Sump thoughts have me up in the middle of the night

[elzool]

The thought of having an overflow has me worried.

I thought I was set, I thought I was ready, but the more I think about it, the more I like the idea of a sump with protein skimmer, heaters, etc inside instead of a canister and having everything in the tank.

I was going to buy a Fluval 404.... but then I kept thinking.. how would I add a protein skimmer after the fact? I'd have to use a hot, if I use that, then the tank has to sit out further from the wall. If the tank has to sit futher from the wall we have placement issues, if we have placement issues, etc...

Is there anything that can prevent overflow period?
Some magic tool or potion?

I would be buying a sump and not making my own. My 75g tank is not drilled nor is it reef ready. I am ordering the tank through a lfs and may consider asking them to change my order to a rr tank.

Any thoughts on this before I lose all my good marbles?

 

[localhost]

I'm scared of an overflow also and won't try it yet. The best thing I've heard is to use a float switch for the sump pump and hook the U tube in the overflow to the venturi input on a powerhead to help keep a syphon going. I'd love to have a sump/fuge, but just not brave enough yet.

The scariest thing I've heard recently is somebody's overflow losing siphon and since the heater was in the sump, the main tank's temp crashed and killed everything. I guess that's just a risk even with a drilled tank if the sump pump dies and you have to way to heat the water.

 

[elzool]

I'm wondering about using a ups so I don't have to worry about power outages.

What else can go wrong if I have a constant source of power supplied?

Pumps die, sure, but I can always have another on hand.... anything else?

The scariest thing I've heard recently is somebody's overflow losing siphon and since the heater was in the sump, the main tank's temp crashed and killed everything. I guess that's just a risk even with a drilled tank if the sump pump dies and you have to way to heat the water.

My thought on the heater is to use two, I wondered about both in the sump or one in the sump and one in the tank.

 

[Biggen]

elzool - You would be better off with a drilled tank. Your LFS may do it for you. If not, you can typically take it to any glass shop and they will drill it for a fee. Normally it isn't more than $15 to drill the hole. See if the LFS can get you your 75 already drilled from the manufacturer if you don't want to bother having it drilled. A RR tank is much easier to deal with.

I currently have a non-drilled tank with a sump. I bought a CPR overflow 3 years ago ( C-Style overflow ) that I would not recommend. While it has never overflowed, there is a better overflow on the market that is much safer. It is made by LifeReef http://www.lifereef.com/siphon.html. Most LFS stock them and if they don't you can buy them online.

 

[Brenden]

Get a rr tank. If you set your sump up correctly you will not have to worry about power outages.

 

[elzool]

Get a rr tank. If you set your sump up correctly you will not have to worry about power outages.

How will I know if I set it up correctly? No water on the floor?

Any commercial units that can be recommended for a 75g tank would be appreciated.

 

[Brenden]

How will I know if I set it up correctly?

Kill the power and see what happens. I kill the power to my sump every time I feed. It is set up correctly so water overflowing is not a issue.

 

[seaham358]

your getting things confused...
Overflow or overflow box is the item where people have had flooding issues.
A drilled tank or reef ready is totaly different then a Overflow box.
I have never heard of anyone having flooding issues with a RR or drilled tank. They only way it could happen is if you have you water level too high in the sump and the drain back from the tank overflows the sump. Or if a fitting is not glued or clamped right.
Most sumps have a line that is a fill line. Just make sure you get a sump rated/large enough for you tank.
Sump IMO is the best way to go with a drilled or reef ready tank. The overflow boxes work but they can lose syphon and thats where the flooding issue comes from.

 

[elzool]

I kill the power to my sump every time I feed. It is set up correctly so water overflowing is not a issue.

See that makes too much sense.

your getting things confused...
Overflow or overflow box is the item where people have had flooding issues.
A drilled tank or reef ready is totaly different then a Overflow box.

This is where the internet is not so hot, you can read and read and read, but if you don't get specific information like this, you don't know. Since I've yet to experience this setup, I had no idea, but now, just based on you saying that, other things I've read make a lot more sense.

Thanks!

 

[AndyH5512]

I did what Brenden said. When I got my first big tank, I had the HOB overflow going to my wet/dry. I couldnt understand why it would not overflow if there was a power loss, whic worried me. So, I killed the power and watched what happened. As long as your sump is large enough for your tank, and not overfilled to begin with, you will not have an overflow. Try it.

 

[tecwzrd]

Technically a rr tank with a build in overflow could still flood if the overflow became blocked by something large like a snail. I had seen this happen with a friend’s 120 gal rr tank and 55 gal sump which dumped about 10 gal of tank water on the floor before we noticed. It can be easily prevented by using a pre-filter screen and is still better then using an overflow box.

 

[zenn]

Get the RR tank if you still can...you'll thank yourself later on.

 

[elzool]

I did it! I did it!
I ordered a 75g Oceanic Reef Ready tank.

I went to the lfs last night and asked them if I could change the regular 75g tank I ordered that was due in Friday to a rr tank and they said, Sure, we can make that happen. So now I'll have a rr tank.

No hassles, they just did it. I really expected to have to pay a restocking fee or something with such short notice, but they were happy to help. I'm sure they were happy about the extra money too, but the customer service there has been wonderful. In case anyone cares, the shop is Fins & Friends in Phoenix.

I feel so much better about this than a hot device. So much.

This AM I've been looking at sumps, pumps and ps. After adding up the cost of all the parts I'm thinking of spending a little more and purchasing a Lifereef LF1-125 since it appears to be a unit with everything in it that I need. Plus room for more should I ever want it. I can't find anything bad anyone has said about the products, so I might be on the right track.

Does anyone know of any other 'all inclusive' systems out there?

This forum and it's users have been so helpful with everything, I can't believe how much more I think I know now. I'm pretty sure that by going with a rr tank and a Lifereef unit I'll be saving money in the long run. I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[tecwzrd]

$889.00 for a 17 gal sump!! You could save about $500+ by DIY. Especially since you aren’t too limited by the stand size (48 x 19 x 22). A 29/40 gal tank should fit (around $40-$60), a quality sump skimmer like the ASM G2 ($234), & a return pump like the Mag 9.5($68 ), along with various pvc and Loc-Line outlets and you could DIY for around $400 or less.

Just a thought

Congrats on the RR tank

 

[ColdFish]

Definetly agree with Tecwzrd on going DIY. A 20L tank is even bigger than what you're looking at, and would be adequate size for your 72. That would cost next to nothing. You could cut some glass baffles and silicone them in where you want them. Only major expense would be your skimmer and with all the money you saved you get a really nice one

 

[elzool]

Good grief work sure gets in the way sometimes.

Thanks for the replies... it sure got me thinking.
I'm guessing I could do this... I hope.

Based on the interior measurements it looks like I could fit a 30g 36x12x16 tank in there.

Looks like the tank and glass baffles are the cheapest part. Then I need a skimmer, return pump and various plumbing supplies? What is the loc line used for?

Hope the folks in the DIY forum don't mind a million questions. I've been doing searches and reading and think the part I'll need the most help with is the spacing of the baffles. Doesn't look like there are any hard and fast rules about this, but if someone else has done it before and it worked, that seems like a good direction to start in.

Thanks for making me think about this a little more.

Guess I'm off to DIY land.

 

[elzool]

Great, this is just super.

Too many choices.

It's like going to a restaurant with 100 things on the menu when there should only be three and two should be tripe.

Ok, so I'm designing/laying out/stealing these sump plans and I find out my lfs has a used All-Glass MegaFlow model 3 sump that one of the customers whose tank they maintain just traded in for something bigger. It's not six months old and they only want $125. It wouldn't give me a fuge, but it would be a nice solution that is almost ready to go. Larger capacity than the lifereef I had been looking at, but still, not as complete as the diy I was looking at as there is no room for a fuge and might be limited in the amount of room for a skimmer. I'll be stopping by after work to look at it.

Hmm, I just realized I have store credit there too that would would make it free.
Arrgh... too many choices.

I'll just take the tripe.