eveything just so or if I have to worry that once it's set up if I've made
an error than correcting any one part will throw off the rest of the
system?
 

Star_Rider

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Dec 21, 2005
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Ed
drilling, is this an existing tank that is not drilled? glass?
most aquariums(glass) are made with 'tempered' glass usually the bottom panel. to drill this would require skill and a special bit but generally speaking it is not recommended to drill tempered glass. that's why you see the sides drilled on any tanks.. the sides are usually not tempered.

off gasing of CO2 can be reduced in sumps.Most off gassing occurs in the input side of the sump. usual sump designs have shelves on this side for media and there is a lot of splashing here.
one way to reduce this is to design the sump intake by using an enclosed chamber here or by submerging the line to reduce the splashing.

you should research the designs they have on line to help you decide which type to use.

I have a 75 with a built in overflow and a 110 with a drilled side. the 110 is marine with a 30+ fuge the 75 has a sump . the intake is enclosed where the trays are and the water flows out under the enclosed intake and thru baffles.
I use to run CO2 and didn't see much CO2 loss but have since moved to low maint tanks as this is now a discus/blue ram tank.

the sumps generally have several baffles in them to calm the water and again , depending on design may have space in the return side to allow for a 'refugium'. you also will need to determine if you want and external return pump or submerged.

standpipes tend to reduce the noise created by open overflows.

whether smooth or cut over flows is a matter of choice the notched overflow are usually still low enough at the water line to allow for overflow in the event the notches get clogged and in a planted tank.. it can happen..but the water simply flows over the clogged notches.
 

NewObsession

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Aug 27, 2007
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Thanks Star Rider. It is not an existing tank. It's one that I am building from scratch so it's just a matter of whether I order it drilled and if so which panels I spec with holes. Or whether I just get a hang on overflow box but I'm getting the sense that for a tank teh size I'm looking at building ( ~ 225 gal) the size of hang on I would need would be rather large and it would be easier to just have them built into the tank. I have always ordered the glass un tempered as somewhere when I started building them I read not to use tempered glass. I imagine it has to do with a crack being prefered to a panel exploding into a million pieces.

I had planned on using a submersed return pump but even that I'm looking into as I try to figure out what GPH I would need for decent circulation.
 
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