Garage Sump Questions?

[beerfish89]

I'm thinking of putting the sump in the garage in a new setup and am trying to get my head around how to plumb the tank to the sump. I assume you would pump water out then back in? Any recommendations on pump or pumps? I am setting up a 90 with a 75 sump about 5 feet away in garage. Thanks for any suggestions.

[Sparkss]

You drain from the tank to the sump and pump back to the tank. Therefore your sump must be lower than your tank, which is usually not a problem since almost all tanks are on stands. Drain == use gravity, never use a pump to pump water out of your tank to your sump, unless your sump is above your tank and drains back into it, that is :). You would never be able to safely calibrate 2 pumps to match in and out flow, even if they were the exact same manufacturer and model.

As for pumping the water back up to your tank, the horizontal distance is not as critical as the vertical distance for determining the pump you would want to use. Figure out your desired flow through rate, factor in your head pressure (different for each pump, and should be listed by the pump manufacturer).

Best of luck to you :)

[Crusty Old Shellback]

Just a little to add since I think he covered most of it. If you place the sump on the concrete floor, you can use that as a heat sink to cool down the water. ;)

Only bad part is then you have to heat it up during the winter. So you have to weigh the options. Heater in the winter or chiller in the summer. It all depends on where you live.