2 small tanks as one sump

[rcherry]

I'm working on a 55 gallon planted freshwater tank. I'm getting it drilled and will be running a sump, hopefully wet/dry and a refugium. The most cost effective way for my situation is to have two 5 gallon tanks drilled and run them both as sumps. Has anyone done this? Are there any problems I'm likely to run in to? I would like to use one tank as a wet/dry and one as a refugium. Any help is appreciated.

 

[BigJim]

It's very possible to use two tanks like that. Here's an example: Sump for a 340g reef

 

[uscamaro]

Use the overflow design that was in the link Jim posted. I had the same thought as you but wanted to use 2 pumps (1 pump in the 1st tank going into the 2nd tank, and then the pump in the 2nd tank returning to the DT). I was warned that there is a high probability of not having synchronized pumps, which could cause flooding.

 

[iDream]

I've definitely seen it done before. Patrick also brings up a good point to consider as well

 

[tjm80]

If you are planning on plumbing the two together by drilling and fitting with bulkheads there is a risk of twisting the glass by bumping or accidentally moving one of the tanks and could cause the glass to shatter.

 

[rcherry]

Yeah I was going to drill them, should I connect them with rubber hosing instead of PVC to give a little bit of wiggle room? Also would I need a second pump to push the water from the first tank to the second or should I elevate the first slightly so gravity can pull it down to the second? Not sure how to connect the two. And it looks like melev had the refugium first, everywhere else I see the mechanical filters first.

 

[BigJim]

Here's how I would attempt it:

- Position the refugium so you can have it flow into the wet/dry under the force of gravity.

- Add a tee to the tank overflow.

- Put a valve on one side of the tee and run that side to the refugium tank. Run the other into the wet/dry. The valve lets you control the refugium flow.

- Pump the water from the wet/dry back to the display tank. This way you've only got pump(s) acting on one leg of the system, minimizing the chance of pump-caused floods.

 

[David S]

I use 2 sumps,pics are in my profile

 

[rcherry]

Does this highly artistic rendition look correct? Would I use 1" holes all around? And do I really need the tee or could i just have the overflow directly into the refugium and then directly into the wet/dry. Also, it seems like this might get messy if the power goes off as the refugium would always be at the overflow height that heads to the second tank. The second tank is only 5 gallons so it would overfill pretty quickly.

Thanks for all the help and suggestions

 

[uscamaro]

You'd have to add a sock filter or something on the refugium overflow. Also, you wouldn't want the pods from the refugium to get filtered through the media in the wet/dry sump.

How about having the filter first, then the fuge?

 

[rcherry]

Thanks for the reply

This is for a freshwater setup so no protein skimmer or live rock. Do I really need to have one sump tank elevated over the other? What if I drill 2 parallel holes that are halfway up the tanks. The holes will always be underwater and the pump will pull water through into the second tank? If this is going to be more work than it's worth I can also get a larger tank (maybe 15 gallons?) and just have it next to the tank on its own stand. Not sure how the overflow would work if the sump is only a foot or so lower than the display.

 

[David S]

have 2 tanks the same height as in my pics,the first tank can be the fuge,the level of water in this tank is governed by the connecting pipe to the second sump,the level in the next sump is governed by the return pump,this is the same as I have,just make sure when you set it up to fill the sumps via your DT with return pump off untill the water level in the second sump is as high as you want it to reach in a power cut.then mark this level with a permanent marker pen,run your return pump and when all settled mark the new level with a marker pen,this has now given you the 2 heights for filling your tanks(bottom mark for top up water while everything is running,top mark is for pwc while return pump is off)I would too have a T in your pipework to restrict the flow to the fuge,again I have done this.
To stop any dampness in your stand you must route your pipework into each sump to a low level.(this includes the pipe connecting the sumps together).
I hope this helps

 

[rcherry]

I've been looking at your pictures, it looks like a similar setup to what I want to do. Do you ever have any problems that I can look forward to running into? I know you mentioned moisture in the stand, thanks. I'll be sure to take the tubes to below water level. I'm also hoping to run CO2 so I'll want to minimize gas exchange through the sump.

Is that a HOB filter on the second sump? I'm looking to get some combination of filter media in the sump as opposed to an external filter but it's a similar set up.

I'm a little confused about the necessity of the tee. How do you ensure proper circulation of the refugium? It seems like that overflow would just take mostly the freshwater dropping in and skim it off the top as opposed to forcing the water to flow through the system. I was thinking about having the overflow enter solely into the refugium, and having 2 tubes at equal height (maybe halfway up the sides of the tank) parallel to the ground connecting the 2 sumps. This way the pump is drawing the water through the tubes instead of it trickling over the overflow. I would also rather do this because it would allow me to use a bit more water in my system as I could have both sumps filled to the same maximum height.

I would then use filter media in the first compartment of the second sump, followed by a bubble trap to ensure the water must go through the mechanical filtration, and then the return pump.

This all makes sense in my head but I've never used any type of sump before and I've never had a display tank over 29 gallons so any help and suggestions are appreciated. If it would be easier to put my ramblings into a picture let me know.

 

[uscamaro]

This is for a freshwater setup so no protein skimmer or live rock.

My fault, I was thrown off by Jim's link. Plus when I was doing FW, I never saw anyone use a refugium... is this a common FW practice?

 

[iDream]

I don't think it is but I am curious to see what it's for besides putting misbehaving tankmates in time-out

 

[rcherry]

I was hoping to keep fry and temporarily keep breeding pairs who get too aggressive. I also want to propagate plants in this area.

 

[iDream]

Very smart, breeding pairs of what might I ask? Cichlids? Angels? Livebearers?

(Though I suppose angels and cichlids are technically both cichlids)

 

[rcherry]

Hoping to keep pairs of dwarf cichlids and maybe angels as well. I havent looked too much into breeding angels but I hear they can get quite aggressive.

 

[rcherry]

So after all that planning i think I'm going to custom build a lower stand and run my 29gal as a sump right next to the 55gal. This will greatly increase my water volume and should provide a more stable system. I havent seen any plans for adjacent sumps yet, any of you guys have any experience? I'm not sure if I should put the return on the close or far side. I dont think horizontal distance puts the same strain as head height. I also am curious if lower is better. Should I put the sump as low as possible or is it fine having the top of the sump being just about a foot lower than the overflow drill holes?

 

[David S]

sump will be fine just lower as its flow is only governed by the return pump,as for you query regarding the connecting pipe on the 2 sumps you need the connecting pipe high because of evaporation,you dont want the fuges water level to drop just the return pump section,if you have the pipe lower the water level in both sumps would drop.i use a t so 25% of my dt water goes to the fuge and 75 to the skimmer section.I dont have a filter,the one your saw was a HOB skimmer which I decided to submerse into the sump to save room.