Troys new tank

ok i have a question, i have no knowledge of how sumps work: so what happens if your pump should stop working, wont all the water drain out of that hole in the bottom of the tank and overflow the sump tank?

 

no becaus u see that rectangle that surrounds the hole (sorry dont know the name) only water which is higher than that can overflow down into the hole.. so in the case of a power outage, the water will drain untill the water level is just below that rectangle and stop draining.. switch off the pump plug and u'll see what i mean

 

Nope lol believe me I tested it over and over. If that has to happen I'm out the house.

The moment the return pump loses power water flow to the tank stops.
The remaining water skims over the over flow back into the sump, about 10cm from the top.

The white connectors you see on the return line can be submerged, if the
Power is cut off only the water in the pipe will return to the sump.
How I managed to get this right was having the the tubing push through the connectors (Not glued) leaving an air pocket.

I tested it for the worse case scenarios and got 100% good results


The only thing that can cause a flood if the over flow has to start leaking and the power is off

Shihr answered it short and sweet:blink1:

Regarding the plants, the ones in this tank now came from my other planted tank.
I do hear what you are saying, i am still learning with these planted tanks.
I have got another 2 30w tubes....Should i use them in the time being?

 

Thats called "The Overflow" Scientific Huh ...

My sump has been running for about 3 Months now and we have constant 15 min power outages, as long as your sump has enough space to take the Backwash (The amount of water that drains/siphons back into the tank when the power goes off - either via your overflow or the tank inlet) youll be fine

I must say personally i will never have a large tank with any other type of filter again

 

This is (for now....) the biggest tank i have running. The sump to me is the best! And i have only had it for....1 day

It hides all the equipment, and if set well there is no noise! And a money saver. Won't get another tank without one.

Quick question....anyone know who invented it?

 

wow thats CLEVER!!!

i think i want one i might try to convert my existing 1200 long tank in the future, i've got a spare 100L tank i can use as a sump..

one could even stick a massive piece of foam in the over-flow rectangle as additional bio-media / filter! you would have to service the filter floss in the sump even less!!

 

Have added matting i got yesterday to remove the 'splashing' sound, also
prevents debris getting into the sump....less maintenance

Not all over flows are the same, people choose one to their liking.
If you google it you will see there are many. You get better ones that
take up minimum space, unlike mine

 

I thought about doing that, it would also reduce the "running water " noise too

but im afraid it could slowly clog up the piping(if the foam/floss would start to break away) and when it gets dirty it would look ganky from the side

 

What would be better than foam, filter floss or matting is a sponge.
Get one cut to size, pop it in. Once a week remove and wash down....Hmmm giving myself ideas now

 

now that is what i would call a low maintenance sump setup!!

 

Im trying my best to make it a low maintenance. In order for me to reach
the sump i must crawl under the tank....making it very risky:amazed: lol
Other than that, i just push the sump, climb 'in' and do my business

 

you need to add some sort of stand pipe to get rid of the waterfall noise, but its a bit to late for that now.

 

imo, sumps are one of the best types of filters interms of performance and ease of service.. BUT (now why does there always have to be a but) for a serious planted tank, if u planning on adding CO2 for ur plants in the future, the sump actually agitates the water so much tht added CO2 is expelled from the water and not used up by ur plants

but then again, not all plants need CO2 to grow well! so u should be fine only the more finiky ones..

yes add the lights! u'll see the rewards soon!

 

Noise has already been eliminated thanks:blink1:

Yip have read it every where. Im looking for slow growth, So Co2 isnt
really needed. But i will run a DIY later on to see if there is even a slight difference

 

i hope not with filter floss or anything like that in the overflow chamber ? It will get clogged and lead to flood/pump running dry.

 

Have you got styrofoam under your sump tank?

 

Nope, with matting, similar but it doesnt break up, keeps shape.

Sump is half on the wood and half off, limited space. The part that is off
the wood has got a polystyrene base, from floor to sump. The part on
the wood hasn't got no, as i said limited space

 

will get clogged, you dont want anything in the overflow chamber that restricts flow, and you will see what a pain it is to replace anything in there (which will be almost every second day if you use Batting).

 

Troy that could lead to unevenness between wood and Styrofoam although you are limited for space you have built up a peace with just Styrofoam, rather run a peace the length of you sump tank over the Styrofoam peace an on to the wood peace even if its 5 mm thick. Just to help absorb unevenness.
Hope this makes sense.

 

Hmmm i see. What about a sponge? The ones that are used in a internal filter? Got big 'holes' and doesnt break up?

Yip makes sense, took a while but i got it lol. Will do that when i do a water change, thanks!