remote sump in garage, who is doing this?

[Toledofishguy]

I am thinking about setting up a sump through the wall of my house and into the garage. The sump would house the skimmer. Anyone doing this? What are some issues? I will be running 2 400 watt halides over a 120 tank.

I would plan on having two heaters in the sump (one as back-up). Will heat be a huge issue? Would I be better off running the piping into the basement?

[Reefmedic79]

Not doing it, but would like to. I've seen it done on numerous occasions without much issue. In a garage you can virtually have a sump of unlimiting size, remember the bigger the better.

In Ohio, I don't think heat will be as big an issue as cold will in the winter, so having 3-4 or more heaters will probably be needed. The other issue would needing a slightly larger return pump to send the water the distance.

The same issues are immediately apparent to me if they were placed in the basement. Except you will need a much larger pump to get the water back to the tank.

[Keiths_Reefs]

I'd wonder about what sort of contaminants would get into the water from the car exhaust as well as anything else that might be in the garage (gas tanks, etc)

[dymaxiun]

I know there are many successful remote setups in garages. Lot of the people actually post here....

I would reccommend it... I personally dont have that, but i know it does equate to a silent tank setup whereever your display is at....

I was at a fellow reefers house not too long ago, and his 250 display was dead silent... he had all his plumbing ran down to his garage!

If i do a large display my sump will definately be remote...

[dymaxiun]

Originally posted by Keiths_Reefs
I'd wonder about what sort of contaminants would get into the water from the car exhaust as well as anything else that might be in the garage (gas tanks, etc)

Contaminents? I highly doubt that... just be careful, and not let your car idle in your garage for an hour with the door shut...

[hawaiianwargod]

tagging along...
IMHO, running my sump in the garage is the best decision. Water change alone is not a "threat" to me anymore...since spilling water is not a big deal in the garage. Noise factor is eliminated; my main display is super quiet. although, many are concern regarding harmful chemicals present in the garage, I never encounter any problem. I always make sure chemicals are stored away from the sump and if I clean my garage I put extra precautions to avoid disaster. The only downfall of setting the sump remotely is the use of more powerful pumps. I highly recommend setting the sump in the garage but many configurations and setup is not duable due to the locations of their main tank and their garage.

[ReefGuy]

If the garage and the sump is right behind your display tank, you can actually raise the sump couple feet off the ground. That would reduce the head loss for your return pump so you can use less powerful return pumps and save some energy. That is what I'm doing for my new 215 gallon reef tank. I'm also thinking about routing the air intake of my skimmer to the display tank room, so that would take care the problem of polluted air in the garage.

[tbrennan]

I do this in southern Louisana good points all equiptment is out there along with refugium, I raised the ref so it just overflows into the sump, I did build a room around the equiptment insulated all the tanks and pipes due to sweating tanks drove the humity way up. After it was insulated ran two turbo fans from walmart. My topoff used to be a 5 gal tank, now becuase I have the room it is 20 gal. Heat was my biggest issue but the quiet tank having all the gear out of the way and be able to work on it not to mention water spills are now cleaned up with a shop vac not that I would ever spill The sump is behind my big tank so i did not lose anything on the pump just added the thickness of the wall ran flexiable pvc so that was no big deal

[Toledofishguy]

it would possibly be right behind the display, i was also thinking about raising the sump, good point Reefguy.

[Snoopdog]

I know one guy that has his on "stilts" at least 6 feet high, probably more. The sump is resting on 4x4 boards and the room right next to the garage, kind of open to it. He really had no issues with contaminates that he ever mentioned. I would just be worried about the "dirtyness" of a garage, I mean no matter how many times I sweep mine it just always seems to be dirty unlike the main house. I guess it is because a garage door never seals as well as a house door.

[drock59]

im considering moving my sump the garage but i have a few issues. The sump would be a good 40ft away from the display. any suggestions? Pros/ Cons?

[LegoZ81]

I have a basement sump and having it remote is VERY nice. Honestly my biggest concern would be the heat.

[tm613]

I have a garage sump in pennsylvania...cold is more issue then heat but my heaters kept up. I just upgraded to a 180 so I just got a new sump and the best parts are : as large a size as a possible, no noise from pumps and skimmer and no worries of spilling during waterchanges, etc...mine is directly behind the tank so a large pump wasn't needed

[dgasmd]

[LegoZ81]

dude serious is the house the tank?

[drock59]

NO, i dont mean like that.

[atvdave]

Toledofishguy I do something very similar.
My tank is next to my garage and I run my water change water, and my auto top-off water through the wall.

One day I will also run the sump out there also but right now I just don't have the room, my garage is a mess. I have never had a problem with any Contaminants getting into the water, just a bug every now and then. I have been doing this for about 2 years with no problems.

[Gary Majchrzak]

Originally posted by Toledofishguy
Would I be better off running the piping into the basement?

Depending on your house, yes. Unlike many others posting to this thread you have a basement. You live in Toledo, Ohio. Do you have a heated garage? If not, you will need some serious aquarium heaters in your system while the Mudhens are taking their winter break.
Placing your sump in the basement directly under your aquarium would probably be the most energy efficient option in this case. I would place your sump in the basement.

Alberto, you are truly obsessed !

[mlukason]

I have the sump and refugium in my laundry room (next to and opens into the garage). The room is about 15 feet away from the display and is about 8 feet lower. This set-up gives me plenty of room for equipment and keeps the noise down. Water changes are easy and keeps the floors in the main living space clean and dry.

The only draw back that I've encountered is that the return pump has to be beefy...thus a bit more expensive. Well worth the money in my estimation.