Getting ready to establish a sump. Need some advice.

[Anonymous]

I have a 46G bow front with lps sps flame angel and yellow tang. I am in the process of putting a sump below the tank. The tank is not drilled so I will be using a overflow. What are your recommendations for the setup of plumbing. I have never plumbed a sump before so I am double checking my "theory" to see if it is correct. I will be using a 13 gallon garbage can as the sump as it is the only thing that fits under the tiny cabinet space that came with the tank. I have a CPR Bak Pak 2 that will be on the sump instead of the tank when it is complete. Thanks for any help. If you need more info on the system please let me know. I am also curious about the proper GPH that should be circulated . Thanks for the help in advance.

 

[Rob Top]

Sounds like you have some tight space to work with. So I would use flex line for the return and pool drain line for the over flow. When ever I work with flex line it is a good idea to have a container of super hot water to loosen up the flex line for tight bends or putting on to nipples. I prefer the spa flex line to the reinforced clear line. The spa line can be glued to standard pvc fittings where the reinforced stuff needs nipples. The line could come off the nipple, and they are more prone to small leaks, even with hose clamps. The spa stuff is quite a bit more expensive, but total cost shouldn't be to bad as your sump is right under the tank. As for GPH that will depend on what the overflow can handle and that will depend on your view point of how much flow you want in the tank. Personally I tend to have 5-8x tank vol through the sump per hour then another 5-8x in closed loops. That would mean that I would have some where between 250 and 400 GPH through the sump. Don't know if you have a pump yet, but a mag-7 is a nice choice for this. I have had one in use for 6 years now, with out issue. Pretty good IMO for the cost of teh pump. Good luck with the project

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the reply. I was looking at the mag 7 actually this morning as well.