Sump overflowing when a fuse jumps

[dbdisok]

Before you go throug with your grade you should have the electrical issues fixed. There are going to be more electrical demands from your tank than you might expect.

[Worom]

I would not suggest using a 10 gallon sump with that tank. 20 gallons min. Looks like you got a great deal on the tank though.

[RafaelAtkinson]

Thanks everyone for responding. Ya I know I should get the electrical thing fixed. It's going to cost thousands to do so. Lol. Well thinking for the mean while getting a good Skimmer and a fluval c4 for filtration for the mean while. Plus keep up with water changes until I can fix the electrical situation and maybe built myself a new stand with more room to put a 20 gallon Sump.

[RafaelAtkinson]

Would that be a reasonable thing to do? The tank will have live sand and live rock. At least 40 pounds of rock.

[RafaelAtkinson]

Originally Posted by Worom

I would not suggest using a 10 gallon sump with that tank. 20 gallons min. Looks like you got a great deal on the tank though.

Thanks!

[SeedlessOne]

Originally Posted by dbdisok

Before you go throug with your grade you should have the electrical issues fixed. There are going to be more electrical demands from your tank than you might expect.

Glad someone brought this up.

Originally Posted by RafaelAtkinson

Thanks everyone for responding. Ya I know I should get the electrical thing fixed. It's going to cost thousands to do so. Lol. Well thinking for the mean while getting a good Skimmer and a fluval c4 for filtration for the mean while. Plus keep up with water changes until I can fix the electrical situation and maybe built myself a new stand with more room to put a 20 gallon Sump.

It could be something as simple as a bad breaker.

Yes it will cost some money for an electrician but its cheaper than burning your house down, if there is indeed an issue with your wiring.

And your 10g sump will never work. That is way too small.. For that size i would look at getting at least a 20g and preferably a 29g.

Good luck

[joekidwell]

Add up all the amps from each piece of equipment and other things electrical in the room to make sure you are not drawing more than your fuse box or breaker can handle. I had the same problem till I found out my mag 7 drew 5.6 amps, quickly replaced with a pump that was stronger and only used 1 amp

[pmrossetti]

You could easily go sumpless with a 55. HOB skimmer, maybe an Aquaclear and a small power head would be fine.

[RafaelAtkinson]

Ok ya thats probably what im going to do is just get myself a skimmer and that fluval c4 for chemical and biological filtration, for the mean anyways. Until i built a bigger stand for a bigger future sump. Thanks guys!

[Maivortex]

Would a 20 extra high fit in the stand? It has the same foot print as a 10 gallon but 2x the height......

[RafaelAtkinson]

Yes probably so.... Will measure tomorrow! Thanks

[SoFloReefer]

To Randy Marsh: You should start a new thread with your questions.

To RafaelAtkinson: I would get the electrical fixed before even starting a tank or atleast find out what the issue is. Electrical wiring for a house is not complicated and many people can do it themselves. If I had a house that needed to be completely wired I would have an electrican wire in a new breaker box and I would make all the runs to the outlets and connections at said breaker box.

As far as the tank, you NEED to have the return siphon break when the power to the return pump shuts off. First of all, this is how you feed your tank. You don't want the overflow to compete with your fish for food. I use LOC line fittings for my return. This allows me to set the return nozzle at the exact height I need to break the siphon when the pump turns off.

Also, that stand is garbage. It looks like particle board and has no room for a sump. You can build a new stand for very cheap with a little research in the DIY section here. You want at least a 20 gallon tank for a 55. Your tank looks like a 75 to me so you would want even larger. Measure the dimensions and find out the size.

Finally, check valves are useless in a salt water tank. Don't even waste your money for the reasons mentioned above.

[Indymann99]

On the siphon break for the return. I also use loc line and have them set so that they siphon break at about the same level as the overflow weir.

Sorry the pict below is not super clear... returns are circled in yellow.


Vid of the returns when return pump is ON. Also this configuration provides a ripple effect on the surface to promote gas exchange AND provides a little bit of ripple lighting effect. I have T5 lighting so nothing like MH.



Finally shot of sump return chamber with the PUMP OFF (return pump) showing the level the sump will rise with the return OFF. I also do water changes out of my sump so this is the level I REFILL the sump to post WC.





Do note these sump picts are a bit out of date... I no longer run the check valve you see (for reasons listed in posts above.. they always fail). Also I have switched to gate valves for my Herbie drain (just easier to adjust, I did run many years on ball valves).