What type of sump?

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A ten has a big footprint for just bio balls. Can you shorten it? If you can then you'll probably still have room. The problem is going to get a light on it. Idk I.can only.try.to.picture it in my head lol without it sitting right in front of me I'm not sure ill be able to figure it out

How big do you think I should go to provide enough biological filtration? Would a 5 gallon work. Would it hold enough media? If I went with ceramic rings instead of bio-balls, that might give me more surface area.
 
I have an old 4.4 plastic tank I could drill a ton of holes in the bottom instead of egg crate, put the media in it, egg crate on top, filter floss on top of that. Suspend it with some legs off the bottom of the 20, 2-3 baffles before the return portion where the pump will be. That might cover all my bases, allow for substrate with plants, and not clog up the pump. Suspend the light over the middle portion for plant growth. If I make one that should support a 125, could it be used on my 55?
 
I have an old 4.4 plastic tank I could drill a ton of holes in the bottom instead of egg crate, put the media in it, egg crate on top, filter floss on top of that. Suspend it with some legs off the bottom of the 20, 2-3 baffles before the return portion where the pump will be. That might cover all my bases, allow for substrate with plants, and not clog up the pump. Suspend the light over the middle portion for plant growth. If I make one that should support a 125, could it be used on my 55?

For sure
 
How big do you think I should go to provide enough biological filtration? Would a 5 gallon work. Would it hold enough media? If I went with ceramic rings instead of bio-balls, that might give me more surface area.

I went in and measured mine it only 8"x8"x8" that holds my bio balls. It's a lot bigger of a space than it sounds. So if you had that over the 20 it would work just fine
 
I went in and measured mine it only 8"x8"x8" that holds my bio balls. It's a lot bigger of a space than it sounds. So if you had that over the 20 it would work just fine

It's getting late, and I didn't expect you to go digging around under your tank, but thank you. Your tank is 180 right?
 
I measured the 4.4 gallon tank I'm going to use to hold my media, and its 13w x 8d x 9 1/2 t. So, I figure if Andy's is 8 x 8 x 8 for your 180, this one will be plenty big. Now to find a decent overflow, an a pump. Some of the overflows I looked at, that were for a 125, said they were rated for 962 gallons per hour. That seemed kind of low. It only gives you like a seven times turn over. I would like closer to ten. Now, for my 55 that I'm going to put it on initially, it's like 17 times the turn over. When it comes to a pump, I know they are rated, but are they variable? Meaning, can you adjust them, or do they just run at a set flow?
 
I measured the 4.4 gallon tank I'm going to use to hold my media, and its 13w x 8d x 9 1/2 t. So, I figure if Andy's is 8 x 8 x 8 for your 180, this one will be plenty big. Now to find a decent overflow, an a pump. Some of the overflows I looked at, that were for a 125, said they were rated for 962 gallons per hour. That seemed kind of low. It only gives you like a seven times turn over. I would like closer to ten. Now, for my 55 that I'm going to put it on initially, it's like 17 times the turn over. When it comes to a pump, I know they are rated, but are they variable? Meaning, can you adjust them, or do they just run at a set flow?

They will run at one flow rate. On the tube going from the pump to the tank you'll put a check valve at the top right before it goes into the tank. Also somewhere on that line you can put a ball valve to adjust the flow.
 
If you don't mind, I want to make sure I understand how this will work. When I get my HOB overflow, let's say its rated for 962 gallons an hour, it flows into my sump. The return pump, for this purpose is rated at 500 gph, that's all that will be flowing into the sump correct, but if I put a 1200gph pump, the max I would get into the sump would be the 962. Am I understanding this right? If so, one of my questions is this, isn't it hard on the pump if its rated more than the overflow, meaning wont it starve the pump? By putting a valve in the return line, adjusting the flow down, isn't that also hard on the pump by creating to much back pressure on the pump its self? I'm wanting to build this and put it on my 55, with the intention that when I get the 125, I can just move it over to it, and there you go, no need to perform a new cycle. I don't want to have to buy a different pump, or a bigger overflow when I get the bigger tank. Does any of this sound right?
 
If you don't mind, I want to make sure I understand how this will work. When I get my HOB overflow, let's say its rated for 962 gallons an hour, it flows into my sump. The return pump, for this purpose is rated at 500 gph, that's all that will be flowing into the sump correct, but if I put a 1200gph pump, the max I would get into the sump would be the 962. Am I understanding this right? If so, one of my questions is this, isn't it hard on the pump if its rated more than the overflow, meaning wont it starve the pump? By putting a valve in the return line, adjusting the flow down, isn't that also hard on the pump by creating to much back pressure on the pump its self? I'm wanting to build this and put it on my 55, with the intention that when I get the 125, I can just move it over to it, and there you go, no need to perform a new cycle. I don't want to have to buy a different pump, or a bigger overflow when I get the bigger tank. Does any of this sound right?

Agreed

Your pump needs to be under what the overflow can handle. So if your going to get one that does 965 gph then I'd find a pump that does 950. You have to figure in head height on the pump so 950 should be fine.
 
You could put to overflow box

I thought of that, because the one I have found at 962, doesn't provide enough turnover for my tastes. I would like more than 7.7 times an hour. I might try and find two that are rated around 700 gph. I could then add another pump later also, and spread the return to both sides of the tank. I guess I could tee the two overflows into one down at the sump.
 
I thought of that, because the one I have found at 962, doesn't provide enough turnover for my tastes. I would like more than 7.7 times an hour. I might try and find two that are rated around 700 gph. I could then add another pump later also, and spread the return to both sides of the tank. I guess I could tee the two overflows into one down at the sump.

If you put a tee in at the sump double the size of the tee and the line going into the sump. All the restrictions come from the size of the u tube and the line in the box going to the sump. You.could even buy a box if ya wanted then drill the hole bigger and udgrade the size of everything. Only so much water can go down a tube. But on a 6' tank two boxs on each end of the tank is a good idea.
 
The plans I was looking at to build this thing called for 1" PVC in the sump for the trickle, I guess I could always go bigger, like inch and a half from the start. It couldn't hurt any. Then use the same size for all the lines running to the sump in general. And just use what's ever recommended for the pump for the return.
 
I have a silly question, I was looking at some picks of someone's tank, and would it be possible to use a power head, the type that could be used on an under gravel filter, instead of an overflow? You know, plumb it to PVC or tubing, and have that feed on to the media? Step the piping up from whatever you need from to pump, to reduce the pressure?
 
You cant use a pump instead of an overflow.

They cost around the same or you could easily make a overflow box. Doing it that way would be extremely hard to get both pumps to work together on flow rates. It would be way easier and with less problems using the box. I wouldn't advise doing it with two pumps.
 
I bought the eshoops 1200 yesterday and about 3 gallons of bio balls. All I need now is the pump and the plumbing.
 
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