Tropical Fish Forums

[luke2214]

I would really like to build a sump system for my 27 gallon. I have an empty ten gallon that will suite. I understand the whole point of water pumped from my main tank through the sump and then back into my main tank. What I don't understand is the plumbing, where do I use filters and siphons? How do I build a system that won't flood when the power goes out? How to align water levels in both tanks? I already have silicon and acrylic sheets. Any advice or plans will be greatly appreciated. Thanks


ohh ya, do I have to have dividing walls?
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[diademhill]

If you consider the system & pipework.

Siphon out, pipe down, through sump, pump up back into tank.

You drill a hole in the siphon end just below the waterline. This breaks the siphon if the return pump fails as soon as the water level lowers.
You can use dividers in the sump but I've found a tupperware stack is easier to maintain for small sumps.

[luke2214]

What exactly do you mean by piping down? and are you saying drill a hole below the tanks water line on the tube? Thanks for responding its starting to make sense to me.
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[diademhill]

You got it - the hole needs to be below the waterline normally but high enough to stop the sump overflowing. You also have to consider what could happen if there were a powercut and the siphon stopped but then the pump restarted.
For this reason it is a good idea to have the sump pump intake set high in the sump so it will stop before the sump empties.

[luke2214]

OK Thanks. So like you said, if the pump stopped working, but then restarted what would happen?
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[diademhill]

If you placed the pump or it's intake at the bottom of the sump and the siphon down stopped the pump would keep sending water to the tank which could overflow.
You need to balance the tank size & headroom with amount the pump can send back if the siphon stops so having the pump near the top or a shallow sump makes sense.

[luke2214]

OK I got it now. thanks
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