dual sump

[peter101]

i'm building a sump for my 90 gal all glass.
because of the way i built my stand, with a solid divider in the middle, i am for to a maxium size-tank of the foot print of a 10 gallon. I will setup a dual sump, one a 16 gallon high, with bioballs, and the other a 10 gallon for skimmer, heater etc.
the way my sump will work is the water from the overflow hits a trickle tray and through the bioballs. the water then flows from the first sump, through about a 2-3 inch gap into the second sump where it is skimmed heated etc.
my question is on this 3 inch gap. the tanks will be side by side. how will i move the water from the fist sump into the second. i will be running a mag 9.5 return pump. does the flow of the powerhead have to be exactly the same as that of the return pump, with head pressure? or can the flow be different? i was thinkg of running a ac #802 powerhead just to move the water from the first gap to the second. what happens if the return pump cant keep up, and the powerhead sucks air, is this ok? also what with pvc should I use for my plumbing? i'm really a ditz when it comes to plumbing and basically dont know anything about it. what size pvc, bulk heads where? etc
here's a quick diagram of the layout, underneath my tank:
well i guess there is no diagram cuz its not working and i don't know how to load pictures

 

[loganj]

I'm sorry to say that there isn't any way you will be able to balance the two pumps. One of your sumps will eventually either run dry or overflow. A couple of possibilities come to mind... The best way would be to drill both sumps at the level that you want the first one to run at. Then connect them with a couple of bulkheads and a piece of PVC pipe. You could have them drilled in the back and run the pipe around the back of the stand divider. Or, you could have the taller one...the first one...drilled up high and have it dump into the second tank. The other way, and this one has a pretty high potential for disaster, would be to connect them with a siphon. This would work as long as you had a siphon of sufficient size. The danger is if the siphon breaks, the first sump will likely overflow while the second one with the return pump will run dry. The siphon would also limit you to having the water level about the same in both sumps.

 

[peter101]

im not sure if you missunderstood because of my shotty explaination but i would be able to drill a hole in the divider of the stand and connect the two tanks with pvc, like you suggested. the only difference is you suggested having the pvc run around the divider, but i will have the pvc go through the divider. my question is how will the water go from the first sump into the second? i could do it simply with the use of gravity. the weight of the water pushing outwards should be enough to move into the second sump if i were to drill a series of holes in the ends of each tank (maybe 3 2") and connect the two sumps with PVC?
If this wont work, i will have to run two sump independatly. Since there are two hole in my overflow, one for return, i will have to run the two sumps independatly using the two holes, and have the return come up and over the tank. this would of coarse make my sad but if it must be done it must be done.
i know it may be hard to understand, and i do have a diagram but am unable to load it. how do i upload images onto a post?

 

[loganj]

Yes, that'll work. I don't think you'll need three 2" lines though. I would think two 1 1/2" lines would be plenty. When you post, you should see at the bottom of the page, a line for attachments. You specify the file from your system and click "add attachment". As long as it isn't too large, it should upload with your post. I can't remember what the max size is though . If you can't get it to work, you can email it to me at loganj01 @ alltel.net and I'll upload and/or resize it for you.

 

[peter101]

great thanx,
im getting my two sumps drilled now. i've opted to go with 2 1" holes because of the thinness on the glass on the 10 gallon. i'll acctually be runnign a mag 12 for return as i got a relativly good deal on it. (only 10 bucks more than the 9.5). i will run the 12 externally and soft plumb it from the sump. PVCed all the way back to the overflow.
i'll have 2 peices of about 5-6" long flex tube running from the first sump to the next, and a 2.5" frame raising the first sump off the ground. the pump i'll be using for the skimmer need 4.5" of water to run so the holes on the 10 gallon will be drilled at 5".
as long as i stay on top of adding water back into the tank it sould work out fien.
thanx for the help,
peter