finaly getting a sump. have ?'s and WTB

[fishieness]

hello everyone. I was finaly able to convince my mom to let me get a sump. she was afraid taht the extra wieght would make my tank fall through the cieling.... well.... me standing next to my tank would be about the same as adding an extra 20 gallons of water. so i have a few questions. since i have everything in my tank, and woudl rather not have to risk loosing anything, i just want to have a HOB overflow with a U-tube. i figure it would run 700-850 gph on my 40 breeder. the tank is 4 feet above the ground. i figure a mag 7 should do the trick? or should i do a 9.5? and as far as pluming, im just going to run some silicone (quieter) tubes that will split off of some PVC. a larger one running to my sump area, and a smaller one running to a refugium.
my main questions are:
-do you think a mag 7 or a mag 9.5 would be best for 700-850 gph?
-do you have anything to sell that would help me out? a pump or overflow box or tubing or fittings?

[ctopal]

I'm putting together mine for a 30 sump on a 90 at the moment. I went for a 700gph overflow and the people I got that from (lifereef) suggested a mag 9.5 for it. They actually sold me everything, tubes, clamps, and ball valve. But I don't know if that's due to the size of my tank versus yours, but I think the return pump has to be rated higher than the overflow, maybe someone else could confirm that.

[hans1976]

Based on the head loss calculator (http://reefcentral.com/calc/hlc2.php?submitted=1&VerticalLength=4&HorizontalLength=0&PipeDiameter=1&PumpID=4&Elbows90=0&Elbows45=0&GateValves=0&BallValves=0&Couplings=0&CheckValves=0&Exits=1&Entrances=1), running a mag 7 up 4' with a 1" pipe and without any elbows, will give you 462 GPH of flow. I would go with the 9.5.

As for the overflow itself, people seem to feel good about the hurrican overflows.

Anyone have hurricane overflow boxes? (http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=732143)

[fishieness]

thanks! do you think i should go with the 600 or the 1200? im thinking the 600 since i just bought a wavemaker, it would be nice to use that. lol

[Rockym]

I would go with the 600. I just did for my 45.

[fishieness]

thanks. and then do you think a mag 9.5 would do well?

[mr pink floyd]

im goign to start a 10 gallon sump, im gonna run it right mnext to my 29, so i wont need too powerfull pumps, i will pump the water otu of the tank, cuz its not drilled, and i dont trust overflow siphons, and i will pump it back with a slightly larger pump, i will use probably 1/4 inch acrylic to make my baffles in the sump, i will use 3 to seperate the fuge part from the sump part, i will ptu carbon, adn othwer media in between the baffles, about 1 inch apart, there are 3, i will put he heather, and if i can fit it the skimemr which i am going to get in the sump too!

i will pump in and out using 1 inch vynil tubing, so i will have less head loss, and i can move the pumps for cleaning wihtout worrying about preaking PVC, simple and cheap, iwill cut the tubing, and put in 2 baqll valves, maybe just one, on the return if it goes to fast for the smaller pump to pump in, i will keep the tubing in place wiht heater suction cups, and in the tank, i will eigther run it into the middle, or put it in a corner facing out to the far corner, i will put a 90 in PVC and run it into a Y to diffuse the flow a little, maybe put on some flare nozzles, to direct flow, once i get a job, the plan is T5 and some SPS.

fishy, you send me your plans and pumps and stuff, ill send you mine, well compare ideas if you want, kind of piggyback eachother

[fishieness]

let me see if i can find them. i built some plans a few months ago, then my mom said no. lol But yeah, if i had the means, id put my fuge over my tank or right next to it. that way i wouldnt need a too powerful pump, and as long as the water levels are equal, there is no change of an overflow. not a bad idea. however, then you will notice fluctuations in your water levels of your main tank. let me see if i can find my old plans or make some new ones and ill get back to you.

[Fiziksgeek]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6829626#post6829626 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ctopal
I think the return pump has to be rated higher than the overflow, maybe someone else could confirm that.

I am pretty sure its the opposite. Your overflow must be able to handle more flow then your return pump is capable of. If it was like you said, your return pump would empty the sump faster then the overflow could refill it. So your pump would run dry (cause the sump is empty), and you might just overflow the tank!


Bottom line, the overflow has to be able to handle more gph then your return pump can provide at the given head pressure.

[fishieness]

i thought it was the other way.... because if yoru overflow is higher, then it will keep pumping down until your water level is higher in your sump or goes below the teeth and breaks siphone. but if you haaad a pump larger, then it will pump up more so more water will flow over the teeth of the overflow. this is how i interpreted it however.


so does anyone have any overflows/pumps for sale? i might jsut get a mag 9.5 and a hurricane unless i can get a deal here. or does anyone happen to have some fittings such as ball valves, ect? something to make a spray bar? anyone know of anything that i can use to route water bcack into my tank while spreading it out?

[tsquad]

You want your drain to be able to handle anything the pump is pumping. If you had a 3000gph pump, but only one 1.5" bulkhead drain (drains ~1200gph), you would be screwed.

[Rockym]

Go to HD for the ball valves and fittings they're cheap. I would also get a couple of unions if you hard pipe it. Set the water level in your sump low enough so that it will hold all the excess water above your overflow(for when the pump fails), and set your tank level low enough to hold all your pumpable sump water for when your overflow fails (believe your Mom will apreciate this). Good luck.

[fishieness]

what should i use to cut my plexi glass for the sump? one of my friends (the one who owns the table saw) suggested that it might chip it. anyoen have any experience?

[Rockym]

Use a plywood blade (many small teeth). I put a 7" one on my 10" table saw just to cut plexi, works great.

[markywmson]

if you just keep the paper on the plexi, and cut with a fine toothed blade... table saw or whatever, and take your time, everything will cut nicely. we have been making our own sumps from acrylic, and i used a finishing blade (80 teeth) on my saw, and it was very nice.

[NoSchwag]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6835238#post6835238 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by fishieness
what should i use to cut my plexi glass for the sump? one of my friends (the one who owns the table saw) suggested that it might chip it. anyoen have any experience?

I use a scraper thing to score the plexi a few times then I snap it. Works perfectly. The scraper thing is probably sold right by where the plexi is.

http://www.reddevil.com/productDetail.cfm?id=1170RT&c=gt&cat=13

http://www.reddevil.com/images/1170RT.jpg

[fishieness]

i thought about scoring it, but i have 1/4 inch plexi, so im jsut a little worried that i wouldnt score enou;gh and it woudl snap out of line.

[sttroyiii]

How does a continuous siphon overflow fail? Im not talking about the overflows that use a tube to get over the top of the tank, Im talking about the weir(?) type that use a channel as wide as the overflow itself. I can see how a tube could get clogged, but not the channel type. I guess I am talking about the kind melev makes.

[fishieness]

i think youa re talking about the CPR style disign? because bubbles get caught in them.