Sump design

[jsc0092]

I have a 75 gallon DT and am wanting to add a sump. I will be using a 20 gallon long aquarium and I have a eshopps pt 1000 HOB overflow ordered. I have all the materials for the sump and want to go ahead and get it siliconed together so it can be cured when the overflow gets delivered.

My issue is I don’t know how much reserve capacity I need in the sump to hold the extra water in the event of a return pump failure.

Will 4.5 gallons be enough? That would be roughly a 1.25 inch drop in the DT

 

[tsharpe291]

I would wait until you get the overflow installed and then simulate a power outage into a bucket or the 20 gallon without the baffles and measure the amount.

 

[UncommonSense]

I have a 75 gallon DT and am wanting to add a sump. I will be using a 20 gallon long aquarium and I have a eshopps pt 1000 HOB overflow ordered. I have all the materials for the sump and want to go ahead and get it siliconed together so it can be cured when the overflow gets delivered.

My issue is I don’t know how much reserve capacity I need in the sump to hold the extra water in the event of a return pump failure.

Will 4.5 gallons be enough? That would be roughly a 1.25 inch drop in the DT

I leave 4-5gallons to spare in my 20L sump under a 30-35g tank; you’ll likely want closer to double that!

 

[Submerge]

It will depend on when the syphon breaks. You can minimize what drains from the dt by drilling a small air hole at water level on the return pipe. I’m sure you could limit it to 4 gallons.

 

[jsc0092]

I have a 75 gallon DT and am wanting to add a sump. I will be using a 20 gallon long aquarium and I have a eshopps pt 1000 HOB overflow ordered. I have all the materials for the sump and want to go ahead and get it siliconed together so it can be cured when the overflow gets delivered.

My issue is I don’t know how much reserve capacity I need in the sump to hold the extra water in the event of a return pump failure.

Will 4.5 gallons be enough? That would be roughly a 1.25 inch drop in the DT

I leave 4-5gallons to spare in my 20L sump under a 30-35g tank; you’ll likely want closer to double that!

What are the dimensions of your tank?

 

[jsc0092]

It will depend on when the syphon breaks. You can minimize what drains from the dt by drilling a small air hole at water level on the return pipe. I’m sure you could limit it to 4 gallons.

I’ll definitely be drilling a siphon break on the return. I just want to plan it all out to maximize my total system volume. The 20L is the largest tank I can realistically fit in my stand with how it’s designed

 

[jsc0092]

I would wait until you get the overflow installed and then simulate a power outage into a bucket or the 20 gallon without the baffles and measure the amount.

Yeah I know that’s ideal but just trying to get a jump on letting the silicon cure. How long should I realistically let it cure before adding water?

 

[tsharpe291]

Yeah I know that’s ideal but just trying to get a jump on letting the silicon cure. How long should I realistically let it cure before adding water?

I would give it 24 hours just to be safe. just my opinion but id rather measure
the volume to be safe instead of hoping the math is right.

 

[jsc0092]

Yeah I know that’s ideal but just trying to get a jump on letting the silicon cure. How long should I realistically let it cure before adding water?

I would give it 24 hours just to be safe. just my opinion but id rather measure
the volume to be safe instead of hoping the math is right.

Good point, I may just wait for the overflow. It would suck to get it all set up then have to start over to modify it.

 

[UncommonSense]

What are the dimensions of your tank?

Hexagonal, 18.5” flat to flat width, 21” corner to corner width, 24” tall…

Custom made tubular center overflow, etc… it’s definitely not a good benchmark!

I only loose around 1/2”-3/4” of display height in an outage, and that leaves me with my sump just below the lid lip of the top frame!

 

[tsharpe291]

Good point, I may just wait for the overflow. It would suck to get it all set up then have to start over to modify it.

best plan IMO.

 

[jsc0092]

What are the dimensions of your tank?

Hexagonal, 18.5” flat to flat width, 21” corner to corner width, 24” tall…

Custom made tubular center overflow, etc… it’s definitely not a good benchmark!

I only loose around 1/2”-3/4” of display height in an outage, and that leaves me with my sump just below the lid lip of the top frame!

Oh I had to look up the formula for area of a hexagon but should be 1.23 gallons per inch. I just wish that there was better documentation available on the overflow I ordered

 

[UncommonSense]

Oh I had to look up the formula for area of a hexagon but should be 1.23 gallons per inch. I just wish that there was better documentation available on the overflow I ordered

It will vary somewhat based on return pump flow rate, but you can probably expect around an inch of display height to drain, plus what’s in the box/plumbing…

 

[jsc0092]

Oh I had to look up the formula for area of a hexagon but should be 1.23 gallons per inch. I just wish that there was better documentation available on the overflow I ordered

It will vary somewhat based on return pump flow rate, but you can probably expect around an inch of display height to drain, plus what’s in the box/plumbing…

With this design I’m going to be cutting it close it sounds like, I think I’m just going to wait on the overflow

 

[Submerge]

Personally I’d modify your sump to make the height adjustable. I assume you are cutting out your own parts?

That clear panel on the left moves up and down with thumbscrews to give you 7-12” depth.

 

[jsc0092]

Personally I’d modify your sump to make the height adjustable. I assume you are cutting out your own parts?

That clear panel on the left moves up and down with thumbscrews to give you 7-12” depth.

Yeah I have several pieces of acrylic cut to width, just have to cut the height. I’m pretty new to all this and was paranoid about using metal screws. I may be able to get some plastic thumb screws. I’ll look into that

 

[UncommonSense]

Yeah I have several pieces of acrylic cut to width, just have to cut the height. I’m pretty new to all this and was paranoid about using metal screws. I may be able to get some plastic thumb screws. I’ll look into that

Cell cast acrylic can swell up to 3% when submerged in water! Account for this in your baffle width cuts, or the acrylic baffles can literally split the glass tank apart at the seams, or even shatter a pane!

Regarding fasteners, Ace should have nylon 1/4-20 bolts in-stock… — nylon, or titanium thumb screws can also be sourced online!

 

[Submerge]

Yeah I have several pieces of acrylic cut to width, just have to cut the height. I’m pretty new to all this and was paranoid about using metal screws. I may be able to get some plastic thumb screws. I’ll look into that

Amazon.com

That should get you where you need to be. Depending on your skills with acrylic you an diy a height adjustment by using 2 pieces rather than one and cutting a slot.

I've got mine all the way up. The size of the slot (or series of holes) will determine the amount of adjustability.

 

[jsc0092]

Yeah I have several pieces of acrylic cut to width, just have to cut the height. I’m pretty new to all this and was paranoid about using metal screws. I may be able to get some plastic thumb screws. I’ll look into that

Cell cast acrylic can swell up to 3% when submerged in water! Account for this in your baffle width cuts, or the acrylic baffles can literally split the glass tank apart at the seams, or even shatter a pane!

Regarding fasteners, Ace should have nylon 1/4-20 bolts in-stock… — nylon, or titanium thumb screws can also be sourced online!

I didn’t consider that but luckily I had the acrylic cut 0.375 inches short. I just finished putting some of it together.