How does a sump work?

silentskream

silentskream

AC Members
May 16, 2004
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Florida
the sump is just another aquarium with 3 sections inside, a couple powerheaeds of unknown strength/origin and some hoses.
so how do i put all this junk together to turn it into a sump filter?

I've been informed that using the powerheads to pump the water is probably a bad idea because it's a greater flood risk. so that means i need a pump
where/how do i hook up a pump? and what pump strength do i need?

i dont know what to do :headshake2:
 
You can use powerheads in a sump, it's just their not well suited to pump water up the height needed to get it back into the tank, they aren't a flood risk by themselves.

Think of a sump as a big open air canister filter, the most important part is the overflow that directs water down to the sump, check out the diy forum on the sister site http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=30 it contains sticky threads on diy sumps, overflows and a wealth of other info far too detailed to put into one post.
 
if powerheads are not well suited, is using an actual submersible pump a better idea?

how do i know what to get?
 
Eheim hobby pumps work well, but so do submerable pond pumps.

I prefer the eheims because yo can move around the mounting bracket.
 
some sumps are drilled for external pumps(usually better as they don't decrease the volume of the sump by taking up space.
others use submersible pumps..the size of the pump is relative to the return from the tank.
too powerful of a pump and the tank either overflows or the sump runs dry.
too small and you may get flooding at the sump.(of course you can use restrictor valves)
 
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