Zenoah1439
Well-known member
I'm thinking about pursuing a sump setup on my tank to help hide some equipment below my stand. Only thing is i would want to try building one myself. I spent about 3 years doing a re-power on a Triumph TR4 with a blown engine because i didn't want to buy a "new convertible". Putting a newer Miata engine in the car wasn't so much about being cheaper, it was more about being able to talk to people who say "that car does't sound like an old tractor??". Maybe its pride, maybe its stubborn, maybe I like constantly asking myself why i started this project, who knows. Anyways, long story about being stuck in my ways i guess lol.
Back to the point at hand. I currently have a HOB filter on the back of my 40G breeder and am looking to add a Protein Skimmer but don't want it hanging off the back, or have a bunch more hoses running to and from the tank if i can avoid it. The tank sits behind a couch with all 4 sides exposed, so i don't have a "hidden" side of the tank where i can run a bunch of lines without obstructing the view from somewhere. My hope is to be able to "build" an overflow or weir setup off the existing area where the HOB sits now and then put the HOB in the sump. I'd construct it from mostly clear Acylite, but also have black in the upper areas to help stem the algae growth. Be aware that I do fully understand that the use of clear elements in a fish tank is a recipe for algae growth and I fully accept the cleaning needed to truly keep everything "clear". I'm struggling with what to do though, and have a few concerns i was hoping to get help with:
In the worst case, I may just move the tank against a wall and run everything on the newly "hidden" side of the tank lol, but that just seems like giving up somehow...
Back to the point at hand. I currently have a HOB filter on the back of my 40G breeder and am looking to add a Protein Skimmer but don't want it hanging off the back, or have a bunch more hoses running to and from the tank if i can avoid it. The tank sits behind a couch with all 4 sides exposed, so i don't have a "hidden" side of the tank where i can run a bunch of lines without obstructing the view from somewhere. My hope is to be able to "build" an overflow or weir setup off the existing area where the HOB sits now and then put the HOB in the sump. I'd construct it from mostly clear Acylite, but also have black in the upper areas to help stem the algae growth. Be aware that I do fully understand that the use of clear elements in a fish tank is a recipe for algae growth and I fully accept the cleaning needed to truly keep everything "clear". I'm struggling with what to do though, and have a few concerns i was hoping to get help with:
- If i go with a weir, it sounds like even if i use a venturi draw system at the upper portion of the weir to draw air out after a power failure, it may not be 100% guaranteed to restart suction which would cause overflow of the tank. Is this true that restarting the weir after power failures isn't a guarantee with a venturi connect to the return line? if not, am i correct that i'd be "all wet" if it failed and the return pump kept going? I'd "like" to use a weir since it does't involve any new holes in the tank, but am worried about their reliability after a power outage.
- If i don't go with a weir, it sounds like my only real choice is to drill holes in the back of my tank. I'm a little concerned since this is my only tank, so in the event that a mistake happened and the glass broke, I would assume the fishes would die in the time it would take to try and fix the problem (aka not a good idea), unless i'm willing to buy a spare tank for the "just in case". How difficult is it really to put a hole through the glass? What are my odd's of getting "all wet" int he process?
- If i do successfully get the holes in the tank, then i run into problems of making/deciding on an overflow tank with the theoretical guarantee of preventing a flood in the event of a power outage. I've read about standard overflows, something called a BeanAnimal (which seemed like a pretty good setup), and some other setup (forget the name) that had 3 downpipes in different arrangements (i think it was a SOS silent overflow system or something). Which of these would be the least "obtrusive" to stare at on the tank while still being reliable? I could build the piping from clear PVC for aesthetic appeal although this goes back to the algae growth problems.
- Being that I'm an engineer, I tend to take a whole bunch of ideas, think about how cool it might be to group them all together and get a perfect and ideal solution, over analyze, and then realize that Willy Wonka can't actually send chocolate through the TV (Bad joke maybe). Sometimes the ideal solution does't exist and maybe this is one of those cases. By your opinion (your = anyone who's played with sumps and overflows) is it being unrealistic to think theres a sump delivery system which would be good on the eye while also being rock solid reliable? If your opinion is that it is unrealistic, I'm 100% fine with hearing. Just looking for some input from the pro's.
In the worst case, I may just move the tank against a wall and run everything on the newly "hidden" side of the tank lol, but that just seems like giving up somehow...
