need sump advice

[alex8111]

I have a 80 gallon saltwater tank which is currently going thru the nitrogen cycle. Everything is going great so far.

As I’m educating myself about this hobby, I came across sump. I know it is a very important element to keeping a healthy reef tank which I want to do.

However, I have no real knowledge on how to setup a small sump. I cant find any steps to go about setting something up when I search the net – everything seems a bit complicated.

have the following questions:

Since my tank is already running, is it too late to setup a sump? Do I need to empty the tank to add the sump? The reason I ask is because I notice that a hole needs to be drilled in the main tank.

What is the simplest way to setup a sump without drilling a hole in the main tank?

I have a huge fear of running pumps because I feel that a flood is inevitable. How can two pumps work perfectly together. The smallest problem could result in a flood right? So I assume that running pumps to push the water up from the sump and one to push it down to the sump is not an option at all.

What options do I have? I don’t want anything fancy. Im just looking for the easiest (cheapest if possible) way to get water from the sump to the main tank (and vice versa) without flooding.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[1979camaro]

You need a HOB Overflow Box. You don't need to drill the tank to use one of these devices. It will allow water to drain from the display tank without a pump. You then run a pump in the sump to return water to the display tank. This means you do not have to run two pumps which, as you noted, will result in an overflow.

 

[KahluaZzZ]

also need a powerhead or pump to drain air bubbles trapped in the "U" tubing of the overflow or i garantee it's gonna flood.

 

[TRe]

i didnt really understand the whole thing until i read everything on this site

 

[alex8111]

Thanks for all the responses.

I got an overflow box. The U tube kind. It seems to be working perfectly but I do see a big bubble in the tube. How do I get that bubble out?

How will using a powerheaed remove that bubble and where is it supposed to be placed?

Thanks for all the help.

 

[KahluaZzZ]

the big bubble will get bigger and soon wont be able to syphon.

Powerhead in your tank

 

[TRe]

my overflow already had the hole drilled in it and even had the tube.. i just hooked that tube up to a nearby powerhead..... they also sell small pumps to keep the overflow primed

 

[KahluaZzZ]

yes they're good and silent

 

[Lorna]

U Tube type siphons don't require the air lift pump. They will not lose siphon unless it is removed from the water. The air bubble in the tube can be removed by inserting a small air line into the down side and sucking the air out.........just like you start the siphon. When starting the siphon you can move the airline to the airpocket and remove it as it fills.......I have never had a problem yet.....

 

[KahluaZzZ]

i did, and many people had problems with it. I bought a used tidepool sos 600 gph overflow 'cause my tank can't be drilled. After a couple of hours it stopped.
The drilling of overflow is common and safe.

 

[alex8111]

Sorry everybody but I'm a little lost about the powerhead. What does the powerhead in my tank have to do with the overflow box? Is it because the bubbles from the powerhead will drain into the overflow box? If so, my powerhead has never been producing bubbles because i have the air tube completely removed. But the skimmer is making a lot of bubbles (in the sump tank) and some of the bubbles still manage to get to the main tank. I dont think i have any way around the bubbles produced by the skimmer...

Now the hole i am supposed to drill in the U-tube, is that so I can insert the air tube in the hole to suck the air out each time i see an air bubble in the tube? Just FYI, the big air bubble in the tube is never constant. Sometimes the tube fill on its own and sometimes I see a bubble there. I’m assuming that’s normal and if I leave it alone it should function just fine but the fear of a flood just wants me to be 100% safe.

Also, do I need to clean the overflow box on a regular basis? I assume that in time, the filter (in the overflow box) will get overloaded with debris from the tank and eventually slowdown the water flow. Is that the case?

Thanks everybody for helping. I'm really happy to now be part of this great community.

 

[KahluaZzZ]

 

[KahluaZzZ]

and btw you can never be sure an overflow, even modified will be 100% safe. The best thing is to drill the tank if you can. Never cleaned mine in 4 month, i don't have the filter pad ..i should eventually

 

[BigSoxFan]

Tre thanks for that site spent the whole night reading all over it gave me some nice ideas

 

[grasshoppa169]

Sorry everybody but I'm a little lost about the powerhead. What does the powerhead in my tank have to do with the overflow box? Is it because the bubbles from the powerhead will drain into the overflow box?

No, you need the powerhead to suck out the air bubbles that accumulate around the overflow box. You hook up the airhose from the powerhead's venturi intake to the hole you drilled in the overflow's u tube and it sucks (through use of the venturi principle) all of the air out of the overflow tube and continues to do so as long as the powerhead is turned on. the actual powerhead can be placed anywhere in the aquarium. Its actually pretty handy because you probably shold have one going already for good circualtion of water in your tank. Just hook up the air hose attachment that came in the box with the powerhead and, instead of letting the hose hang free outsie the aquarium, plug it up into the hole on the u tube. This is a video of a similar device called a Dosing Pump doing the same thing. The only difference is that the powerhead is in the water instead of above,

 

[grasshoppa169]

Here is that video link
YouTube - CS Overflow - Overview and Installation

 

[alex8111]

Thanks for the advice. The powerhead is connected - Works great.

 

[alex8111]

I have attached two pics for you guys to look at and let me know if I have done this correctly. The powerhead is connected to the top of the U-tube.

But the U-tube is not 100% filled with water. The water flow is working fine but its not full so I took some pics to show if this is a big deal or not. I do see the powerhead shoot our air occasionally so I assume its working...

In the pic you can see the u-tube is not filled with water - but the flow is still working. The powerhead is always on - shouldnt the tube fill all the way?

 

[alex8111]

I ran a few tests with the powerhead and came to the conclusion that if the powerhead is on, everything is fine. But as soon as the power goes off or the powerhead dies (for whatever reason) a flood will happen.

Why do some people prefer to connect the U-tube to the powerhead if there is a risk of failure? There isn’t any for as long as the powerhead is working but anything could happen. Things don’t last forever. Wouldn’t the way the U-tube is intended to be used (without connecting to powerhead) be the best way? If the powerhead was a more safe way, wouldn’t the factory that made the overflow box have already drilled the hole and included the tubing to be connected to the powerhead?

Im assuming since it is not meant to be connected to a powerhead, its best if it works on its own.

Can anyone clarify this to me because I turned off the powerhead to see what would happen and surely enough it started to flood slowly.

Thanks.

 

[KahluaZzZ]

To "prime" my overflow i put my finger on the powerhead's output, so water is pushed from the air tube into the "u" tube. Then after 3 seconds, i stop and the powerhead now sucks up the air from the "u" tube. Like a backdraft. Yeah from what i see in your pic...if the powerhead goes off...you have a problem...too much air. What's your return pump ? And are u sure your silicon or glue is really sealed ?