adding a sump

[nemirn]

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I have had my 10gal nano for about 2 years and have gotten to the point where I am tired of the constant maintenance associated with small water volumes.

I cannot, however, afford a bigger tank/lights/stand etc. and I want to keep the 10gal display tank.

Could this be achieved by simply adding water volume via a sump?
If so, what would be the easiest way to achieve this?

I'm thinking of devising or buying an overflow that would send the water down to a large plastic container containing a pump (not sure what kind I need) that sends the water back to the display tank. I could keep the heater in the sump as well as my Seachem clarifiers etc. This sump would not receive any light so a refugium partition is not part of the equation.

Would this also allow me to remove my HOB filter from the display tank and do my mechanical filtration inside the sump?
If so, what kind of apparatus would be good for this?
Would I also be able to do my water top-offs/changes directly from the sump?

Thank you!

 

[roblou]

Hi nemirn: I've never run a nano, but I don't see why you couldn't run a sump with one. I just added a sump to my 45g, which I did as follows:

1. external overflow box: I got mine from lifereef, however I think the one I got would be too big for a nano. perhaps you can find an external overflow box made for a nano???

2. plumbing from overflow to sump: I just used clear vinyl tubing (whatever size fit the fitting on the overflow box, 3/4" or 1" I can't remember right now)

3. sump: I used a standard 10g tank with no baffles. There are advantages to having baffles in the sump, but I was too lazy to do the work...

4. return pump: I used a spare rio 2500 I had laying around. Mine is an internal/submersible pump. You can also use an external pump, but that requires drilling a hole in your sump and the appropriate fittings... You'll want a return pump that is somewhat closely matched to your overflow box max flow rate. If you get a return pump that is slightly more flow than your overflow, you can use a ball valve between the pump and display to throttle the flow.

5. tubing from return pump back to display.

6. return U-tube: you can find these online, basically a plastic U-tube with a nozzle on the end you can use to direct the return flow.

I the sump I have the following:

1. skimmer: I used a spare coralife SS 125 I had laying around. Not the best skimmer, but way better than the CPR hang-on-back I was using before.

2. heater

3. ATO: I am using an auto-top off from autotopoff.com. I have a 5g bucket of RODI water attached to it, and the ATO keeps the water level in my sump constant. I have the ATO setup so it maintains water level of 8", which is perfect for my skimmer.

4. mesh bag: I put some carbon in a mesh bag & keep it in the sump

Yes, you can do your water changes directly from the sump.

HTH & good luck!

Rob

 

[nemirn]

Thanks for your reply! It helps me a lot.

 

[nemirn]

Do you have any suggesrtions on the diameter of the pipe/tubing I should use for the overflow and returns?

This is a 10 gallon tank about 2-2.5 feet about the sump.



Thanks!

 

[akunochi]

That will depend on your return pump. You are looking for 7-8x tunover...

 

[roblou]

In the case of the overflow, I just match the tubing size to the size of the fitting that comes with the overflow. If you're building your own overflow, I think you'd want 1.25" or 1.5" inner diameter (if using tubing).

In the case of the return, I am using 3/4" inner diameter tubing. But I think I could have used 1" as well.

In general, I believe for the overflow size, the bigger the better, and it should be bigger than the return. For the return, if you use a ball or gate valve to have control over the flow rate, then bigger is also good.

If you size your pipes/tubing bigger so they can handle more flow than your overflow box, then you'll know your pipes/tubing won't be a bottleneck. Then, you can use the ball or gate valve between the return pump & the display to control the flow rate (thus the valve acts as the bottleneck, which you have control over!).

HTH,

Rob

 

[nemirn]

That will depend on your return pump. You are looking for 7-8x tunover...

Cool, thanks. Now I know what to look for in a pump!

 

[nemirn]

In the case of the overflow, I just match the tubing size to the size of the fitting that comes with the overflow. If you're building your own overflow, I think you'd want 1.25" or 1.5" inner diameter (if using tubing).

In the case of the return, I am using 3/4" inner diameter tubing. But I think I could have used 1" as well.

In general, I believe for the overflow size, the bigger the better, and it should be bigger than the return. For the return, if you use a ball or gate valve to have control over the flow rate, then bigger is also good.

If you size your pipes/tubing bigger so they can handle more flow than your overflow box, then you'll know your pipes/tubing won't be a bottleneck. Then, you can use the ball or gate valve between the return pump & the display to control the flow rate (thus the valve acts as the bottleneck, which you have control over!).

HTH,

Rob

Thank you.

I was reading on www.beananimal.com about devising my own a failsafe overflow, so I think I will try that method and check it against your advice.

For my 10 gallon tank, how big should I make the overflow box?
Obviously, it has to be deep enough to accomodate the out-tubes.
But as far as width, I can't decide if it should be "coast-to-coast" (spanning the entire width of the tank) or smaller.... I don't know what difference it makes.

Thanks!

 

[roblou]

Hmm, that's a good question. I think another consideration on the size of the overflow box is the total volume. If it's too small, I think it may empty faster than water can flow back into it thru the overflow teeth (not 100% sure about that, but I think "too small" could be possible).

As far as "coast-to-coast" or smaller, I believe coast-to-coast will give you better overall surface skimming, but obviously takes up more space. In a nutshell, I think that's the major differences as far as width: performance vs asthetics.

FWIW, I have never had a coast-to-coast, but if I were to build a tank, I would probably do it unless there's some major drawback I'm not aware of...

 

[barrierreefcf]

For your return pump you might consider a Maxi-Jet 900 or 1200. Both can pump 2.5 ft high easily and they are very reliable and inexpensive. They produce very little heat which you want in a smaller system. They also accept 1/2" ID flexible tubing which you can adapt to 1/2" loc line outlet nozzles for directional control in the display. We use the 1200's on a couple different 30 gallon reefs. They only pump 1.5 ft high in our application which results in the higher flow rate needed for these tanks. At 2.5 ft I think either one would still easily provide the turnover rate you need.