All in one Tank Sump/refugium plumbing - JBJ 28G Nano-Cube

[SaltySquid]

I want to add some additional water volume, better filtration, and a safe place to grow some beneficial algae to my "all in one". I am running into some issues trying to figure out a good way to get the water from my tank to the 10G that will be sitting below it. The picture below shows how the "sump" on this tank is set up. I really hate the design because I cannot clean this easily. Water overflows from my tank into chamber 1, then overflows at 2 and 3 to chamber 4 where the tank return pumps are. I've been trying to think of a way to do this both with and without drilling holes where I pull the dirty water from the 1-3 area then return it to 4, but I'm at a lose.

Is it possible/a good idea to have a piece of PVC overhang the back of the tank about 4 inches (supply line @ chamber 2) and the return pipe do the same but 3 inches (return line @ chamber 4) into the tank? I'm thinking that this would cause a siphon from the tank into the sump, which will have 3 chambers, through the supply line.

I'm also wondering if there is a way to make the Return line @ chamber 1 so I can use this bubble trap instead of building one into the sump?

Any input and advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[SaltySquid]

I am tempted to just sell this tank and build a good system.

 

[SaltySquid]

Ok so I decided to build an overflow for this but am running into a few problems. Once i prime the system I have to cap the vent to keep in order to keep it going. So I'm guessing it's running by siphoning. It also only restarts if I do a short break in water flow. So needless to say, as it stands this is going to cause my living room to flood. Does anyone have advice on how I can fix this to work correctly and not have a flooding potential.


So just found out that if it drains to fast from my display (homer bucket) to the sump (tub) the draining stalls and causes flooding as well..;Rage

 

[Crabs McJones]

From what it looks like, your vent may be to large and in the wrong spot that it's breaking your siphon. To much air is getting into the pipe, and instead of pulling water from the tank, its pulling air into the tube instead.
If you haven't glued it yet, try creating something similar to this.
Also unless you're planning on pushing tons of gallons per hour, you can go with smaller pvc as well.

 

[Crabs McJones]

 

[Rushb3]

I think this is the answer to my issue ! Thank you so much !!!!!

 

[SaltySquid]

Thanks for the replies! I used the first video as a reference to build this, and it looks like I overlooked that last 180 @ the vent/final drain line, which I spotted in the 2nd video attached.

I chose this size because I wanted to error on the side of caution to avoid any flooding. I figured it's better to go bigger on the drainage. Any tips on what I can do to make sure this thing ALWAYS operates?

 

[SaltySquid]

oh, and how far into or above the sump should the drain line end at?