Question on Sump tank

[copycat]

I have never used a sump filteration system before, however, i'm interested in setting up one.

A few enquires which i have before jumping into a sump system, hope some one could address them, in case of power failure, would water flow from overflow compartment of your sump tank and cause flooding when no one is around?

i dont have any overflow system in the tank. What i have is a standard 3ft tank. Any suggestions on overcoming this problem of overflow system?

I figure that I could use those U shaped hose to draw water into my sump tank (do you all think this would works?)

The drawback I could think off, is during power failure, I would experience flooding as flow of water would continue due to pressure difference, this could be solve by having a big sump tank to contain the excess water and removing the hose. however, when power supply resume, since the inlet flow supply have been stop, my pump may overheat, any suggestion to prevent this from occuring?

last but not least, how much does a sump tank cost?

[BFG]

Water should not overflow when there is a power shortage. With a properly design overflow compartment (internal or external) no such situation should occur. The controlling point for controlling the water flow is the return pump. If there is a power shortage, the pump will be switch off and no water will flow. But with the right overflow setup, water should remain in the pipes in the overflow compartment.

I'll try to find some links for you.

[BFG]

Here is an excellent article on sump and overflow. Hope this helps. If it doesn't just ask, no worries.

http://www.melevsreef.com/what_sump.html

[copycat]

yup it helps

thanks a lot

[blim]

I am setting up a sump tank as the external filtration tank. It is a glass tank 36"L x 15"W x 15"H. There are 4 compartments. I am using bioballs and ceramic rings for the media, any suggestion as to where shall I put them. Water from my tank goes to the 1st compartment, the return pump is at the 4th compartment.

I am thinking of putting bioballs in the 2nd and ceramic rings in the 3rd compartment. Is this the right way?

[bossteck]

Hi blim,

I would suggest you put bio ball in the first compartment, on top of several layers of filter wool, second and third compartment put your ceramic rings.

In such an arrangment, the bio balls will act as a 'pre-filter' that will break down fish waste to smaller particles before they reach your filter wool.

Drawback to this arrangement is that you will need to remove the bioballs whenever you replace the filter wool, however, this being a sump tank, how often are filter wool being replaced anyway?

cheers!

tip: you could get those media bags to put the bioballs or ceramic rings, so they can be easily removed.

[blim]

Thanks. Will take your advice.