Returning water from sump to tank with external pump

[jmwooden]

I have a 90 gal RR tank with the overflow box in the corner.

I would like to use an external in-line magnetic pump to return the water from my sump to the tank. Specifically, I am thinking using it take the water from the sump and pass it through a UV sterilizer before returning to the tank.

Is there a way to plumb it into the sump without drilling a hole in the bulkhead? (I don't have a predrilled hole there). Or would it be better to just get a submersible pump.

I have heard that the magnetic drive external pump might be quiteter, longer lived, and contribute less heat to the system.

thanks,
Jason

 

[twilliard]

Is your sump acrylic?
The best way to do it is to drill a hole for a bulkhead for your return pump.

I have done it both ways. But a submersible gets bulky, noisy, and does add heat.

 

[Krish]

I agree...If you want to use an external pump, then you will more than likely have to drill and add a bulkhead. The fact that you want to pass it through a UV sterilizer first before going to the tank means your flow may be limited some as UV sterilizers require a certain gph of flow passing through it for it to work properly. With that said, depending on what flow your UV requires, there are many submersible pumps out there that you can use that won't add really any noticeable heat to the tank and are quiet that you can use. I guess you'll have to let us know what flow you are working with so we can know what pump to recommend and which route you should take (i.e submersible or external)

 

[keener1830]

If you want to pass it through a U/V you could split the return and have a valve on the supply side the U/V is on so you can control the water flow to the U/V. This way there would be no back pressure on your pump and the u/v would be working on your water system. it would look like this
I___________
I**********I
I*********UV
I___Valve____I
I
I_____________from sump
<------
hope it helps and I didn't confuse ignore the * they are just taking up space

 

[RocketScientist]

So, if you put an external pump in why do you have to drill a hole in the sump. I'm presuming that the system is already in use. Can't you just put a piece of PVC tube into the sump vertically and then use three elbows and PVC pipe segments to plumb into the external pump?

 

[Krish]

So, if you put an external pump in why do you have to drill a hole in the sump. I'm presuming that the system is already in use. Can't you just put a piece of PVC tube into the sump vertically and then use three elbows and PVC pipe segments to plumb into the external pump?

I think the reason why people don't do it the way you described it is because pumps won't feed like that without being primed somehow ... Much more trouble and not as practical IMO

 

[jmwooden]

Twilliard - The sump is acrylic with 2 major compartments.

Krish75 - the flow rate I am looking to achieve for the tank is 700-800 gph.

The UV sterilizer is a Turbo-Twist 6x 18 watt U.V. Sterilizer and has a 200gph min / 400 gph max flow rate.

I am just setting this settting this up, so I am not yet committed to going with an external vs. submerged. Just trying to see what will work best with the used sump I bought.

 

[Krish]

Well, if your not committed yet, from what I understand, Eheim makes great submersible pumps that are quiet, and don't produce any real noticeable heat and are very efficient so I'd look into them. You could either use it as suggested above in the diagram by splitting the flow to kill 2 birds with one stone or you can run the UV sterilizer through the output of a canister filter if you are using one or just buy a smaller pump to re-circulate the water in the sump through the UV sterlizer and keep the external pump just for return flow to the tank. Many ways to go about it...You'll just have to choose the route that suits you best

Here's a link to some Eheim pumps to give you a few ideas
http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=Eheim

 

[jmwooden]

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions.

I'm going to try the eheim submerged pump for the return from sump.

 

[DonW]

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions.

I'm going to try the eheim submerged pump for the return from sump.

Good choice. Very reliable and easy.

Don