Overflow alternative
 

O.k. went out today and picked-up most of the plumbing need for my sump.I started to think about the overflow and wondered if I skip the overflow box and use just the pvc pipe with an inline pump/pwr head to draw the water out of the tank and down to the sump,using a submersable pump for the return.I could use small egg crate to cover the intake of the pipe.Would this work?(I would just drill the tank but its already running)

Jim

next to impossible to perfectly match the flow rates of the 2 pumps, your sump will either run dry, or overflow...

why don't you drill you sump and have water pumped into the sump (mount the sump slightly higher than the main tank then the water can flow back to the display tank.

Steve

Now I remember why I don't have a sump yet(gets to complecated :redface: )If only my tank was drilled.I'll still need a pump for the overflow..arrrgg..o.k...can someone please explain(think of me as a five year old)how I need to set up an overflow box for a tank thats not drilled?

Jim

You buy one of these..
http://www.jlaquatics.com/cgi-bin/sh...logno=of-cs090
and hang it on your tank edge. Water drains into sump, pump pushes water back to tank, drains to sump, etc.
Use a valve on the pump output to match overflow. Simple.

I guess I should have checked JL's in the first place,save me from going crazy trying to figure one out :mrgreen:
O.K.,one more question,what kind/brand of submersable pump would you reccomend that won't put me in the poor house when it comes to price?

Jim

MAG drives are probably your best bet. What size tank?

54gal with about 40gal worth of sump

A MAG 9 or 12 would probably be perfect. The 12 if you can afford it.