Is it big enough?

[Sharksfan94]

Quick question here. I want to add a small sump to my 25 gallon nano so that I might have a refugium and might possibly add a reactor down the road if needed. I am currently looking at 15 gallon tank to use as a sump.


The distance from where the sump would sit to the top of the tank is roughly 45 inches. I would be using the CPR HOB CS50 over flow and would dial it down with a ball valve. And I would dial down the return pump with a ball valve as well. I've calculated the water in the pipes (1 in pipes) to be roughly 1.2-2 gallons should the power go out.


So my questions are:

1) Is it big enough/too big?

2) Does the amount of water I calculated in the pipes appear to be correct?

3) Is there anything I overlooked?

[tkeracer619]

Surface water. Water will still drain out of the tank until its at the bottom of the overflow box grating.

Drill the tank. You know why they call them overflows right?

[Sharksfan94]

Originally Posted by tkeracer619

Surface water. Water will still drain out of the tank until its at the bottom of the overflow box grating.

Drill the tank. You know why they call them overflows right?

Ahah! I shall have to keep that in mind when deciding if a 15 gallon sump is big enough.

Hm. I will look into drilling it. My only problem would be that the tank is already filled with water, rock, sand and two clowns... Any ideas how I would go about drilling it?

[tkeracer619]

I do think its enough, you would just want to baffle it and run the water level at an appropriate level.

I would suggest removing the contents into a suitable temporary home. Practice and have a backup plan established should the unthinkable happen. Of course make absolute sure the back pane is not tempered.

If you do go with the HOB option I prefer the nano lifereef overflow with the return pump plugged into an ATO float switch mounted on the tank rim. If for some reason the overflow fails and the tank starts to overflow it will trip the float switch and prevent a flood.

[Sharksfan94]

Originally Posted by tkeracer619

I do think its enough, you would just want to baffle it and run the water level at an appropriate level.

I would suggest removing the contents into a suitable temporary home. Practice and have a backup plan established should the unthinkable happen. Of course make absolute sure the back pane is not tempered.

If you do go with the HOB option I prefer the nano lifereef overflow with the return pump plugged into an ATO float switch mounted on the tank rim. If for some reason the overflow fails and the tank starts to overflow it will trip the float switch and prevent a flood.

OK. Its good to know someone else thinks it will work.

Thats what I was thinking. I would probably end up using the 15g to house everything while drilling.

Hm. At that cost it would make more cost efficient to just drill it and buy a new tank if the current one breaks while drilling it.

Thanks for input tkeracer619!

[Krazy]

I'm not sure if its big enough, but get an overflow with a U-TUBE, it wont OVERFLOW and make a mess, the CPR's SUCK unless your anal about maintance and keep up on cleaning that air lifter pump, etc...

I've had bad times with CPR overflows, no issues with U-TUBE overflows....


Just my 2 cents...

[Sharksfan94]

Originally Posted by Krazy

I'm not sure if its big enough, but get an overflow with a U-TUBE, it wont OVERFLOW and make a mess, the CPR's SUCK unless your anal about maintance and keep up on cleaning that air lifter pump, etc...

I've had bad times with CPR overflows, no issues with U-TUBE overflows....


Just my 2 cents...

Anyones 2 cents is greatly appreciated. I'm just the newbie here and I need all of the 2 cents I can get.


So on to drilling the tank and plumbing size.. Its a 25 gallon. So I would use the 700gph internal overflow from BRS, centered on my tanks back wall. Would two 3/4 overflow holes and one 3/4 return be adequate? One would be a full siphon and the other would be a little higher so that I have a back up incase the first one clogs.

Both the return(s) and the overflow would be fine tuned by gate/ball valves.

[tkeracer619]

Its going to be pretty difficult to stuff all of that into that box. I am not sure you can tbh. I think a single 1" unrestricted drain would be ideal for that particular box. 3x3 is not a lot of room to work with.

The only way I see it happening is stacking them on top of each other and leaving the top one as simply a bulkhead. Still, thats two holes pretty close in thin glass. I'm not sure I would do it.


I wouldn't drill the tank for the return. I would go over the back and finish it off with some locline.

If you are still concerned with an overflow (I wouldn't be) install an ATO float switch in the overflow box above normal operating level but below tank overflow level. This will shut down the return in case something clogs.

[Sharksfan94]

Originally Posted by tkeracer619

Its going to be pretty difficult to stuff all of that into that box. I am not sure you can tbh. I think a single 1" unrestricted drain would be ideal for that particular box. 3x3 is not a lot of room to work with.

The only way I see it happening is stacking them on top of each other and leaving the top one as simply a bulkhead. Still, thats two holes pretty close in thin glass. I'm not sure I would do it.


I wouldn't drill the tank for the return. I would go over the back and finish it off with some locline.

If you are still concerned with an overflow (I wouldn't be) install an ATO float switch in the overflow box above normal operating level but below tank overflow level. This will shut down the return in case something clogs.

Hmm, good point. I wasn't thinking of the size of the bulkheads.


Ok I won't drill for the return. I'll just go with what you said.


Ahah! I can definitely do that. Just plug it into the return pump like you previously said correct?

So yet another question... And please forgive me if you're getting tired of my questions... What if I was to use the 1800gph overflow from BRS? Its 12 inches wide so I could put 2-3 overflows... Or would that size be too big for a 25g tank? I honestly think it would work if I dialed the flow out of it down with a gate valve... What is your opinion of that thought?

[tkeracer619]

Yup, Its a pretty simple system that will save your butt should something go wrong.

The wiers on an overflow box serve a purpose other then simply keeping fish out. The further up the slots the water is the harder the water pulls nutrients into your sump.

I have seen plenty of tanks with huge awesome looking overflows but an oil slick across the surface. If you reduce flow on a larger overflow your surface skimming will diminish.

I would stick with the smaller unit. It gives you more then enough drain capacity without taking up too much real estate.

[Sharksfan94]

Originally Posted by tkeracer619

Yup, Its a pretty simple system that will save your butt should something go wrong.

The wiers on an overflow box serve a purpose other then simply keeping fish out. The further up the slots the water is the harder the water pulls nutrients into your sump.

I have seen plenty of tanks with huge awesome looking overflows but an oil slick across the surface. If you reduce flow on a larger overflow your surface skimming will diminish.

I would stick with the smaller unit. It gives you more then enough drain capacity without taking up too much real estate.

Yup! I really like it for that reason!

Ah. I get it all now. It is starting to all make sense. I shall stick with the smaller unit then! Thank you!