Sump plumbing questions/ concerns

[ILOVEYOUHALFISH]

I am currently working on installing a Fiji cube 24 sump, on my fluval flex 32.5G - I still have to order some ball valves, Gate valves and my soft tubing… and of course the external overflow (I will probably get something from CPR) I haven’t gotten around to measuring that out but I hope it fits lol (if I have to cut the rear chamber plastic section a bit - I wouldn’t mind)

Here are some pictures, please let me know if you see anything im doing wrong and or have any suggestions- this is my first time plumbing a tank

Another question I have is, how safe are sumps- are far as leaking? I will be buying leak detectors- my sump is rated for a much bigger tank, I hear of people flooding their homes through the sump…. If you own a sump… how long have you had it? Any issues?



Really just any advice about sumps for the future would be great


Sorry if I sound dumb, I’m just terrified of flooding my place and I want some reassurance I’m not doing anything wrong

I have a buddy of mine coming to help me, but to be honest I’d really like to figure this out on my own


Thank you, if you do offer any advice- I greatly appreciate it :)















My cables are a mess I apologize, and here is also a picture I found of something I want to recreate (couldn’t find the original post)

 

[ILOVEYOUHALFISH]

I am currently working on installing a Fiji cube 24 sump, on my fluval flex 32.5G - I still have to order some ball valves, Gate valves and my soft tubing… and of course the external overflow (I will probably get something from CPR) I haven’t gotten around to measuring that out but I hope it fits lol (if I have to cut the rear chamber plastic section a bit - I wouldn’t mind)

Here are some pictures, please let me know if you see anything im doing wrong and or have any suggestions- this is my first time plumbing a tank

Another question I have is, how safe are sumps- are far as leaking? I will be buying leak detectors- my sump is rated for a much bigger tank, I hear of people flooding their homes through the sump…. If you own a sump… how long have you had it? Any issues?



Really just any advice about sumps for the future would be great


Sorry if I sound dumb, I’m just terrified of flooding my place and I want some reassurance I’m not doing anything wrong

I have a buddy of mine coming to help me, but to be honest I’d really like to figure this out on my own


Thank you, if you do offer any advice- I greatly appreciate it :)















My cables are a mess I apologize, and here is also a picture I found of something I want to recreate (couldn’t find the original post)

 

[UncommonSense]

First of all, you’re doing great! This plumbing is coming along nicely!

Here’s a Fiji-36 I did recently!

The only question I have is about the “drain pipes” that go inside the sump, off the bottom of the sump drain bulkheads… I don’t see them on yours! — these will be necessary to tune the primary drain to a full siphon, and to keep both drains quiet!

Another question I have is, how safe are sumps- are far as leaking? I will be buying leak detectors- my sump is rated for a much bigger tank, I hear of people flooding their homes through the sump…. If you own a sump… how long have you had it? Any issues?

Sumps are designed to not let a leak occur… people who have leaks from sump use have either undersized, or incorrectly used/designed their sump…

— any sump should be designed/operated to run well below the sump tank’s actual rim; this allows the sump to accommodate additional water volume in the event of a power outage/return pump shutdown!

the only other ways a flood could occur are:

— if plumbing fails completely (very rare when designed correctly, as you’ve done!)

— the return nozzle(s) are so far submerged, with no anti-siphon device, that the return siphons many inches of display tank water height back into the sump during a power outage/return pump shutdown (fixed by drilling a 1/4” hole near the display water line on the return plumbing as an anti-siphon air hole, and/or by not submerging return nozzle(s) multiple inches underwater!)

— the return pump chamber is so oversized that a complete display drainage clog causes the display to overflow before sump return chamber runs dry (also unlikely, your tank holds ~2gallons of water per-inch of display water height, and 1” drains on small tanks don’t easily clog when you have a proper toothed weir snails can’t get through)

— the overflow is through the bottom of the tank interior; overflow box seal is also leaking, drain standpipes are also leaking around bulkhead sockets… power goes out, whole tank drains… (extremely specific case which stems from multiple safeties being neglected!)

 

[ILOVEYOUHALFISH]

First of all, you’re doing great! This plumbing is coming along nicely!

Here’s a Fiji-36 I did recently!

The only question I have is about the “drain pipes” that go inside the sump, off the bottom of the sump drain bulkheads… I don’t see them on yours! — these will be necessary to tune the primary drain to a full siphon, and to keep both drains quiet!

Another question I have is, how safe are sumps- are far as leaking? I will be buying leak detectors- my sump is rated for a much bigger tank, I hear of people flooding their homes through the sump…. If you own a sump… how long have you had it? Any issues?

Sumps are designed to not let a leak occur… people who have leaks from sump use have either undersized, or incorrectly used/designed their sump…

— any sump should be designed/operated to run well below the sump tank’s actual rim; this allows the sump to accommodate additional water volume in the event of a power outage/return pump shutdown!

the only other ways a flood could occur are:

— if plumbing fails completely (very rare when designed correctly, as you’ve done!)

— the return nozzle(s) are so far submerged, with no anti-siphon device, that the return siphons many inches of display tank water height back into the sump during a power outage/return pump shutdown (fixed by drilling a 1/4” hole near the display water line on the return plumbing as an anti-siphon air hole, and/or by not submerging return nozzle(s) multiple inches underwater!)

— the return pump chamber is so oversized that a complete display drainage clog causes the display to overflow before sump return chamber runs dry (also unlikely, your tank holds ~2gallons of water per-inch of display water height, and 1” drains on small tanks don’t easily clog when you have a proper toothed weir snails can’t get through)

— the overflow is through the bottom of the tank interior; overflow box seal is also leaking, drain standpipes are also leaking around bulkhead sockets… power goes out, whole tank drains… (extremely specific case which stems from multiple safeties being neglected!)

I see what you’re saying now! I will look into that! Wow thank you so much for the quick reply and I’m excited you gave me some good news that sump that you set up is BEAUTIFUL, is it your personal tank?

 

[UncommonSense]

that sump that you set up is BEAUTIFUL, is it your personal tank?

It is not! It’s for a local reefing buddy/client! — he called me in for reinforcements to get this build up and moving fast after his Red Sea Reefer XL425 (G1) started showing the telltale signs of seam failure!

Fiji Cube 95INT, Approx. 60” x 24” x 16”

FTS:

36g sump is behind center and left door, electrical/equipment cabinet on right!

I made custom 3/8” thick frosted acrylic control boards for door and load bearing wall of equipment cabinet, preventing him from screwing stuff into a structural member Willy-Nilly!

Also, split cable sheathing typically used in automotive wire looms for cable management! Two main umbilicals; power, and low voltage/data… power wires in red sheathing!

Bonus trick? You can put your skimmer on a stand to run a sump water height >~9” in the skimmer chamber, and still have the skimmer perform as intended! — they don’t have to be this fancy, though!

I actually added aquarium silicone sealant to the bases of the 2” pipe “legs” on both of these, to mitigate scratching, and vibration!

Then, made tapered holes in his skimmer stand to match the rubberized skimmer feet; locking the skimmer to the stand so it can’t slide, as well as isolating the majority of vibration between skimmer and stand!

I hope this build gives you some inspiration for your own! — keep up the good work!