Diy Sump Help

[boabmac63]

I want to do a sump filter thing but i know nothing how do u get water from tank into the sump tank what size of sump tank is good 7gallon ok for 120g cichlid tank ?? Also do u only need a water pump to pump the water back into tank so u dont really need a filter just a pump how many diffirent compartments shld it have how shld they be layed out sorry for questions

 

[jojouk]

I want to do a sump filter thing but i know nothing how do u get water from tank into the sump tank what size of sump tank is good 7gallon ok for 120g cichlid tank ?? Also do u only need a water pump to pump the water back into tank so u dont really need a filter just a pump how many diffirent compartments shld it have how shld they be layed out sorry for questions

Something I'm interested in too

 

[boabmac63]

I want to do a sump filter thing but i know nothing how do u get water from tank into the sump tank what size of sump tank is good 7gallon ok for 120g cichlid tank ?? Also do u only need a water pump to pump the water back into tank so u dont really need a filter just a pump how many diffirent compartments shld it have how shld they be layed out sorry for questions

Something I'm interested in too

Thats good so if u find out u can tell me hopefully

 

[Juggler75]

Pic of friends sump with annotations when he explained to me how he had set it up. It has an overflow pipe from the main tank to the top of the sump then a pump to pump the water back to the tank.
I'd think for a 120G tank you'd probably want at least a 20G sump but I'm sure a more experienced user will be a long shortly to give a fuller answer.

I never did get round to building one.

Edit: to insert picture correctly

 

[thereverendturtle]

A 20 long setup like the one above would be good for a 120. You'll also need an overflow of some type. If I were you I'd Google DIY aquarium sump.

 

[littlenemo]

here is my sump. you need an overflow box to take water to sump then a return pump to pump watewr back in tank but u also need to work out how much is being pumped back in to how much is overflowing and if a power cut there is enough room in sump to take water from tank untill water level drops below overflow.

 

[boabmac63]

here is my sump. you need an overflow box to take water to sump then a return pump to pump watewr back in tank but u also need to work out how much is being pumped back in to how much is overflowing and if a power cut there is enough room in sump to take water from tank untill water level drops below overflow.

Thanks

 

[Timmy_Bee]

Can you not have a sealed sump?
It would need some sort of rubber seal on the lid, so that you can open it for maintinance, but that way you dont have to worry about power cuts etc?

Or is there a specific difference between a sump and a giant external filter?

 

[OldMan47]

Sizing is really easy. If you have a sump that has plenty of water when it is operating and that can hold all of the overflow when the pumps are shut off, you have an appropriately sized sump. In most cases that means a sump that is a significant fraction of the main tank volume. Maybe you are looking at 1/4 of the volume for the sump. When the return pump is running, you need a big enough sump to keep the return portion of the sump full enough for your pump. When the return pump loses power, you want the open space in that sump to be big enough that the main tank stops draining before the sump runs out of room. That way things recover when the power is restored to the sump's pump. Do not skimp on sump size unless you are certain that the sump level will be closely monitored and adjusted. The place that water level varies in a sump system is in the sump, not the main tank. Unless you are prepared to constantly maintain the sump level, it must have room enough for normal evaporation losses in the main tank. That can easily double the minimum size of your sump if you are trying to go at an absolute minimal size.
There are two levels that must be determined experimentally. The first is the level that results in a totally full sump on a power failure. That is your sump's maximum normal level. The other is the level at which the sump barely has enough water in it for the pump and filtration to work properly. Sump level must be maintained, at all times, between these levels. If the levels are too close to each other, you are setting yourself up for major level maintenance tasks. If the room between those levels is huge, you have a larger sump than you really need.

 

[littlenemo]

oldman47 +1 mate my sump level is up and down most days somethimes the over flow gets blocked with a leaf so level drops then when i unblock it goes up. so i ended up getting a big sump so dont have to worry or check.