flow control to/from sump

[KLN]

With a standard glass aquarium, not drilled for plumbing, how do you control the flow to and from a sump? How is the flow to and from balanced? How do you keep the return from over-filling the main tank? How do you re-start the siphon if it reaches the hole drilled to break it after a power loss?

Dumb questions, I know, but I can't figure it out conceptually.

Thanks.

[fishfreek]

how do you control the flow to and from a sump?

Plumbing. BUt I know thats not the question. If your not using a drilled tank then you need a hang on overflow sometimes called a prefilter to take the water from in the tank to outside the tank. From there it goes down to the sump via pvc or hose.

How is the flow to and from balanced? How do you keep the return from over-filling the main tank?

The easiest thing to do is make sure your overflow is rated for more GPH than your return pump. That way you dont have to worry about balancing it since the overflow can only drain water out of the tank as fast as the pump is filling the tank. should you run into problems where you inproperly sized the overflow or pump you could install a ball valve on the pumps return plumbing to slow the flow. Depending on the pump this could shorten the life of the pump.

How do you re-start the siphon if it reaches the hole drilled to break it after a power loss?

The "U" tube style overflow will start up automaticly as long as the U tube ends stay under water. If the U tube says full of water then it will start teh spyhon automaticly when power is restored. If the U tube is empty of water, ie one end became exposed to air, then the syphon will not start and you will have to be there to start it or have a very wet floor.

A common overflow is sold by CPR is a Clam shell style overflow and it should have a powerhead attached to help keep the C shell overflow from filling with air. I dont like this type so i recommend the U tube style to anyone needing a hang on overflow.

[BillyZ]

How do you re-start the siphon if it reaches the hole drilled to break it after a power loss?

This hole is only on the return/pump side of the system. This is to prevent the return side from syphoning out water in the event of a power loss. There should be no hole on the overflow/out side of the system.

[fishfreek]

Thanks for the further clarification.