Any water that is evaporating from the system will be missing from the sump, and if you are not paying attention to this level you can expose the pump and risk overheating or other problems. Also remember that if you add water to the system, you will probably not see any meaningful rise in the water level in the tank - the rise in water level will be in the sump. Be sure to never fill it above the maximum level you determined above.
In addition to their primary purpose collecting water or possibly waste and preventing a spill or damage, sumps can also be used to house unsightly equipment, or equipment that needs to be out of the tank for some reason.
The most common use of a sump is in conjunction with a trickle filter. Generally trickle filters are set up to allow water to flow through the "tower" of the filter and drop into a sump.
Water is then pumped back into the tank to repeat the process. Sumps are often used to house protein skimmers, though many skimmers can be set up in the aquarium. The sump provides a location out of the fish tank for the skimmer, which can be both large and unsightly. In fact, the higher quality skimmers really can't be set up in the tank. By setting the protein skimmer up in the sump rather than out on its own, the sump then can act as a back-up in case you forget to check the catch as often as you need to.
Once people have a sump connected to their aquarium, the aquarium heater is often one of the first things moved to the sump. This can also be important if the aquarium houses particular aggressive of belligerent fish that may damage the heater. However, you need to be aware that if the heater is in the sump, it is only indirectly heating the tank, so it is even more important to monitor the temperature in the sump and in the tank. Thank you for your support.
Page most recently modified: January 08, , ; Site most recently updated: November 04, , First Tank Guide Home. I learned a bunch of things and how to take care of my fishy better!! Thanks a bunch! The other good part about this is you are not pumping water up high, so the head pressure is greatly reduced allowing you to use a lower wattage return pump.
Having access to a sink and being able to plumb in your water storage tanks is worth its weight in gold! The main purpose of the sump as we described earlier is to house equipment and provide greater water volume. The idea is to find a return pump that matches the recommended flow rate of the protein skimmer.
The protein skimmer will have an optimum flow rate that it was designed for and most aquarists recommend anywhere from 3x — 5x your tank capacity through your sump every hour. My protein skimmer is designed to operate around GPH so here is where I began the search for which return pump to use. My return pump gives around GPH at 12ft head height which is perfect for my setup because my sump is located in the basement below my aquarium.
Do not get confused with the sump flow rate and display tank flow rate. Your corals will need massive amounts of flow rate, but this is created using wavemakers or powerheads. All your return pump is for, is to set the flow rate through your sump and return the water back to the display tank. The two main areas I have seen cause problems with new sump installations fall under one of the following categories.
By being aware of these precautions to take you can dramatically increase the chances of a mishap occurring with a new sump:. Being an aquarium owner, one of the biggest fears many people have is flooding, especially with saltwater.
If you have a flood with saltwater the damage can be huge! Not only does the water create problems but once it dries the salt is left behind making a big job, even bigger. Making your aquarium and sump as flood-proof as possible is an absolute must, so here are some things to be aware of and steps to take to prevent a flood:.
Once you have a sump installed into your system you have to make sure the operating water level in your sump is set up correctly. During a power outage, the water that is in the pipe going up to the tank from the return pump is going to drain back down into the sump. If your display tank is considerably higher than the sump and you have a large diameter pipe, you could have a lot of water draining back down.
Many people use a Non-Return Valve on the return pump to prevent this, but if that fails and your sump level is not right, you will flood.
If you have a strong desire to use a non-return valve that is OK. Just make sure you have your water level set correctly, or if you are unable to do the above step because too much Back Drain water comes in, you then have to use an NRV Non-Return Valve if you cannot fit a bigger sump.
When you are selecting an NRV I would suggest using the valves that have a flapper valve inside of them, rather than a spring-loaded valve. The flapper valves take a lot less pressure to open compared to the spring-loaded valves and this will give you more flow out to your display tank. The other tip I recommend is spending a little extra money and buy the see-through valves with the union connections on each end. This way you can see if they are working correctly and it also allows you to see when it needs cleaning.
You will see an arrow molded into the side of the NRV. Make sure this is Pointing Away from your return pump! Next, install a ball valve between your NRV and Display tank, this way you can isolate the water in the pipe above and easily remove the valve for cleaning.
I have seen a few floors flooded due to an improperly sealed overflow in the display tank. Once the water drains out of the overflow in a power outage, the water in the display tank should not leak or creep into the overflow.
Be sure to always leak check your aquarium AND overflow outdoors for several hours before you properly install your aquarium, to make sure it is all watertight where it needs to be. Having a small leak into the overflow will continue to drain down into the sump. Even if you have set up your sumps water level correctly, a slow leak over hours will overfill your sump and flood the floor.
Keep plenty of spare socks or floss on hand to replace your clogged ones regularly. Once this filter becomes clogged it makes it harder for the water to pass through it.
Depending on the design of your sump you may not have a filter floss or sock water bypass in there to prevent a flood. I change my socks weekly, then have some filter floss in my bubble trap. If you can do this it may save your Butt! When you design your system you should always be looking at simple ways to cover your rear end.
Having an overflow drain in your sump is one of them if your location allows. This saved me from a flood when I found out my aquarium overflow developed a pinhole leak and we had a power outage 2 years after installation. This is going to be a tough job for many people who have their sump located in the stand, and there is no basement access below or some form of house drain nearby, but lower than the Overflow hole in the sump, but if you can, do it!
It is worth it! These are lifesavers! I have both fitted to my aquarium via my DIY built controller and these alarms have saved me. As humans, we all make mistakes , forget to turn something back on, drink alcohol while doing maintenance etc and we forget! You can buy or create your own simple devices that can alert you straight away to a leak or an impending leak, so you can take action to prevent any further mess. Pretty much all the aquarium controllers available today have this function and you can also have them shut down pumps, send you texts etc to help prevent the chaos getting worse.
Please get one at the very least. You will not regret it! If you have a faulty piece of equipment or an item falls into the sump while you are working in it, you are going to be in real trouble if you have not taken the following precautions. Saltwater especially, conducts electricity so well that you need to be careful and do the following steps:. To further aid in protecting you, have your plug outlets replaced to GFCI receptacles. These are designed to monitor the items plugged into them and trip at the first sign of a fault.
If you cannot afford an electrician to replace your receptacles you can use a GFCI Adapter that you plug into the wall. As with everything be sure to test the manual test function regularly. Many people complain about GFCI breakers or receptacles tripping and causing a tank crash.
If it is tripping there is a piece of equipment that is not working correctly and you need to further investigate.
Fire is the second major concern with electrical safety. As mentioned before, saltwater is very conductive to electricity and an improperly protected device could ignite when it fails and cause a fire. Would one be better for me over the other? When it comes to filtration, there can be a lot of frustration. These filters suck water up through a lift tube and into an external filter or canister where it is then forced through various filter medias to clean the dirty water. There are multiple options as to which way the water will flow through the filter.
This all depends on which one you choose to use. Once the water has been filtered through the canister, it goes back into the tank. Most canister filter models have water pumps that are built into the cover or base, but some require a separate external pump.
You can purchase sump setups or build one of your own. Water is then pumped from the sump and into the aquarium and then back into the sump. If you do it this way, the pump can run constantly. To me, this just seems like a pain. You would have to install a float switch, as found in old school toilets, or switches that automatically turn on when the water begins to get lower.
Most people use sumps with trickle filters which allow water to flow through the tower of the filter and drop into the sump. Before you go all willy nilly and just slap a filter or sump on your tank, these are a few things that you should know about each one.
If used correctly, canister filters are a great tool for your tank. A superior filter gives you an advantage of being able to choose which filtration is ideal for your tank because you can customize the filter media. Canister filters usually have a lower maintenance need than power filters and sumps because the water is being forced through the media as opposed to flowing over or around the media.
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