Need Help Setting up Sump

[Rifken]

I just bought a 160 gallon tank that has corner weirs in it. I want to set this tank up with a sump and I have a few questions about choosing the right size return pumps and skimmer. This is a learning experience for me because my current tanks are old school undergravel filters and a cannister

So each weir has a 1" intake and a 3/4" return. I am thinking of a simple sump using a 60 or 75 gallon tank. The main reason for the sump is the skimmer. I did some googling to try to find the GPH rate of the overflow but all I could find was an average flow rate off 600GPH thru a 1" tube. So would I base my return pumps off that number too? I mean if it can only flow 600 into the sump then I can only return 600, right?

So I was thinking of using 2 smaller pumps plumbed so each goes to it's own return. I was thinking of the Sicce 800 GPH pumps https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/sicce-syncra-pro-3000-multifunction-aquarium-pump or the Sicce 990 GPH pumps https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/sicce-multi-4000-multifunction-aquarium-pump . I just don't know how much to factor in for the "head loss" and there will be a valve in the return plumbing to help dial in the intake/return flow.

Am I on the right track? Any thoughts about which pumps?

Thanks,
-Bob

P.S. I am thinking of the Aquamaxx ConeS Q-3 https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/aquamaxx-cones-q-3-in-sump-protein-skimmer.html or a ConeS CO-3 https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/aquamaxx-cones-co-3-in-sump-protein-skimmer.html . Any thoughts between picking one over the other? The ConeS Q-3 is attractive because it is short and compact. The ConeS CO-3 is attractive because the pump is outside of the skimmer body

-Bob

 

[blaxsun]

In theory, yes (unless one of the 1" overflow pipes were to become blocked). This is usually why you have two (2) overflow pipes that can each accommodate the entire flow from the return pump (one is the main, the second an emergency). Since this doesn't necessarily apply in your scenario, I would probably aim for a flow rate of <600Gph so as to not potentially exceed the flow through either of the 1" overflow pipes.

You could run two pumps (one for each corner) or plumb both to a single return pump. You'll just want to ensure that your (net) return flow is <600Gph (combined).

If you're looking at the Sicce pumps, go to the Sicce website directly and look at the performance charts for each to get an idea of your flow @100% @0 head. To roughly calculate head height, it's 1ft for every vertical foot, 1ft for every 90° elbow and 0.5ft for every 45° elbow.

 

[blue600]

I have a 120g tank and am running a 660gph return pump. Everything is flowing perfectly.

 

[Rifken]

Blaxsun, I was thinking of going with two return pumps (one to each side). It cost more than a single pump but there is some piece of mind in the redundancy of a two pump system.

Each overflow should provide 600gph flow so don't I need to return 600 x 2 to the tank?

A turnover of 1200gph is close to the 5x the tank size rule Which would be 1300gph. Should that be okay?

Blue600, what do you have for an intake/supply to your sump? Is it basically a single one-inch line?

Thank you,
-Bob

 

[blue600]

Blaxsun, I was thinking of going with two return pumps (one to each side). It cost more than a single pump but there is some piece of mind in the redundancy of a two pump system.

Each overflow should provide 600gph flow so don't I need to return 600 x 2 to the tank?

A turnover of 1200gph is close to the 5x the tank size rule Which would be 1300gph. Should that be okay?

Blue600, what do you have for an intake/supply to your sump? Is it basically a single one-inch line?

Thank you,
-Bob

Yes

 

[Troylee]

Single pump is fine and a 1” drain full siphon will pull 1000+ gph with no problems… so if you wanted to buy a single bigger pump it would work..

 

[Rifken]

I'm sorry, I just realized that I posted it's a 160 gallon tank. That was a typo. It is actually a 260 gallon tank. 84Lx 24W x 30T

-Bob

 

[DaddyFish]

@Rifken / Bob,

Your typical slotted weir has a flow limitation of approximately 100 gph per 26mm/1" of linear slotted space. That's assuming you run the return flow at a rate to sustain a water level at roughly 1/2-way up the slots. Someone in the tank manufacturing business shared that bit of design info with me several months AFTER I spent 100s of hours doing flow tests and trying to overcome why my flow topped out around 1600-1800 gph on an 18" wide weir! Arrrghhh... the things we learn the hard way!

How much flow a 1" drain will support depends, depends on a lot of factors including elbows, overall fall, yada yada yada. But generally speaking a 1" drain has no problem flowing 1200-1600 gph to the typical sump beneath the tank. In fact, you will want/need a good quality gate valve to be able to match the drain rate with a pump rate for a nice, quiet drain. And as mentioned above, you want a second drain setup higher with nothing more than the straightest shot possible to the sump as an E-drain. Why...? because stuff happens!

If your goal is to have BOTH corner weirs/drains running perfectly silent, then you need gate valves on both drains. You can easily run both returns with one pump. IMO a controllable DC pump is worth every penny.

Lastly, you have a 260-gal tank and I assume you will wind up close to a 300-gal system. IMHO you should be targeting at least 900 gph collective drain/return/flow rate (3x system).

 

[Rifken]

" 1” drain full siphon will pull 1000+ gph with no problems / 1" drain has no problem flowing 1200-1600 gph" Wow! I was debating between running a pair of Sicce 3.5 or 4.0 pumps. I had pretty much decided on going with the 4.0 because they are rated at 687 with a 6 foot head. When I was thinking I'd be getting 600gph intake flow I thought these would work well regulated with a valve in the return line. If I'm going to be getting more than 600pgh intake maybe I need to re-think the pump output.

"you will wind up close to a 300-gal system" I am thinking that my sump is probably going to be a 75 gallon so that is probably very close

As far as silent goes, a little noise will be fine. The sound of Niagara Falls would not be though

"want a second drain setup higher with nothing more than the straightest shot" The tank only has two holes drilled in each corner. I don't know how I would add a second drain line.

Thanks,
-Bob