Sump help!!!!

[carey]

LOL I agree, I get your point and mine. hehe....

Ok guys, now is the time to chime in!!

[Unicorn]

Hmmm.... Maybe I should mention that it is a pre-drilled tank and I'm not using a pump to get the water from tank to sump... Don't see that I mentioned it anywhere LOL

[cabezon]

I meant the ball valves on the overflows. They will get clogged with salt and fail. The valve on the pump is fine if you need to throttle down.

As far as one pump or two, it is less efficient for two. But water will only pass into the overflow as fast as the pump raises th water level. If the power quits the water will only drain to the level of the overflow. UNLESS your return has a siphon, wthout a siphon break.

[Unicorn]

Thx cabezon for the input

So, why is 2 less efficient than one? We bought 2 mag 7... Doubt one alone can handle the whole thing efficiently

[cabezon]

IIRC one larger pump will move more water per watt than two smaller ones. That's all. More heat, one more cord.

[Unicorn]

Hmmmmm.... Doubt one mag 7 by itself can handle that. And we already ordered... Well, guess I will have to see how it will work out and than maybe later switch to one bigger one >.<

[Smitty]

Two pumps will create more heat than just one pump will, that is something else to think about.

Also, I would get rid of the second "up" section of the bubble trap IMO. If bubbles make it that far then the second up won't do any good anyway and if the water level drops then you will have a waterfall effect that will create micro bubbles.

[Rscomia]

Originally Posted by Unicorn

I was wondering about that TOO lol
So much stuff to wonder about :-/
Well, we bought 2 Mag 7, and we have 2 overflows... Didn't want to go with a too strong of a pump incase of overflows being unable to handle water amount
The overflow directed to the refugium will have less flow than the other one... Hope it'll work out

I have a ball valve on my return which is normally wide open the way I control my return is I have a diversion pipe that comes back to my sump inlet with a ball valve in it to which I can adjust how much goes to my tank and how much comes back to my sump

[Ausfish]

The whole issue on how much goes into your sump and how much returns depends entirely on where the overflows are placed! If you drill a tank near the bottom it will keep draining until it reaches the level where the wholes are drilled. In this case, without a return pump you will have a flooded sump.

If the holes are drilled properly near the top water will drain until the water level is under the drilled holes and then stop. That's probably the safest option!

Canister filters are more dangerous because if there is a leak on the canister itself the U- shaped intake pipe that goes all the way to the bottom of the tank combined with the syphon will make sure you have a flood! Been there a while ago
In this case you have to make sure that the syphon breaks should the water level fall too low. Drilling a small hole in the return pipe just below the water level will do the trick and act like a "fail safe"

Hope that helps someone

Edit: sorry for the typos, **** auto correct!

[Unicorn]

Thx so much for all the input guys (and girls)!!!!

The tank is drilled on the bottom. 2 left and 2 right. I figured I will have PVC pipes all the way up where the intake is so it won't drain out everything, figured that would cause a disaster.

As for sump set up and pumps: it has already been done, silicone-d, and ordered. I just see how it goes and and then do adjustments accordingly... I'll let u know how it goes (or fails) LOL