Can anyone please...

Refer me to any know threads within the site that they know of which could possible help with creating a sump for my 55 G tank. I am totally new to this and need a very thorough and step by step procedure of some sort. doesnt need to be very step by step, but more like what consists of a sump. its purpose, and how to have one running properly with my tank. i tried reading but i cant seem to find a thread that has all this. thanks for any type of feedback..

 

http://saltaquarium.about.com/od/diysumpplans/DIY_Sump_Plans.htm

 

i read it but I am still confused on the concept and what not, if i knew how it was suppose to work then i could:

A. better understand the purpose of a sump and its nature,
B. possible use my creative skill set that I acquire and create a sump of my own so its cost effective as well as doing its job.

E.G. comes from tank goes to blah blah, then blah blah, then blah blah, etc...

:\

 

Here is a primer for you.

http://www.3reef.com/forums/reef-aquarium-articles-how-tos/all-about-sumps-filters-fuges-79852.html

 

edit: the above link is great.
here is what a sump does. In your tank you have this things called "overflow boxes" that when water reaches past them the water simply goes into it and then a pipe brings that water into a box usually located in your tank. then that water gets filtrated and returned to the tank by a return pump.

the sump is just used to increase your water volume and for a better filtration ( biological and mechanical) than a hang in filter.

 

Quick explanation:

Your sump serves 3 main purposes: 1) acts as a housing unit for all your equipment (i.e. Skimmer, heater, and a place for filter media if used/bio balls. it is simply a place to hide the unsightly equipment and allows you to have a more visually pleasing DT with no HOB stuff. 2) your Sump adds water volume to you main tank thus making your system more stable. as water evaporates from you tank you will only notice the water level drop in the sump, this keeps your DT water level constant. 3) The sump in connection with an overflow box that allows water from the DT to cascade over the overflow box and thus aerating the water proving the very important step of gas exchange.

In order to have a sump you need an overflow box that is placed inside your DT. the overflow box has slits cut through it to allow the water from your DT to "overflow" into the box and down through a hole (using a bulkhead) and is connected to a pipe that feeds into your sump.

in order for the water to be driven back up to the tank you need a water pump. this can simply be placed in the sump (typically at the other end of the intake side) and is connected to a hose that is sent through another hole through the overflow box and expels the water into the DT. this creates a cycle that forces the water to overflow into the box down to the sump then back up through the return pump.

It is important to not fill the sump with too much water incase of a power outage where the return pump loses power. in this event some water will flow back into the sump ("back siphon") and raising the water level in the sump. it is for this reason you need to measure how much water flows back into the sump when the power is off and use this measurement to mark how much room you need to leave for a power-outage.

Hope this helped a little. as you can see there is not much to it. it sounds more confusing than it really is. at its basic level all a sump is a container placed under your tank and connected through pipe and powered by a simple power head.

 

now this is what i am talking about.. + karma my friend

 

+Karma thanks

 

i have a 10 gallon long tank that is used for a betta fish, I was gonna use it to start a simple saltwater reef tank but people say not too because its harder to do... would I be able to use a 10 gallon tank as a sump for my 55 G DT?