Sump on Side of the tank

[Bengals888]

Hi,

Brainstorming here...

If I have a small tank on the side of the DT, but raise up 2-3”, so the sump is higher than the DT.
Pump on inside of the tank pushing water through the sump and dumping back into the DT.
Basically same the the HOB refugiums but just with more space.

Is there a way to do it with the pump inside the sump?

The limitation is no drilling on DT. No sump on bottom via gravity.
Sump can be slightly higher than DT, sitting side by side with DT.

I have seen HOB Overflows but they are still based on sump lower than DT.

It would be nice to have a view of refugium side by side with display tank. Sort of my objective.

 

[Victoria M]

Hi,

Brainstorming here...

If I have a small tank on the side of the DT, but raise up 2-3”, so the sump is higher than the DT.
Pump on inside of the tank pushing water through the sump and dumping back into the DT.
Basically same the the HOB refugiums but just with more space.

Is there a way to do it with the pump inside the sump?
I had a refugium set up to my sump just like this. The pump would go inside the lowest tank, and send water up to the refugium.

Drilling a hole in the side wall, near the top of the side wall of the refugium is the safest way to return water to the main display tank. You have to be sure that the lowest tank can handle the water that would back flow to the lowest tank when the pump is off.
And you must be sure water will not back siphon thru the pump tubing.


The limitation is no drilling on DT. No sump on bottom via gravity.
Sump can be slightly higher than DT, sitting side by side with DT.

I have seen HOB Overflows but they are still based on sump lower than DT.

It would be nice to have a view of refugium side by side with display tank. Sort of my objective.
I have seen this done and it looks really cool.

 

[Bengals888]

Hi,

Brainstorming here...

If I have a small tank on the side of the DT, but raise up 2-3”, so the sump is higher than the DT.
Pump on inside of the tank pushing water through the sump and dumping back into the DT.
Basically same the the HOB refugiums but just with more space.

Is there a way to do it with the pump inside the sump?
I had a refugium set up to my sump just like this. The pump would go inside the lowest tank, and send water up to the refugium.

Drilling a hole in the side wall, near the top of the side wall of the refugium is the safest way to return water to the main display tank. You have to be sure that the lowest tank can handle the water that would back flow to the lowest tank when the pump is off.
And you must be sure water will not back siphon thru the pump tubing.


The limitation is no drilling on DT. No sump on bottom via gravity.
Sump can be slightly higher than DT, sitting side by side with DT.

I have seen HOB Overflows but they are still based on sump lower than DT.

It would be nice to have a view of refugium side by side with display tank. Sort of my objective.
I have seen this done and it looks really cool.

Thanks Victoria. Looks like an option with those precautions you mentioned.

Would an overflow covering the pump help any other than hiding the pump?

 

[Victoria M]

Thanks Victoria. Looks like an option with those precautions you mentioned.

Would an overflow covering the pump help any other than hiding the pump?

I am not sure what you are asking? Do you mean an corner "overflow" like reef ready tanks have but using it to house a small pump to send water to the higher refugium tank?

 

[Victoria M]

Just for a visual. The refugium would need two holes drilled near the top but usually at least 2 inches from any edge.

 

[Bengals888]

I am not sure what you are asking? Do you mean an corner "overflow" like reef ready tanks have but using it to house a small pump to send water to the higher refugium tank?

Yes, pic attached. Mainly to cover pump, while keeping larger debris out?

Thanks for pic, exactly what I was thinking. Let say 1/2” hose from pump to refugium, 1” return to DT to prevent overflow. The return line
can be submersed in water to prevent bubbles?

Some manufacturer will make this and market it up 50x more, lol. This is crazy expensive hobby.

 

[Victoria M]

I would want the box (or corner overflow actually ) to go almost all the way to the top of the tank, the return can be submerged with a siphon break but without a full siphon and backup drain line there will be some bubbles. Actually having another hole drilled with back up drain would be the best and safest failsafe. Also be sure to set up the drain back to the main display tank so that the water that back flows can be held in the main tank without over flowing. You will have to experiment with that.

 

[Bengals888]

I would want the box (or corner overflow actually ) to go almost all the way to the top of the tank, the return can be submerged with a siphon break but without a full siphon and backup drain line there will be some bubbles. Actually having another hole drilled with back up drain would be the best and safest failsafe. Also be sure to set up the drain back to the main display tank so that the water that back flows can be held in the main tank without over flowing. You will have to experiment with that.

Would you be able to do a quick sketch? I’m kinda slow grasping onto this stuff. I understand there will be some experimentation to fine tune it.
I don’t mind back up, safe is best. I probably will try with plastic containers first to see how it flows, hopefully not flood...

 

[Victoria M]

I will do a google search to help find a better image with a better explanation.

 

[Bengals888]

Thank you

 

[Victoria M]

I will do a google search to help find a better image with a better explanation.

I loaded the wrong picture lol.

 

[Bengals888]

LoL

 

[garbled]

I have this setup, and it works. I have a 29G refugium raised above the edge of a 125, and it's been reliable for at least 8 years now.. lost track of when I set it up honestly. I use a small powerhead to feed it through a TLF reactor, and then the overflow just dumps into the tank. The one thing I do is set the output of the reactor about 1/2" above the waterline in the sump, so it never back siphons.

I used a 1/2" output from the sump to the main display. If I were to do this over, I would use a 3/4" or 1". Because the tubing is nearly level (just a slight drop in height) it usually has air in it, and that sometimes slows the flow. Also, I would try to use black tubing, so you don't get algae growth in the line that clogs it up. (You will still get growth on the output side though, so maybe it's better to see the algae so you can clean it? Dunno)

 

[Scott Ulrich]

I have a side sump. If you place it below your display instead of above, you have the advantage that the water level of your sump water level will change and not your display water level. If you don't want to drill your display tank you could always use an overflow.

 

[garbled]

If you want a refugium, you probably want the side-tank full, not partially full. For a sump, the photo posted absolutely works, because the water level there is so much lower than the main tank. If the water level is the same though, it will never work, because the pressure differential isn't enough to cause water to flow. You can just pump into one side, and nothing really happens. (I tried, sad pandas).

 

[Scott Ulrich]

If you want a refugium, you probably want the side-tank full, not partially full. For a sump, the photo posted absolutely works, because the water level there is so much lower than the main tank. If the water level is the same though, it will never work, because the pressure differential isn't enough to cause water to flow. You can just pump into one side, and nothing really happens. (I tried, sad pandas).

Good point, if you want the sump to be full you would either need to drill the display or have the sump lower. I can fill mine half full with the overflow, which it's a Good level for the skimmer.

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

When done, all is running. Turn power off to simulate power outage . See if no flooding happens.

 

[Bengals888]

That is cool. How do you get siphon started with the overflow u pipe?

How much lower does water have to be in sump vs. DT? At least 6”, that would cut sump volume in half, 7.5G cube for sump.

 

[Bengals888]

Yes, most definitely must check for flooding...

 

[Scott Ulrich]

That is cool. How do you get siphon started with the overflow u pipe?

How much lower does water have to be in sump vs. DT? At least 6”, that would cut sump volume in half, 7.5G cube for sump.

I have an eshopps overflow and it comes with a tube to create the siphon. After that it picks right back up of the power goes out. My sump is a 20 gallon so half full is still 10 g. But since yours would be on a separate stand you could lower it more.