remote sump?

[multicincta]

I want to pipe my water from my 135g reef tank to my garage where I can have a sump, chiller, etc, then pipe it back to the tank. I will have to have both the outgoing and the return piped up a wall, into the atic and down into the garage. I know this is much more than I would need to do, but it would be fun to try to make work, it would reduce the noise in the house and it would give me a place where I can spread out and do much more than have a confined sump.

Any thoughts on trying to make this work?

One of the biggest problems is the loss or gain in temperature depending on the time of year. This alone could make this little project a big problem.

[AquaMore]

you will definitely need some good pipe insulation to try keeping the temperature. it should be fine though give that the pipes are pvc.

you'll also need a much bigger pump to be able to get the flow going.

[multicincta]

Wow, this forum moves fast! Any thoughts on how I can make this work? Or has anyone else done something remote like this?

[jeff@zina.com]

The biggest problem is overcoming gravity both directions. It's very hard to keep pumps balanced so that you don't overflow one and pump the other side dry.

Jeff


Text mangled by iPhone spell check...

[snommisbor]

That would definitely add some volume to the system but when you stop the pumps to do a water change how much of the water would drain back down into either sump or tank that could possibly overflow.

[multicincta]

Snmmisbor and Jeff, these are problems I'm up against and not sure how to deal with, which is why I'm here looking for input before I start buying equipment and running lines.

My first thought is to have the remote system on a float switch that the return comes on and off at certain levels. This could be good for the tank by giving it a surge type of flow rather than an even, on all the time, pump.

One of the bigger problems is getting the water from the tank to the remote. Once a syphon is created, I'm assuming that so long as where the water ends up is lower than the tank it will work just as if the sump was immediately below the tank. I'm just not sure if I'll lose anything from friction.

I'm sure others have done something like this and have figure it all out, so hopefully they'll chime in.

[John39]

The problem with floats is they can and do fail! I would try to go with out a float.

[seapug]

Many people do this. All that's really needed is a return pump strong enough to push the water the vertical distance needed and a sump large enough to accomodate the backsiphon from the relatively large amount of water that will be traveling through the plumbing at any given time. If you're going into the attic or between walls, pipe insulation is probably a good idea as well.

I'm not sure where the concerns about pumps running dry is coming from. I may be missing something, but last time I checked, unless you have a leak in your tank, water will not drain from the tank faster than it is pumped into it, no matter how far it has to travel from the display to the sump.