First time sump user (and some rather strange questions)

[alex182]

Hi guys, first post here, and looking for some answers to what i believe so be a rather unorthodox sump idea.
Im looking into getting Discus in the future and up until now my filter system, in my head, has always been the eheim canister filter i've already got running in my aquarium. Until now sumps have been out of reach to me as ive always been slightly confused and deterred by all the intricate plumbing and such but i had an idea while working out what to do with a spare 2ft tank of mine.
So my question is would i be able to use the eheim intake and tubing as an intake for the sump and be able to hook up a pump to the eheim tubing and spraybar as the outflow. in essence i'd just be replacing the canister canister with my "sump".

the sump i had in mind would be a very simple 3 chamber overflow system. (I'll attach a little diagram thing i made) As i've got 0 experience with sumps i've got no idea what media is best for the 3 chambers. Logically you'd start with course media and get finer. So, what media would you guys put in a 2ft, 3 chambered sump?

[ILLUSN]

the only problem is that when you get a power cut the intake siphons the entire volume of your tank onto your floor.

you could drill a small hole in the intake and that way the siphon will break when the water get too low, but when the power comes back on, with no siphon the water will over flow out of your tank onto the floor.

your much better off using an overflow box inplace of the eheim intake or just biting the bullet and getting the tank drilled.

[swampy1972]

I won't work in the current format. While the power is on and the siphon is established it will be fine, but if you have a power outage the tank will drain as ILLUSN said, breaking the siphon.
When the power comes back, the pump will start and fill the tank to the point of overflowing before it starts to drain via the intake pipe. This will empty the contents of your sump onto the floor via your tank, leaving the pump to run dry and burn out..
I'd go with an overflow box or drill the tank.

[alex182]

EDIT: thanks for the help guys. i might abandon this plan. after a bit more research it might be better to look into a second filter to run alongside the canister. Possibly a hang-on filter

[Nev]

Your basic idea is good but your problem is as stated above.
Try googling a hob overflow, not hard to make. Also look at a syphon that won't break when the level gets low.

[Angelman]

a simple way to maintain your siphon when making your over flow is adding a power head or a small internal filter with air line attachment. Then you drill a hold in the top of your siphon pipe (the very top). add an airline adapter to the hole and silicon it closed. If power goes out the siphon will break..but when power goes back on the powerhead or filter will start to suck the air out of the over flow pipe re-starting the siphon.

[Angelman]

I wanted to add if you don't use a "typical" drain like the one in my picture. It will not work as there is no way to hold a straight sihpon like your asking using your exiting drain line from your filter. The drain pipe needed is sized by the pump you put in the sump. as you don't want to drain more water than you pump or pump more than you drain.

[swampy1972]

a simple way to maintain your siphon when making your over flow is adding a power head or a small internal filter with air line attachment. Then you drill a hold in the top of your siphon pipe (the very top). add an airline adapter to the hole and silicon it closed. If power goes out the siphon will break..but when power goes back on the powerhead or filter will start to suck the air out of the over flow pipe re-starting the siphon.

Very clever idea.. I may just have to file that one away for later use :wink:

[alex182]

some great ideas here guys thanks. might be something to look into down the track


a simple way to maintain your siphon when making your over flow is adding a power head or a small internal filter with air line attachment. Then you drill a hold in the top of your siphon pipe (the very top). add an airline adapter to the hole and silicon it closed. If power goes out the siphon will break..but when power goes back on the powerhead or filter will start to suck the air out of the over flow pipe re-starting the siphon.

Angelman, do you have any plans for your plumbing? or was there a thread on here of your tank in progress? i might look into making my own as I'm not sure what justifies the price of a ready made hang-on overflow? (http://www.aquariumproducts.com.au/catalogue_products.php?prodID=4465)

also how would you make sure the output (with the pump and tubing) matches the water volume coming in?