A shop vac for sump cleaning, but can it do this?

rampro6698 · 08/06/2015, 09:36 AM

I have about a 150 gal sump in a room with a floor drain. I have used a wet/dry shop vac to clean out the sump and get debris out, etc. Problem I have is the sump is large enough and my wet vac fills within seconds so I end up having to empty it multiple times which is a pain in the you know what. It would be easy if I could just dump the water directly into the floor drain (drain was put there in case anything leaked, etc). But I don't know if a wet/dry vac can operate that way. Or does anyone have a suggested pump I can use to syphon the stuff out and directly into the floor drain? Some of the stuff is general white calcium phosphate build up or whatever so the pump would need to be able to deal with that. Just not sure what pumps are best for this sort of thing, etc. The pump would really just need to create the water syphon and the debris can just flow through the tubing and into the drain. Just not sure what equipment to get, etc. Any thoughts?

805reef · 08/06/2015, 09:51 AM

You can get a simple powerhead for your sump to use to start your siphon. This is the way a lot of people start a siphon on a hot tub to get debris off the bottom. Put the hose in the sump right in front of the powerhead so the water blows into the hose. A siphon will start.

Another option is to use any pump to pump the majority of your water out and just use the shop vac for the last bit/debris

Dapg8gt · 08/06/2015, 10:30 AM

They sell "trash pumps" that are engineered to move solids up to a certain size that would work exactly as you intend.. I know Sicce makes some as I saw them advertising a new line earlier in the year.. You want a pump that can handle some solid debris and they accomplish it with larger tolerances in the volute I believe..

Hitch08 · 08/06/2015, 10:34 AM

I think there are some shop vacs that have a drain at the bottom. I suppose the question is whether the drain at the bottom of the vac can keep up with the water going in.

sleepydoc · 08/06/2015, 10:50 AM

Generally, no, they won't work how you want. All of the shop vacs I've seen have a motor at the top that creates a suction in the 'tank' that then fills with water or debris. It's essentially a transferred vacuum pressure. If you open a drain plug, it would just suck air in through the hole instead of pulling the water up the hose.

Several others have posted good ideas. I use a Maxijet 12 with a short piece of hose on the end to funciton as a vacuum. It gets clogged easily, but works for my purposes. Other larger pumps would undoubtedly work better.

nuxx · 08/06/2015, 11:02 AM

MJ1200 with a hose is a good idea.

Was thinking of using a canister filter filled with floss to do the same thing.

Hopefully catching the bad stuff and just returning water to the sump.

Mark426 · 08/06/2015, 12:21 PM

Here is what I do so I have time to clean stuff out without sucking up gallons of water. Get a Bucket Head Shop Vac. They are 22 bucks at home depot or lowes. Buy the little accessory kit that has several attachments to hook things up to the vac hose. I attach a 1/2 inch vinyl hose to the shop vac hose with a part that's in the accessory kit and suck away. The suction is more than strong enough to suck up just about anything in your sump but still allow you plenty time before you fill up the 5 gal bucket.

A regular shop vac just removes to much to fast as you have discovered.

http://www.homedepot.com/s/buckethead?NCNI-5

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Stinger-M...1215/100139249

Kt8 · 08/06/2015, 02:03 PM

I use the homedepot bucket vac as well. I don't use any attachments but I took gorilla tape and covered about 3/4 of the opening on the hose so it would suck slower and not fill the bucket as quickly.

nuxx · 08/06/2015, 02:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark426

Here is what I do so I have time to clean stuff out without sucking up gallons of water. Get a Bucket Head Shop Vac. They are 22 bucks at home depot or lowes. Buy the little accessory kit that has several attachments to hook things up to the vac hose. I attach a 1/2 inch vinyl hose to the shop vac hose with a part that's in the accessory kit and suck away. The suction is more than strong enough to suck up just about anything in your sump but still allow you plenty time before you fill up the 5 gal bucket.

A regular shop vac just removes to much to fast as you have discovered.

http://www.homedepot.com/s/buckethead?NCNI-5

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Stinger-M...1215/100139249

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kt8

I use the homedepot bucket vac as well. I don't use any attachments but I took gorilla tape and covered about 3/4 of the opening on the hose so it would suck slower and not fill the bucket as quickly.

Good ideas guys... I have one of those laying around

How fast does it fill up a bucket with the vinyl hose or tape on it?

Vinny Kreyling · 08/06/2015, 04:23 PM

I like Dapg8gt's idea best of all if you have a drain to use.
Do during a water change & kill 2 birds with 1 pump.

Kt8 · 08/06/2015, 09:27 PM

With the tape I am able to vacuum my entire sump (5ft x 2ft) with 2 buckets. With nothing on it it would fill up in about 20 seconds and would take me about 4 buckets.

Sinekal · 08/06/2015, 10:11 PM

I have used a maxi jet with 1/2" tubing for years. I have a small piece on the front I used to vacume the bottom and a longer piece on the output that goes in a bucket. I could clean the entire bottom of a 48x18 area with plenty of time to spare when filling two 5 gallon buckets

sleepydoc · 08/07/2015, 03:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sinekal

I have used a maxi jet with 1/2" tubing for years. I have a small piece on the front I used to vacume the bottom and a longer piece on the output that goes in a bucket. I could clean the entire bottom of a 48x18 area with plenty of time to spare when filling two 5 gallon buckets

That's pretty much what I do. I've also hung a filter sock in the sump and put the end of the discharge hose in the filter sock to simply filter the sump water without emptying it

woodnaquanut · 08/08/2015, 08:15 PM

If you can siphon to a floor drain, just siphon it. No additional equipment needed.

sleepydoc · 08/09/2015, 07:42 AM

Yes - siphons work well, if the height is right. If there's not enough of a drop, you won't get enough flow or suction and you're back to the pump/vacuum options. Otherwise a siphon is a great, simple & cheap way to go.

dkeller_nc · 08/09/2015, 08:41 AM

I'd run into the same problem. In addition to fitting a 1/2" diameter thick-walled silicone tube to the end of the vacuum hose to lower the flow, I also added a garden hose drain to my shop vac's container with a valve. That allows me to hook up a long hose to it into a floor drain in my basement, so while I'm working I just stop the vacuum for a minute, open the valve, and drain all of the water in the shop vac into the floor drain.

But the bucket-head shop vac seems like a great idea, and the price is low enough to buy a set-up just for the tanks. So I may retire my shop vac back to the woodshop.

Tarawa · 08/09/2015, 09:23 AM

I have a shopvac that has a water pump built right in, so it pumps water out at the same time as it vacuums. I dont use it for that purpose, but it should work. You will need to restrict the intake tho as it eats water faster than it can pump.

https://www.shopvac.com/wet-dry-vacs...cSKU=979-14-11

08/06/2015, 09:36 AM	#1
rampro6698 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2015 Posts: 14	A shop vac for sump cleaning, but can it do this? I have about a 150 gal sump in a room with a floor drain. I have used a wet/dry shop vac to clean out the sump and get debris out, etc. Problem I have is the sump is large enough and my wet vac fills within seconds so I end up having to empty it multiple times which is a pain in the you know what. It would be easy if I could just dump the water directly into the floor drain (drain was put there in case anything leaked, etc). But I don't know if a wet/dry vac can operate that way. Or does anyone have a suggested pump I can use to syphon the stuff out and directly into the floor drain? Some of the stuff is general white calcium phosphate build up or whatever so the pump would need to be able to deal with that. Just not sure what pumps are best for this sort of thing, etc. The pump would really just need to create the water syphon and the debris can just flow through the tubing and into the drain. Just not sure what equipment to get, etc. Any thoughts?

08/06/2015, 09:51 AM	#2
805reef Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Oxnard, CA Posts: 1,588	You can get a simple powerhead for your sump to use to start your siphon. This is the way a lot of people start a siphon on a hot tub to get debris off the bottom. Put the hose in the sump right in front of the powerhead so the water blows into the hose. A siphon will start. Another option is to use any pump to pump the majority of your water out and just use the shop vac for the last bit/debris __________________ Vince 300 gallon peninsula, return:RD3 Speedy 230, Turbo's Rev4 L2 Algae Turf Scrubber, (2) Gyre 150s, Advanced Acrylic sump, (4) Ocean Revive T247s, Apex (classic w/ black sticker;):D)

08/06/2015, 10:30 AM	#3
Dapg8gt Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Pacifica Posts: 3,741	They sell "trash pumps" that are engineered to move solids up to a certain size that would work exactly as you intend.. I know Sicce makes some as I saw them advertising a new line earlier in the year.. You want a pump that can handle some solid debris and they accomplish it with larger tolerances in the volute I believe.. __________________ 15 years in the hobby yet still learning every day. 280g radium lit sps flat living in my garage rent free. Current Tank Info: 105g SPS dominant euro braced powered by 4 ecotech pumps and lit by an ATI powermodule controlled by a reef angel =).

08/06/2015, 10:34 AM	#4
Hitch08 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: Philly Suburbs Posts: 665	I think there are some shop vacs that have a drain at the bottom. I suppose the question is whether the drain at the bottom of the vac can keep up with the water going in. __________________ 120g tank with 40g breeder sump. SVS-30 LifeReef Skimmer. EcoTech Radion Pros.

08/06/2015, 10:50 AM	#5
sleepydoc Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Minneapolis, MN Posts: 3,907	Generally, no, they won't work how you want. All of the shop vacs I've seen have a motor at the top that creates a suction in the 'tank' that then fills with water or debris. It's essentially a transferred vacuum pressure. If you open a drain plug, it would just suck air in through the hole instead of pulling the water up the hose. Several others have posted good ideas. I use a Maxijet 12 with a short piece of hose on the end to funciton as a vacuum. It gets clogged easily, but works for my purposes. Other larger pumps would undoubtedly work better. __________________ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 120 gallon, coast to coast overflow w/beananimal overflow. Waveline DC 10000 II return pump, 40 gal sump, Octopus XS200 skimmer, T5 lighting

08/06/2015, 11:02 AM	#6
nuxx RC Sponsor Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Austin, Tx Posts: 3,990	MJ1200 with a hose is a good idea. Was thinking of using a canister filter filled with floss to do the same thing. Hopefully catching the bad stuff and just returning water to the sump. __________________ Peter TankStop - Fish and Coral 470G Display - Build Thread Current Tank Info: Retired - 470 Gallon Mixed Reef (120x29x31")

08/06/2015, 12:21 PM	#7
Mark426 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: South Carolina Posts: 2,479	Here is what I do so I have time to clean stuff out without sucking up gallons of water. Get a Bucket Head Shop Vac. They are 22 bucks at home depot or lowes. Buy the little accessory kit that has several attachments to hook things up to the vac hose. I attach a 1/2 inch vinyl hose to the shop vac hose with a part that's in the accessory kit and suck away. The suction is more than strong enough to suck up just about anything in your sump but still allow you plenty time before you fill up the 5 gal bucket. A regular shop vac just removes to much to fast as you have discovered. http://www.homedepot.com/s/buckethead?NCNI-5 http://www.homedepot.com/p/Stinger-M...1215/100139249

08/06/2015, 02:03 PM	#8
Kt8 Registered Member Join Date: May 2012 Location: Indiana Posts: 64	I use the homedepot bucket vac as well. I don't use any attachments but I took gorilla tape and covered about 3/4 of the opening on the hose so it would suck slower and not fill the bucket as quickly.

08/06/2015, 04:23 PM	#10
Vinny Kreyling Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Miller Place, NY Posts: 7,206	I like Dapg8gt's idea best of all if you have a drain to use. Do during a water change & kill 2 birds with 1 pump. __________________ 250 gallon mixed reef, 2 Reefbreeder's Photon V 2, Deepwater BLDC 12, DAS EX-3 Skimmer, MTC mini cal, 2-3/4" Sea Swirls, Aquacontroller & 6 Tunze pumps.

08/06/2015, 09:27 PM	#11
Kt8 Registered Member Join Date: May 2012 Location: Indiana Posts: 64	With the tape I am able to vacuum my entire sump (5ft x 2ft) with 2 buckets. With nothing on it it would fill up in about 20 seconds and would take me about 4 buckets.

08/06/2015, 10:11 PM	#12
Sinekal Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Phoenix Posts: 165	I have used a maxi jet with 1/2" tubing for years. I have a small piece on the front I used to vacume the bottom and a longer piece on the output that goes in a bucket. I could clean the entire bottom of a 48x18 area with plenty of time to spare when filling two 5 gallon buckets

08/08/2015, 08:15 PM	#14
woodnaquanut Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Santa Rosa, CA Posts: 2,727	If you can siphon to a floor drain, just siphon it. No additional equipment needed. __________________ John DT 120G. mixed reef w/ lots of automation + assorted FW and SW tanks.

08/09/2015, 07:42 AM	#15
sleepydoc Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Minneapolis, MN Posts: 3,907	A shop vac for sump cleaning, but can it do this? Yes - siphons work well, if the height is right. If there's not enough of a drop, you won't get enough flow or suction and you're back to the pump/vacuum options. Otherwise a siphon is a great, simple & cheap way to go. __________________ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 120 gallon, coast to coast overflow w/beananimal overflow. Waveline DC 10000 II return pump, 40 gal sump, Octopus XS200 skimmer, T5 lighting Last edited by sleepydoc; 08/09/2015 at 08:39 AM.

08/09/2015, 08:41 AM	#16
dkeller_nc Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Central NC Posts: 5,062	I'd run into the same problem. In addition to fitting a 1/2" diameter thick-walled silicone tube to the end of the vacuum hose to lower the flow, I also added a garden hose drain to my shop vac's container with a valve. That allows me to hook up a long hose to it into a floor drain in my basement, so while I'm working I just stop the vacuum for a minute, open the valve, and drain all of the water in the shop vac into the floor drain. But the bucket-head shop vac seems like a great idea, and the price is low enough to buy a set-up just for the tanks. So I may retire my shop vac back to the woodshop.

08/09/2015, 09:23 AM	#17
Tarawa Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2014 Posts: 245	I have a shopvac that has a water pump built right in, so it pumps water out at the same time as it vacuums. I dont use it for that purpose, but it should work. You will need to restrict the intake tho as it eats water faster than it can pump. https://www.shopvac.com/wet-dry-vacs...cSKU=979-14-11