loaded sump question

To be Blunt about the ultimate question here, is it possible to have a sump system using two canister filters instead of an overflow?

i have a 75 gal with a regular aquaclear filter hanging on the back and im having trouble keeping the tank clear. however my iridecent shark is now 8 1/2 years old and is outgrowing the tank. i purchased a 125 gallon that came with 2 fluval 305s for $185. ive seen sumps and have been interesting about trying one but everywhere i look or read says you need an overflow. my question is can i make a sump out of an old 10 or 20 gal tank and use one filter to feed the sump and the other one to flow back into the tank? also, i was origionally planning on getting another heater and using two for the new tank due to its size. if i can use the sump idea, can i get away with only using the one in the sump or should i still use two? i was also hoping to be able to get alot of stuff out of my tank because i have a plecko thats almost 17" long and likes to push the heaters and filter intak all over the place. if i can get stuff out of the tank then it will avoid this problem as well.

if anyone has any imput or any other ideas they would be much appreciated. thanks for looking!

 

When it comes to sumps you want one pump to return the water to the top tank. Overflows don't need to be drilled into the tank, you can also buy an overflow that will hang on the back of the tank and go that route.

Since your 125 is currently empty, If you wanted to glue in some baffles to the 125, and then have the Fluval 305 act as the overflow tube + return, that'd probably be a pretty solid idea if you wanted to go sumpless. This would create the desirable skimming effect on your water that overflows produce and the baffled section would act like the return chamber in a sump, just in the DT.

You wouldn't be able to use the sump and the Fluvals together though, There's just no way for it to work that I can think of.

But if your 125 *is* empty you could drill it if it's not tempered glass.

 

If you are going to do a sump in a separate tank, I don't see how to do it without an overflow. I can think of some kludges, but they'd cost more than buying an overflow and be less reliable.

Highly advise getting the tank drilled if the glass is not tempered. If it is tempered, U-tube overflows are inexpensive.

M

 

If you use two canisters and one of them fails = water everywhere

 

yea the filter failing thing was one of my fears and the glass is tempered so drilling isnt an option. already thought of it lol. now with the overflow tubes im kind of confused on how those would work. do i hook one of the filters up to that and use it as an intake? i only ask cause i dont see how the water would be able to flow unless its hooked up to some kind of filter or pump.

 

The overflow is fed by a siphon, gravity fed no pump needed. You just need a pump to return the water from the sump to the tank.

 

i just read something that gave me an idea. would the 305 for intake and a 305 for outtake work if i had a way to stop excess pumping in the case that one does fail? what if i was to drill a small hole in each intake right below my water level, if the pump fails that limits the amount of water the other pump can pull out because it would lose suction. just an idea so if u think it wont work feel free to tell me. like i said im still fairly new to this so my understanding is still slim.

 

You will never get them to flow equally, even if they are rated with the same gph. If one flows at even 1 gph less than the other, you will end up with either a dry sump, or an overflowed tank. No matter how much you adjust them, you will never get it to work. You must use some kind of gravity fed overflow (either drilled or hang on back).

 

Like I said, all kinds of ideas... but you'll never get the pumps to balance and stay in balance. Get an overflow and save yourself much pain.

In fact, sell the pumps that came with the tank and use that money to get what you want!

M

 

yup. and when they are unbalanced, they will eventually get to the point where the siphon will break with the safety holes you drilled in a matter of time which will defeat the purpose. If you are trying not to put a sump but want to run a canister, just use the canister by itself. If you want a sump and want to use the canister, its ok to put the canister completely on the sump. If you want to use a sump and use the canister as the return pump, you'll have to get an external overflow box or drill your tank. that's the only fail safe way to do it. you can look up some pvc overflows but i dont trust them.