Multi Tank Sump Systems

[zum14]

Originally Posted by dean9922

agreed zum14.....i would be using another 33 gallon for a isolation tank....have you done your tanks yet, and if so, what size of PVC and pump did you use....

No not yet, im still a ways away from building anything, im still in planning. Basically figure out what kind of water turnover rate you want in your tank example- 50 gal tank, want 5 times an hr? get a pump that does 250-300gph then just figure out which pvc will handle your pump rates. Always sway to the larger side with the pipe for safety though. Check out the tank builds, theres a lot of guys with some neat sump setups on here.

[BCOrchidGuy]

Basically what you want to do is to fill your sump to the highest water level you want it to be in case of a power outage, have all your tanks plumbed and to the point where they are just about to overflow back to the sump. Turn on your pump and watch the sump to make sure it doesn't go dry before water starts to return to it. Use the formula Length x width x height then divide by 231 to get an approximate capacity that your sump will have to handle, then probably double that.

I'll try to explain that better. If your tank is 18 inches tall and you drill it and plumb it so the overflow gives you 1 inch between where the water starts to return and the top of the aquarium this is your height measurement. Standard 90 gallon tank is 48x18x24. Using the formula I suggested you'd find your tank volume is 89.7 gallons. Now we are more interested in the volume of water that the sump needs to hold so this time we are going to multiply 48x18x1, one because that is the difference between the top of the overflow and the top of the tank, it's the volume of water you need to handle. We get 3.7 gallons but because we're thinking safe lets round that to 5 gallons. Figure out what the total capacity you need to handle and then at least double it and you should have a reasonable idea of what your sump needs to handle but that doesn't mean your sump size, just how much water it needs to handle.

Doug

[pirate]

That is a great caculator. I had no Idea that there was one for figguring out the size of water returned.

[dean9922]

Hi Pirate
I don't think the link for the calculator got attached.....