Time for a sump

[kdogg85]

I want to setup a sump for my 75g SA cichlid tank. I have a 30g tank,overflow, and Danner mag-drive 9.5 pump. This will replace the two emperor's I have, I want to clean up the back of the tank.

I have about 35lbs of dried and boiled lr rubble I didn't use on my sw tank. Could I use that for my bio media, and what could I use for a nitrate and phosphate. I assume this would be some sort of plants or something. And how far down in the water should the intake of the overflow be set(never used one before) The overflow itself looks to be around the 700 gph size with a 1 and 5/8 drain hole. It has no bulkhead fitting attatched, so I'm guessing a 1.5 in bulkhead is what fits it. Will the 9.5 be enough to handle the output of the overflow. The pump has 49'' of head to overcome.

 

[BigJim]

I suppose you could use the dead rock, but it will probably throw your pH for a loop and there are other materials out there with better bio-densities. Look for cheap pot scrubbers with no soap or anything added. Dollar stores are a great source.

You'll still have to do water changes to deal with the nitrates. I've seen tanks that are heavily planted and lightly stocked that don't have nitrate issues, but the water changes are good for adding back micronutrients and other stuff like that. Plants can slow down the build-up of nitrate levels and use up the other nutrients that lead to algae. I've had luck with water sprite. Anacharis or any other fast-growing plant would work as well.

Set the overflow depth to the height you want your water levels at. Your overflow should flow more water than your pump is capable of moving. This prevents floods. A properly sized overflow will only move as much water as the pump is capable of pushing back into the tank. From a flow perspective, it's impossible to have too large of an overflow.

I'd say your overflow is set up for a 1" bulkhead. A 1.5" bulkhead would only leave 1/16" of plastic around the edges in a 1-5/8" hole. If the overflow is only rated for 700gph, I'd upgrade. Even with 4' of head, the MagDrive 9.5 is rated at 800gph.