pump question - help me not flood my apartment!

[daisy]

So here is the issue: The set-up at the moment (not yet turned on) is as follows:

55 gal show tank with overflow to wet/dry underneath. Rio 2100 pump in sump pushes water to fuge on the floor next to the wet/dry

40-gal fuge with Mag5 to push the water back up to the 55-gal.

question is - I don't know whether the Mag5 will push the water faster than the Rio 2100... I am just afraid that when I connect everything, there will be some part of the system that works too much faster than other parts, and the system will overflow!

How can I know for sure what will happen before I plug stuff in?

I did not have this issue with my old tank, because in my old tank, there was no wet/dry, and I cannot at this time connect the wet/dry to the fuge so that only one pump powers the whole shebang.

Or maybe you can tell me a way that I ~can~ do that? ... I have not figured it out yet.

Thanks!

 

[noodleman]

oh thats easy....you'll eventually have a flood or a dried sump/fuge, you can't perfectly match the flow rates of the pumps. Best way is to have them overflowing into eachother by drilling and adding bulkheads and such.

 

[drunktank]

bad idea imo to have two sumps. Simply go out a get one.

 

[daisy]

i was really afraid of that.

so for now... hmmmmm... How might I connect them? And which one is the better pump to use in the system?

btw, at swf.com, the only advice I got was "no way to know but to try it..." THAT was when I officially quit swf.com.

dumb question - i am good at science (was a biochemist once) and good at reef-keeping, but not good at DIY. I have no idea what a bulkead is. Can you maybe refer me to a thread that explains it?

 

[drunktank]

bulkhead =

imo just use the sump for water movement, buy a hang on refugium and u wont have to worry bout overflowing water

 

[noodleman]

since your fuge looks liek its above your wet/dry...you cut a hole on the flat surface of the bin and put one of these in the hole so it wont leak on the sides http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=4013&N=2004+113786 then you can plumb it with pvc or soemthing so it can overflow into your wet/dry kinda like a series

 

[daisy]

OOOH!!! I think I figured it out from what you said - what if I drill a hole near the top of the fuge and have the water from there feed into the wet-dry and from there, pump back into the tank?

Or would it be better for the tank water to go through the wet/dry first?

I have a protein skimmer hanging off the fuge, btw.

Or maybe the wet/dry is completely unnecessary?

The fuge I mainly use 1)to increase the total water in the system, and 2) for plants (duh)...

I hate hanging stuff off the back of my tank. I'm a little neurotic about that. I'd rather have it hidden behind the stand, so a hang-on fuge is not my thing.

anyway, i'm getting how to do it, but i'm still waffling on what might be best.

 

[Psycho graphic]

You could make a U-tube out of PVC to link the 2 together. I think 2" PVC should keep up with your flow rates. I would make the U-tube out of two 45's and one 90. The 90 would go between the 45's with whatever lengths of tubing needed to reach both tanks. At the top of the 90 drill a small hole to fit a short piece of rigid airline, then attach some fexible airline with a valve at the end. Submerge both ends in the water, then suck the air out through the airline tubing and close the valves. You would have to rase the acrylic tank so the tops of both are even to keep from flooding if too much water drains from the DT.

 

[noodleman]

OOOH!!! I think I figured it out from what you said - what if I drill a hole near the top of the fuge and have the water from there feed into the wet-dry and from there, pump back into the tank?

exactly....the rest is personal preference

 

[crox99]

That set up will not work properly. buy a new sump/fugium so you don't have to worry about it.:fishhit:

 

[daisy]

you all are FANTASTIC!

Thanks so much!

I have to go, but i'll check back this evening!

 

[noodleman]

IMO bulkhead option is the easiest and safest option as it stands

 

[PalmTree]

Yeah the bulk head option is probably the easiest way to go right now but I would go and get a larger sump all togetheir. You will most likely want to do that somewhere down the road so now is the best time to make the upgrade since nothing is up and running yet. Welcome to MR by the way!!:smile:

 

[daisy]

First, thank you all so much for welcoming me to MR. Very cool to be here.

Now - as for my situation - where do I get a new sump if that is what I am going to do?

Here are the space params:

This tank is a 55 gal on a typical 55 gal wood stand, which is to say, there are only two of four panels that open, and the opening is very narrow.

The tank is at an angle in a corner, so the space behind the tank is not rectangular, but rather, triangular. So it's rather unconventional. Suggestions?

thanks!

 

[daisy]

here, you can see it's in the corner:

 

[daisy]

...and I'm shopping for a new light - this is the old one from the 68-gal oceanic that broke

 

[noodleman]

i think you'll be fine with the current setup with the bulkhead installed, but thats JMO

 

[daisy]

Noodleman,

with the bulkhead - have the overflow go into the fuge, then the bulkhead at the waterline of the fuge to flow into the wet/dry, and from the sump of the wet/dry is the pump to return the water to the tank?

If I do that, is the Rio 2100 or the Mag 5 the better pump to return the water?

 

[noodleman]

yea that sounds about right, as for the pump that would depend on how much gph can your overflow can handle....and if you get a 1inch bulkhead for the fuge thats about 600gph, so the limiting factor is your overflow from your tank itself. Then you can take into account the headloss from the sump to your tank.

 

[daisy]

Okay, we just passed from "edge of my understanding" to "out of my league."

can you translate that into easy-speak?

I think what you're saying is that we have to make sure that enough water but not too much water passes from the fuge into the sump so as not to flood the sump, yes?

What do I need to know about the overflow box, the size of what hoses, utubes, stuff like that? What is the math that I have to figure out?