pump for sump

I just recently made a sump out of one of my smaller aquariums and i am having trouble with the return pump. It is a 145gph pond pump and i put it in the sump ran a hose to the tank but it wouldn't return any water to the tank. Is it too weak? Do i need a some kind of a check valve or something?

 

? it is a flotec

 

The distance you need to push the water back up to the display severely impacts the amount of flow. You will probably need a stronger pump.

 

what size if the tank and the sump ? and is this a saltwater safe pump ?

 

it is a 5.5gallon sump for a 55gallon tank. it is saltwater safe

 

i would think that you def need a stronger pump. if you calculate head loss , even if it could push the water up to the tank you prob would not even filter your tank once in a hour.

how are you getting water down to your sump.? becareful you dont over flow the 5.5 gal, if the power goes out.

 

i am using a siphon.

 

ok this is a cool effort but I don't think that 5.5 is going to work out for you. Also the pump isn't going to hack it. You want around 3 - 5 times turnover on your return. This means atleast around 200 to I would say 300 gallons per hour running through your sump

 

how about one of these
Detailed Information about Quiet One Pump 1200 296gph 6` Cord 25.5watt
or
Detailed Information about Surge M-3000 Pump 675gph
or
Detailed Information about Gen-X Submersible Needle Wheel Pump GX1000 265gph

 

Ok i finally got it to work. I ended up getting a rio 1700. So it won't overflow i cut holes in the return line and everything is working good so far.