Eshopps vs. aqueon

I have a 45 gallon with a aqueon model 1 and it works great. However I'm upgrading to a 90 gallon and the people at the store told me to go with keeping my model one and adding on another aqueon mod 3 or going with an eshopp for my second one. The thing I don't like about the eshopp is the amount of room there is in the return chamber. The aqueon has plenty of reserve for the finishing water to come through when you switch of the pump, from the looks of it the eshopp doesn't. So has anyone ever used either or has ever had floods or other problems that they would like to share.

 

Im not sure about adding a second sump to your system. It will make your simple slightly more complex, more costly and much more prone to failures. We sell Eshopps, and I think they are a very nice sump. Depending upon the model, the last chamber goes from tight, to generous. But ignoring designs for a minute, you should only use a single sump on your system.

By design, your tank will only drain the amount of water that the return pump moves into it beyond the top of the overflow. With one sump and one return pump, the only chance for an overflow is if the level in your sump is too high and the power goes out. Having 2 sumps, and 2 return pumps that isnt the case. If one of your return pumps moved water 10% faster than the other, it wouldnt take very long (hours or days) before there would be a disparity in water levels between the 2 sumps. Because the water would likely be draining into both sumps at the same rate, but one pump pumps it back slightly slower than the other, one sump would end up overflowing.

I imagine you could tie the 2 sumps together, but it would be a dicey fix and not worth the risk. Buy a single large sump and keep your floor dry. You could always sell the old one to offset the expense.

Good luck.