outdoor sump

[Lance]

Well it dropped to -7 last night and I was a little worried about my outdoor sump, so I set my alarm for 3:00 am and checked it out: (77.4) YES! So back to bed I went. This morning, when I got up it was 77.8 I have yet to see it fall below 77. It's supposed to go down to -12 this week, so that will be a big test, but I don't anticipate a problem.

[christyf5]

Outdoor sump?? Please elaborate, maybe with pics?

[dabandit]

I second that. I've been thinking about setting up shop in my un heated garage and I'd love to know more ie heaters and such

[Lance]

Originally Posted by christyf5

Outdoor sump?? Please elaborate, maybe with pics?

OK. The tank is a 90 gal corner with very little room under for a sump because of the triangular-shaped stand and dividers in the stand. Where the tank is leaves no access to an adjoining room. Under the tank in the basement is a large woodworking shop, so no place for a sump down there either. The tank is located against an outside wall to the sundeck. The sundeck is a split-level deck with 4 steps up to the upper deck. Between the steps and the house wall was enough room for the sump. I built a box with a lid and a door and insulated with 21/2" styrofoam. Painted the box the same colour as the house and it looks fine.
I have 2x300-watt heaters in the sump and have not had a temp problem at all. In fact the temp varies only about 1 degree from day to night. I love the sump outside for several reasons: spills or overflows? no worries, hose it off. No sump noise in the house. The door to the deck is only 10' from the D.T. so it's only 10 steps from the tank to the sump. Water changes are great. I just stir up the substrate in the DT and siphon right out the door to the deck, where it goes down the deck drain. This would all be easier to explain with pics, but the wife is out and she has the camera. I'll try to get some up later.

[sphelps]

I wouldn't want to try that here, -35 this morning
What about the summer, no heat issues?

[Lance]

Originally Posted by sphelps

I wouldn't want to try that here, -35 this morning
What about the summer, no heat issues?

Yeah, that's the nice thing about living on the coast. Last year I think we only had about 7 days of frost throughout the whole winter.
Summertime: I didn't really have a problem. We seldom get much over 80, and we have air conditioning in the house. The box around the sump is painted white which helps reflect the heat. The tank never got over 80.

[sphelps]

Sweet! Sounds nice, I can't wait to leave this freezer we call a province.

[parkinsn]

+1 sphelps, it was -42 when i started my car this morning, there's no way i would be tring that lol

[mark]

you're just posting this to make us feel bad on the Prairies?

Originally Posted by dabandit

I second that. I've been thinking about setting up shop in my un heated garage and I'd love to know more ie heaters and such

-no concerns about exhaust fumes?

[Lance]

OK. Here's some pics.

This one shows the tank in relationship to the door to the sundeck. A small hole is cut through the wall for the plumbing and the hole then stuffed with insulation.



<a href="http://s371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/?action=view&current=IMG_2420.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_2420.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>


This one shows the insulated box built into the cubbyhole between the house and the stairs to the upper deck.






Lid up and door open




Top down of the sump






And one of the view from the sundeck. Just because I love my view!