Fx5 Sump Combo

[capester]

Hi guys, I have a 6'7"x 2.5' tank that is currently being filtered by 2 x1000ltr ph aqua one externals. While the water is ok chemically it just doesn't look "polished". My tank is drilled and I have a 5 footer underneath that I am toying with using as a sump. Is there any reason why I couldn't use a Fluval fx5 to take the water from this sump and deliver it to the main tank or would I be better using it in conjunction with a traditional sump pump? Cheers guys

 

[capester]

Any ideas peeps? Don't know which way to go with it. Thanks

 

[Uriel]

Why would you need a sump in a tropical setup. What are you thinking of putting in there. In theory your fx5 could be used to push the water up from a tank or sump as long as the sump was higher than the fx5. It wouldn't be ideal though as the water flowing in the inlet kinda acts as a counter balance to the weight of the water in the outlet pipe, so having a shorter inlet pipe than outlet pipe would lead to losing flow. Plus you have conciderations like what happens in a power cut, what happens if the inlet gets blocked. Some more ideal of what exactly your thinking of using sump for would help.

 

[Too Fast]

I'd ask in the marine section as they will be more familiar with sumps.

 

[capester]

Sumps are pretty common place in freshwater set ups, before externals became widely available most keepers of tanks bigger than 4 foot tended to use sumps. They help with filteration obviously but can be loaded with ph buffers (tuffa etc) and even have an empty section for growing on baby fish. I think that a lot of people are terrified at the thought of the tank being drilled and so externals are taking over. I would take a decent sump over an external every time but would like to combine the 2 this time.

 

[OldMan47]

Your FX5 should work just fine in returning your water to the main tank from your sump. It has a very high flow capacity and should give plenty of circulation while also providing a bit of its own filtration.