Pump From Main into sump below

shadynate · Nov 20, 2023

Hey y'all. I have a reds MAX nano peninsula tank. I really want a sump. The main display is already set up. I am wondering if this will work, or if I am an idiot. I want to add a pump into the built in rear sump of the AIO redsea max nano that pumps water out of the main display, through a tube/piping, down into a sump under the cabinet. I want to add volume to the system, and add a better protein skimmer as I want to stock this tank decently. I would then have a return pump from the sump back into the main display. I would likely have the return pump from the sump on a float switch, so if the inline pump went out, the return pump wouldn't pump all the sump water into and overflowing the display.

Does this make sense? Basically have a pump in the rear chamber of the AIO system to pump out water to the sump, and a return pump to return to water back up into the display. Then I could run a protein skimmer, the redsea filter cleaner thingy, and any future reactors or sterilizers I might add. Is this a horrible idea? If so, how should I safe proof it? Lolz.

Gill the 3rd · Nov 20, 2023

Thats not a good idea. You are asking for a flood to happen. You will never get 2 pumps at the exact same flow rate long term. Can you drill the tank to use a gravity overflow?

shadynate · Nov 20, 2023

It would be hard to drill since it’s already set up and there is only about 3 inches of clearance on the back. That was what I was afraid of. Too many moving parts. I wonder if I can build a diy siphon overflow? Typical overflows I think don’t go down far enough to grab water in the back rear area. Maybe a diy one could reach further?

Gill the 3rd · Nov 20, 2023

The hang on back overflow is an option, but that has its own issues. I personally have never used that type of overflow so I cannot speak to the challenges with those. I will let others who are more familiar with that system speak about them.

tmayu528 · Nov 21, 2023

I’m looking into doing something similar on mine. I have a closed loop refugium plumbed into it now with tubing using a phyto tank macroalgae reactor. Can post some pics later.

As mentioned the way you were originally talking about doing it seems like a bad idea. Drilling doesn’t seem too hard even with it up and running though. Might be worth it to cut the glass partitions out of the back too. Heard some people say you can use a 170 sump upgrade kit. There’s a post somewhere where someone had used a hob overflow.

mfinn · Nov 21, 2023

Don't do it.
It's a disaster waiting to happen.

shadynate · Nov 24, 2023

tmayu528 said:
I’m looking into doing something similar on mine. I have a closed loop refugium plumbed into it now with tubing using a phyto tank macroalgae reactor. Can post some pics later.

As mentioned the way you were originally talking about doing it seems like a bad idea. Drilling doesn’t seem too hard even with it up and running though. Might be worth it to cut the glass partitions out of the back too. Heard some people say you can use a 170 sump upgrade kit. There’s a post somewhere where someone had used a hob overflow.

Would love to see pics