sump questions

bwaller76

bwaller76

Love my tanks!
Ok so I think I am comfortable making my own sump out of a fish tank now. My question is how to tell how big to make the overflow setup. In doing some research it was indicated to me that the overflow should be rated slightly larger than your return pumps capacity to return the water. (I can now see why drilling a tank is far better than HOB with siphon). How true is that statement on the rating and I know this is going to be overkill but I have a pond pump that I didnt use that I am planning on using in this tank. It has a maximum 1550 gph and is adjustable from zero up. On that note...on a 150 gallon tank is there a recommended return rate and should my overflow be an overkill as well to match my overkill pump haha :D Help shed some light if you could plz
:bowdown::bounce:
 
Wow, that was a slow response time for this forum! I don't know numbers, to be honest. I can tell you that I have a 125 gallon w/ built in dual overflows, each overflow has an intake pipe size of 1", and the 2 return pipes are 3/4". I'm using a mag18. It's working well. The overflows are keeping up with the flows really well.

I think the general rule of thumb for return flow rate is 10x your volume....but you have to take into account headloss....my mag drive puts out 1800 gph...but my sump is in the next room, so it has more headloss. If your sump will be under your tank, you won't lose as much. I'm not sure, but your pump might not be strong enough.

But this is just my guess. Lots of more knowledgeable people here when it comes to number crunching.
 
Sorry that it took so long to get your question answered.
Capts got it covered.But I will caution you about a pond pump.You'll need to make sure to check the impeller shaft fairly regular,just to make sure its not starting to rust.
 
took it apart last night...all looks well and the parts that are visible are all plastic. I cleaned it up and it appears to be in good shape. it was running hot at full bore but I turned it down and am going to check it before bed to see how it is going:bowdown::bounce:
 
You can expect some heat from any pump that you run.So as long as its not smokin,it's probably alright.
Just be sure to take it apart and give it a good vinegar cleaning about once a month to get rid of calcium deposits,and it should last several years.
 
Also what i told my wife is that a lot of ppl recommend getting a water chiller so i think that will be included in the prep

:bowdown::bounce:
 
bwaller76 said:
Also what i told my wife is that a lot of ppl recommend getting a water chiller so i think that will be included in the prep

:bowdown::bounce:
Click to expand...

A chiller for a tank in Idaho? I'd look into getting a different pump if it's going to be putting out that much heat. I'd say the extra energy costs to cool the tank down because of an inefficient water pump is not worth it.
 
It gets hotter than a welldiggers @$$ here in the summer. We have at least three weeks if not more of triple digit temps. I tried the pump at a lower "not full bore" setting and it doesnt let of as much heat. Im still going to monitor it but I do think the chiller is a good idea.:bowdown::bounce:
 
bwaller76 said:
It gets hotter than a welldiggers @$$ here in the summer.
Click to expand...

I kinda just think about that part of the country just being very cold and having mild summers. I lived in North Dakota for a few years when I first went into the Air Force and it used to get just as hot in the summer as it got cold in the winter. How soon I forget.
 
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Something you need to think about if your gonna buy a chiller.
Every degree that it removes from the water,its going to put out into the room.As the room gets hotter,the chiller is going to have to run more,which is going to produce even more heat.
You'd be better off with a small fan blowing across the top of the tank.Yeah,it'll cause more evaparation,but it'll also drop the water a good 10 degrees without producing more heat.
 
that is the same here it gets cold in the winter and hot in the summer at least 104 and sometimes hotter july and aug. these are the two hottest months here usually
 
Unless you have a way to vent the chiller to the outside, it will be counterproductive, as Yote said. All they do is heat up the air around the tank. Putting a clip on fan blowing across the surface of the water can drop your tank's temp by up to 10 degrees. Plus, chillers are crazy expensive!!
 
whoa daugherty I lived in billings for ten years from 1998 to late 2007. Where abouts you live in billings? I did tech support for Bresnan and worked at walmart. Lived off of 15th and broadwater right by bullwhackers.
:bowdown::bounce:
 
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