Aquarium Filtration - SUMP TIPS & TRICKS to AVOID the FLOOD!
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- Опубліковано 15 кві 2020
- Sump aquarium filtration is scary and intimidating when you are unfamiliar with how they operate. It certainly was for me! I didn't sleep the first few nights after setting mine up. I was afraid that I was going to flood my room and ruin the hardwood floors! When I went looking around for tutorial information on UA-cam, there wasn't really much out there. Because of that, after getting over my fear and learning about sumps, I've decided to post a few videos that might help those interesting in setting one up.
Here are my tips and tricks so you don't have to fear the flood when setting up your sump aquarium filtration system.
Here are a couple playlists with more sump (and other) filtration tips:
• Aquarium Filtration - ...
and
• Aquarium Sump Filtrati...
Do you run a sump and have some tips and tricks to share? Watch the video then share your thoughts in the comment section below. Remember, on this channel, "We ALL LEARN FROM EACH OTHER!" I enjoy reading the conversations that take place between all of you, the "Convo Gang," in the comments section below.
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Want more tips and tricks to care for your fish? Check out these playlists!
Best Fish Keeping Tips Playlist is here: ua-cam.com/play/PLr8ew8o8WXoDLeItfzOiRG8DV-1W9qNX4.html
Lowering and Controlling Nitrates Playlist is here: ua-cam.com/play/PLr8ew8o8WXoD-pzZaHgtIFqurG9HZn2zz.html
Every Live Stream is Here: ua-cam.com/play/PLr8ew8o8WXoApHjaPfc6rdr7oipfEbZ-k.html
The Water Change Tips & Tricks Playlist is here: ua-cam.com/play/PLr8ew8o8WXoCdEYkD0rQa0OWejFk5-bHD.html
SunSun Canister Filter Playlist is here: ua-cam.com/play/PLr8ew8o8WXoCiMWEpBFJFJGxTqJH_MdMg.html
Fluval Canister Filter Playlist is here: ua-cam.com/play/PLr8ew8o8WXoC8gSuqdG1c4nOzlAMFTmiD.html
I remember the first time I got a sump and I filled it up with too much water thank God I caught it just in time. You fill It about halfway maybe a tiny bit more but also the hose or the PVC that goes into the tank has a hole drilled in it so it’ll stop the water from siphoning. I’ll take a sump over a canister filter any day
Ben your coffee mug arrived in The Netherlands, within a week after ordering 😃👍
That’s awesome. Send me a picture drinking out of it in front of your tank and I’ll show it in an upcoming live stream. Send to: ben.o.cichlid@gmail.com 😉😀👍🏻
I’m confused on how to know the sweet spot for the when the pump in your sump stops pumping water into your tank, in case of say overflow total blockage. How do you test that? Im guessing it’s the water level in your sump? I don’t know why I can’t grasp that. I get the power outage scenario as my sump is tall. It’s a used 180 tall tank I bought but have not set up yet cause I’m “skert” 😂
If your pump fails in a sump, the water from the tank will only flow into the sump up until the the level of the return head in the tank...as soon as the water level gets lower than the return head, air will break the siphon. If your return head is not at the top of the tank, you could have a problem but another way to prevent back siphoning is by putting a check valve on the return. A check valves only allow water to flow in one direction. It's the ultimate in safety I would say.
The small hole drilled in the return head at the water line will break the siphon even sooner. Together with the one-way valve, it helped me sleep better 😉
Thank you for the wonderful advice
Nice video Ben. Great explanation. Thanks
Thank you for watching!
Great walk through, thanks :)
You are welcome!
Great video.
Glad you enjoyed it
Good video. The pump will likely burn out if the water feed is blocked. To prevent this I
use an automatic pump shut off for when the water level drops to a preset level in the sump return chamber. Somehow to further convert folks to sumps we need to make our set ups look simpler. All the wires, tubing, valves, sections scare people when compared to a canister. Replacing all media with Poret foam “walls” and eliminating internal sump dividers are what I am working on in my next generation of sump design. With this approach you can use any basic aquarium as a sump without complicated dividers, baffles, drilling, etc. One of my future videos where I hope to pull in more fellow aquarists into sump usage by showing this design
Will you be using an overflow box?
@@BenOchart yes. An external hang on box. I have had one of these going for 20 years and have never lost siphon using two 1.5 inch "J" tubes. A lot of people are afraid of these but I love them and find them very low risk. They are more attractive and less complicated and can be added to any tank easily.
I liked this video amigo..please take care...👍🏼👍🏼informational
Hello Lito Loco 4 Fish! Go to see you here again 😀
I run my level in the display pretty low too. I want to raise it now that everything is established and tested. Having a herbie overflow, there really isn't any need to keep the waterline down.
With the tank featured in this video it was difficult for me to keep the water line above the cut outs in the overflow box. Maybe a stronger pump or a slight restriction on the return plumbing might have done the job. I sold the tank so I'll never know for sure but I will be experimenting with my new set ups.
Thanku Ben what size and how many for my five foot tank well stocked tank and my bumble bees have had baby’s three surviving doing well many thanks for yr help, been in hospital with a brush with covid 19 so was panicking about tank thankfully all ok
am fear the flood ok just plumb my first sump my main tank is up and running what do fill first saltwater tank 220 with a 55 gallon sump with two overflows thx you also have a one way valve in line
You know I love filter videos.
I'm going to throw a twist into filtering at the Sat. Live Stream and then release a video on Sunday that will expand on the subject. It could be a game changer for me.
@@BenOchart Filter tease. LOL
To avoid the back siphon in my sump I drilled a small hole in my return just above the waterline. It also ended up sucking in air during normal operation so I have an extra bubbler.
I drill them just below the waterline so there are no bubbles (and a little bit of back siphon is okay, but that’s stopped by the one way valve ).
@@BenOchart I also got a pump with an auto low water shutoff built in so it won't run dry
Hi Ben I noticed you have no air stones in yr tank in uk there keen on them I have two large ball air stone and an bubble pipe the length of my five foot tank what do you use please best regards caz
Hi Carol, I’ve never really liked the look of air stones so instead I provide oxygen to my tanks with a lot of surface movement. This is accomplished by using powerheads/wave makers pointed slightly upward.
Great explanation Ben, sumps are pretty much the best, so easy once you trust and understand them, how’s the 8 foot fund going
Yes, it's an on-going learning experience for me. My next venture will be setting one up with hard plumbing. Since we're going to be relocating to Nashville from Los Angeles, I'm gonna time things so I start off with a larger tank when we get there. So, we're around 6 months out. I'm not sure if I'm going to be keeping these fish or going into an entirely different direction, like planted tanks, breeding, etc ... so much to think about.
Ben Ochart both, keep the 150, sell the grow outs.
Use the 150 for planted etc and the 8 footer for your beasts :)
I wish you and your family the best Ben with the move, hope you keep doing the channel it’s very addictive and helpful, appreciate it buddy
Hey Ben. What about a double check valve in the pump line going UP to the tank? Then put the discharge @ the top of the water level in the aquarium above?
Just wondering because I want to set a sump up, and I’m going “primitive” for my sump media etc…. Any advice, so I don’t get caught up in spending hundreds on sump filtration?
A one way flow check valve with the return at the water line will safeguard against any back siphon possibilities. Also drilling a hole in the return just below the water line will also break the siphon.
@@BenOchart Yes I did see that hole drilled on your video. Thank you for the feedback!
I’m having issue with flooding the top tank cause air lock in the drain line maybe? With setup like yours it seems like u would have to add water daily to keep it at exact amount
I saw an auto top off.
What happens if the down syphon breaks and the sump sent water up to the tank causes the flood.
Hey Ben, one of your comments said you are relocating to Nashville and maybe go in a different direction with fish keeping, and people always tease you about photoshopping your fish cause they look so good
Yes, by the end of the year we hope to be in Nashville. I’ll probably always keep cichlids but I’m really liking some of the planted tanks I’m seeing.
what about saltwater reef aquariums where the drain is on the bottom/floor of the tank.... that goes to the sump? Im still doing some research but i havent found a answer yet.
I don't know if this would work/help but I've been working on a design of a sump filter that won't make me worry in case of power outage. My idea is to add float valve, like the one in the toilet flush, in the sump. In case of power outage, sure the water from the main tank won't stop from flowing through the sump and since there is no return (powerhead stops working) flood will occur.
The idea of the float valve in sump is just the same of what it does in our toilet flush. When the water reaches a certain water level , depending on where you adjust the height of the sealed float (balloon-like for older version of float valve), this valve will close the entrance preventing incoming water to flow through it. Applying this idea, you can install a float valve that connects from the main tank to your receiving tank, which is your sump, and adjust it to a water level that can cause flooding. When your sump reaches this height, the valve will automatically shut off the entrance from your main tank preventing excess water to flow through your sump. I don't know if the commercially available float valve can withstand the water pressure but in case it doesn't work, redo your piping (only the connection from the main tank and receiving tank). Make your piping in a shape of U, this will help to reduce the water pressure.
@@florencegonzales744 i think i figured it out now. All it is is the overflow / drain needs to be larger or double the size of the pump return so its impossible to overflow. Even the tanks that are drilled in the bottom still have a hard pipe that skims off the top. In the event of a power outage a little from the top will still drain to the sump but will soon stop after it reaches a certain level. Some tanks have 1 to 3 over flow drain holes in case one where to clog for some strange reason. But having more overflow than what the pump can put out is key.
All my sumps are drilled with a bulhead and drain outside in the event of a "too much water" situation. Also this is where my water flows out as I have drip systems in place.
What substrate are you using in this tank?
It's called Caribsea crushed coral, but it has a lot of shells in it. I use it for buffering since it's rich in calcium and magnesium. If I was starting over I'd go with 3" of sand.
@@BenOchart can one not use fine gravel and for buffering crused sea shells may be placed in the sump because gravel is easy to maintain and also I plan on installing a plenum in my aquarium. I got this idea from Dr Kevin Novak. It keeps nitrates in check.
Yes! In today’s live stream I’m going to discuss a very different way of setting up a tank, somewhat in line with this.
My first canister filter flooded once, never had a sump flood on me
As we speak I'm in the middle of replacing an O ring on a canister that started leaking. So I hear you loud and clear. The O rings do eventually fail, like all things do. Fortunately I was home and working under the tank right after it started or it could have been a big mess.
Go in a different direction, but you do it so well you know all that photoshopping and stuff😏😉✌️✌️👍
Tell me more about what you mean Jeff, I'm not sure I understand the comment.
I had a flood just last week with my canister filter. It backwash from the power going out.
How exactly did that happen if the canister is a closed system? Was there a leak in the canister?
@@BenOchart i do not know how it does it. It's done it twice tho. I have it in a 5 gallon bucket with an overflow pipe hooked up now incase it does it again. It's an Aquatop like the sun sun that u have.
I guess though the one way valve will fail over time as the material wears.
Yes, and in hard water areas like mine there is mineral build up on everything water related, so the valve needs to be serviced and scraped down or it will stay open just enough to let water return to the tank. It's because of that that I drilled that hole in the return at the water line to break the siphon before the water level in the sump could get too high.
@@BenOchart Good idea, we have very hard water here too, I always notice water tastes different when I travel away from home. You get mega build ups of limescale on in the kettle too.
That’s why u keep the outlet at water level or barely below so it could only drain half an inch if it does. Also helps agitate surface
@@bigworm6635 I see.
wow what a great video very helpful I was thinking of doing the same to my 65 gallon but always worrying what if I do it wrong and if it overflows, I actually have some Aquarium videos of my own please come take a look at my channel
my sump has an overflow that drains outside so......I'm good
That would be ideal. Are your returns very low in the tank (i.e. so a lot of water could potentially drain out in the event of a pump failure)?
@@BenOchart No - I have an aqueon 210 with the built in overflows. I keep my 40 gallon breeder tank DIY sump FULL of water because I use it as K1 micro fluidized bed. Fluidized motion is provided by overflow water from main tank and an airpump. 1/4 of the 40 gallon sump is screened off for the return pump, heater, chiller coil and HOB overflow. I drip 2 gallons per hour of water into the sump from a well - so the over flow is constantly dribbling water into the garden. If I lose power I lose several gallons through the overflow but the constant drip water change fills it back up in short order. ua-cam.com/video/lIEax4NkR8Q/v-deo.html
Very nice! Love the green algae on sides and back. Gives it a real natural look😀👍🏻
Properly designed sump system is probably the least likely to cause water damage. Canister filters are probably the most likely to fail.
Funny you should say that, I’m in the middle of replacing 2 canister O rings...
Neither do you need to fear a flood like that of the days of Noah. 🌈
Are you saying David that I don't need to gather up a pair of every creature and ... Thanks for watching buddy!
Ben Ochart That is correct sir! Lol see ya Saturday
1st lul