DIY Sump for Goldfish 55g

[ebola]

Thanks for the answers guys. I hope I'm not being troll-ish here, but if an overflow box also use a siphon, couldn't it go under the same conditions a straight siphon would? What's the point?

 

[wataugachicken]

here's a good link about overflows

http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/overflow.htm

 

[ebola]

Thanks, watagua. I've mentioned that I'm looking to this on the cheap, and since I live in an aprtment I don't see myself being able to gin up an overflow. I've designed the siphon below. It's gonna be 1" PVC, submerged an inch below the waterline. The centerline of the horizontal piece will be drilled at regular intervals (1 inch, prolly). The end of the horizontal member will be capped. One inch below the waterline, if the return pump fails, the max amount of water that would siphon out would only be about 2.5 gallons (in a 55 gallon tank) before the siphon broke. Does anyone see any issues with this configuration? I am a total newbie with this, and all the flow equations I've looked at are completely beyond me.

 

[ebola]

Forgot the pic.

 

[Kiel'thalin]

You need a siphon box, they way you are doing it will result in failure. Your idea will mostly result in a siphon break. Once that happens your return pump will continue to fill up the display tank until it overflows (since no more water is traveling to the sump). You need to have a Reef Ready tank (internal overflow) or siphon box (external overflow). It is not as simple as you think, the biggest problem with overflows is the noise they make. I have not yet met one that is totally silent.

 

[ebola]

Yeah, I see that now. I'm realizing that the only way this is gonna come out being cheaper than breaking down and buying a canister is to drill the tank... In your experience, how quiet is the Durso method?

 

[Kiel'thalin]

It is not dead silent, but it is 10x better than not having one. Most application are in marine enviroments, so most of the time, other equipment can drown out the noise. But in freshwater the overflow will stand out as the noise maker of the tank. I would not recommend in a bedroom.

 

[ebola]

How about this: Instead of using a tank as a sump, use a five gallon bucket with media layered inside, and one of these screw-on lids (http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/pr...e=USPlastic&category_name=24&product_id=20669). Same setup as the sump (tank -> siphon -> bucket -> pump -> tank), but if the pump fails, the siphon shouldn't, as long as the bucket it full of water. More of a diy canister filter than anything else.

Thoughts?

 

[Kiel'thalin]

If you go with that setup, It would easier to have a sealed closed loop system. Basically a bulkhead drilled into the side of the tank for the intake, then two more bulkheads for the bucket (one at top, one at bottom). For the return pipe just use a Directional U-tube. I would put a ball valve on the intake for maintenance. The only issue is keeping it sealed, keeping stuff out of the intake with some type of strainer, and the cost of a return pump. I mean it can be done, but dealing with a diy project could result in some disappointment and could still potentially leak or cause excessive noise that was not planned out.
Here is a pic I found of how the bulkhead would look in the bucket:

 

[ebola]

Thanks a lot, guys. It'll be a few weeks before I tackle this, but I like knowing how I'm going to proceed. I'll let you know how it turns out. I pick up the tank tonight.