using a canister filter with no sump

[woogy]

I see people on here that run just a canister filter with no sump with awsome looking tanks. I do have a sump but it is not up and running due to my be probably being a idiot because I can't find out how to plumb it from the overflow box to the sump. The OD of the hole in the bottom of the overflow box is 1 1/4" and the tubing to fit over this is quite big...even though they tell me I can use 1/2" tubing???...but anyways I know the sump hides equipment from being on display in the main tank, which was the main reason for me purchasing one. Anyhow, I would like to know what type of media people use in the canister filter and what kind of filter.

[lark]

I originally set up my tank with no sump. I also originally intended it to be FOWLR.

That was 1999.

Here is what I know: (1) You eventually will want a sump. (2) You eventually will want it to be a full-blown reef tank.

The only real questions are how much money and trouble you spend and go through getting there if you set it up with a cannister filter now. The resources are out there on how to set up a sump. In fact, they up there at the stickies on this very board. This sited is also great: http://www.melevsreef.com/ At the end of the day, this is a hobby where reading and learning first, and doing second, will make you happy in the long-run. Figuring out how to set up a sump with an overflow is only the first of many things you'll need to figure out, and if you're unable or don't have adequate time to do that first step, you're not going to be able to figure out the other stuff either.

Plumbing a sump is pretty easy, actually. Don't be intimidated. It's very unlikely you'd be using 1/2" tubing. You are going to run a line from your overflow box to your sump, and then a line back up into the tank from your pump. Make sure you are not pumping water back into your tank faster than you can drain it. Make sure you have adequate space in your sump that if the pump goes off the water draining back into it will not overflow the sump. Make sure you add water to your system at a rate that will not allow the sump pump to remain dry. Those are the basics. Good luck.

[Aquarist007]

have a look at
Tswifty's build , seems very similar to what you are asking:

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1310919

there are some great ideas and pics on this thread too

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1310919

[woogy]

I have already posted a thread about plumbing my sump and I have looked at melev's sumps hundreds of times...I know it may be my stupidity but if the OD is 1 1/4" then how to I connect this to a 1" bulkhead? Here are the links to my sump:

http://www.catalinaaquarium.com/information.php?info_id=15

I know this may be an inferior product but, but the part where it says:

Insert the male adapter pipe inside the overflow. Place the rubber washer around the male threads outside the overflow. Screw in the female adapter pipe.

Well I never had to do this because this was already put together so I think???

[Aquarist007]

I am surprised Tswifty has not seen this post yet---perhaps you should email him---he has got most of the plumbing issues covered on this site

[lark]

A little more information might be helpful. But where you might be getting hung up is on the difference between inside diameter and outside diameter of PVC.

When you hear the size of a pvc pipe or fitting, this is referring to an approximation of the inside diameter. The outside diameter of a particular pipe or of the part of a fitting where it fits is always constant -- it has to be because this is how it is uniform. But it is NOT the same as the common name of the pipe. For example, a piece of 1" pvc pipe has an OD of about 1.25". This will always be standard -- so a "one inch" fitting (like an elbow or a bulkhead) will be made to accept a pipe with an OD of about 1.25". The inside diameter of a 1" pipe is not exactly 1". Actually, it could be many things, it depends on the wall thickness. A 1" schedule 80 pipe has a small ID than a 1" schedule 40 pipe, but they have the exact same OD.

So, in any event, if the bulkhead sold with that sump/overflow kit is a 1" bulkhead, it will have a socket designed to fit a 1" pipe, which will have an OD of about 1.25". Similarly, the bulkhead in the sump looks to be a 1" bulkhead, so it should all work. I think what would work best for that application is something called "spa flex." It's flexible hose sold in sizes that match up with PVC fittings. You can get it at your local store like Home Depot or Lowe's or smaller hardware store. Get a length of 1" spa flex and it should fit fine in those fittings. Alternatively, you could get some hose barbs (again 1"). Use adapters to glue them to your bulkheads, and then run 1" vinyl tubing between the two bulkheads. Good luck.

[Tswifty]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12360133#post12360133 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by woogy
Insert the male adapter pipe inside the overflow. Place the rubber washer around the male threads outside the overflow. Screw in the female adapter pipe.

Well I never had to do this because this was already put together so I think???
This is just how your bulkhead connects to the overflow box. Most places will ship these uninstalled becuase if the box is bumped it can cause the unit to fracture easier.

If your bulkhead is installed tightly, your in business.

As far as connecting 2 pipes of different lengths, you will want to look for a bushing which meets those 2 requirements.

Here's a quick sketch of what I think you are asking about:

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/ll128/tswifty8/untitled1.jpg

[Tswifty]

Also I am an advocate for a sump/refugium over a canister filter.

Larger water volume...
more room to house/grow pods...
natural filtration...
Hides heater, skimmer, and any other equipment that would usually be in the display tank

Also, you can connect additional media reactors for any type of media you would like (I use phosban and carbon) in reactors that are specically fabricated to maximize the use of the media.

For the record... I use a junky $20 U-Tube overflow box on my 55g tank... Works just as well as any of the others.

The overflow box (I fabricated the pipe inside the box to vent air, because the drain was quite loud... this silenced it)

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/ll128/tswifty8/fl4.jpg

Inside the tank (I am using 2 u-tubes to increase flow, and also act as a safety in case one would become clogged or fail)

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/ll128/tswifty8/fl3.jpg

I just plumbed this about a week or 2 ago... It will function as a fuge only, and I'm using an AquaC Remora HOB Protein Skimmer.

There will not be sand in it, because it's primary function will be Nitrate and Phosphate reduction, not pod growth. (In case you were wondering why there is no substrate in it)

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/ll128/tswifty8/b2.jpg

Hope all that helps

[woogy]

isn't the bulkhead supposed to be black becuase I don't see one in my overflow box??...just a pipe that comes up inside the overflow box that is surronded by another pipe and at the bottom of the box there is another pipe which comes down thicker on top and then smaller at the bottom which comes to 1 1/4"...now if I put this big of a tubing on the box how do this fit to my 1" bulkhead on the sump?

was this made wrong??? should I just get a different overflow box...becuase all the other overflow boxes that I see have a bulkhead screwed into the bottom of the overflow box which I see that the threads are inside the bulkhead...then I should get a female adapter to screw into this and connect tubing with a clamp...right?

[Tswifty]

Are you able to take a picture of your box... like the actual product you have in your possession.

It would help out a lot

[lark]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12360441#post12360441 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by woogy
isn't the bulkhead supposed to be black becuase I don't see one in my overflow box??...just a pipe that comes up inside the overflow box that is surronded by another pipe and at the bottom of the box there is another pipe which comes down thicker on top and then smaller at the bottom which comes to 1 1/4"...now if I put this big of a tubing on the box how do this fit to my 1" bulkhead on the sump?

was this made wrong??? should I just get a different overflow box...becuase all the other overflow boxes that I see have a bulkhead screwed into the bottom of the overflow box which I see that the threads are inside the bulkhead...then I should get a female adapter to screw into this and connect tubing with a clamp...right?

If it's like what's being shown in the picture in the link you sent is, in fact, a bulkhead. It's just a different type of bulkhead than you're used to. It's a two part bulkhead -- basically a male fitting and a female fitting that screw into each other on either side of the bottom of your overflow, with a gasket in between.

If the socket on the part of this device on the bottom of your bulkhead is in fact about 1.25" then it is a 1" bulkhead. A 1" pipe should fit in it. And it should also fit in the bulkhead in your sump.

Unless the bulkhead in your sump is threaded, in which case you'll need an adapter that goes from threaded to socket. Have you taken a 1" piece of pvc and tried to put it in both bulkheads? I bet it will fit.

[HABS#1]

Our 31 gal has a Fluva 205 on it with fluval brand carbon and RowaPhos and ceramic biodisks. The Marineland for the 75 Gal will have bioballs RowaPhos black diamond carbon in it and ceramic biodisks and that will be all I run in it.

[woogy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12360550#post12360550 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by lark
If it's like what's being shown in the picture in the link you sent is, in fact, a bulkhead. It's just a different type of bulkhead than you're used to. It's a two part bulkhead -- basically a male fitting and a female fitting that screw into each other on either side of the bottom of your overflow, with a gasket in between.

If the socket on the part of this device on the bottom of your bulkhead is in fact about 1.25" then it is a 1" bulkhead. A 1" pipe should fit in it. And it should also fit in the bulkhead in your sump.

Unless the bulkhead in your sump is threaded, in which case you'll need an adapter that goes from threaded to socket. Have you taken a 1" piece of pvc and tried to put it in both bulkheads? I bet it will fit.

I appreciate everyone's concern...but I didn't want to use pvc because I didn't wan to get into cutting etc...also the seller of the sump from ebay said I would need only 1/2" tubing of wither vinyl or pvc and my sump would be ready to go...here's the link to that:

http://cgi.ebay.com/75-Gallon-Aquarium-Sump-Refugium-Wet-Dry-Filter-Bio_W0QQitemZ130213343115QQihZ003QQcategoryZ46310QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

but like I said the part was already pre-assembled...there was no male adapter to screw into a female adapter

also here is somewhat of a pic of the overflow box:

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/152467mini-mini-DCFC0028.JPG