peter101
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
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
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