Marine Water storage tanks  – 03/09/07
Hello Crew,
<Hi Mike.>
I've searched the site and I have not found a question similar to mine, so I apologize in advance if this is a repeat.
<There are some similar issues here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/circpumps.htm>
I have a 180 gallon FOWLR with a 55 gallon refugium (both with deep sand beds).  I was seeking your opinion on the use of large water storage tanks in a setup.
I have been offered a 210 gallon FDA approved plastic water storage tank.  
<nice!>
By virtue of where my aquarium resides, it would be a simple matter to drill two appropriate sized holes through my wall and keep this tank in my laundry room (where noise is not an issue).
<Convenient place to put a laundry room!>
My thought was to take the output from my sump and pump it through a spray bar into the top of this (full) tank.  Then pump it out of the bottom back into the tank - essentially giving me an additional 200+ gallons of water volume.
Additionally, I've thought about putting a large quantity of coarse crushed coral in this tank for additional buffering.  Drilling a hole in the tank and adding a spigot for fast water changes is also planned.
Is this a good idea?  Are there any pitfalls that I may be missing?
<The pitfall is that pumping in and out will cause a flood when the pumps aren't perfectly matched. This is addressed here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/plumbingmarart.htm
You can incorporate this extra tank, maybe overflow from the aquarium into the tank, then overflow (bulkhead at appropriate height) to the sump.  Then pump back to aquarium.  You can only pump once, or you will have a mess. Levels set so that when power fails, nothing overflows.>
Many thanks for an outstanding website
<Very welcome.>
Regards
Mike
<Alex>

Sump advice   3/3/07 Hi there, <Hello> > Thank you for a fantastic website <Welcome> > I have attached a sketch of my proposed sump and overflow plans > If I have misdirected this e-mail please just push me in the right direction, if the pics are too poor or incomplete please let me know <Well... I do like the proposed overflow with the two drain lines... over the alternative with one... You might want to search for an "in-sump" model skimmer, rather than one that necessitates drilling the input and return as illustrated. But all other elements seem accounted for, reasonable in perspective> > Thank you so much > Murray, Cape Town <Again, welcome. Bob Fenner>>

Flood prevention in upstairs/downstairs display/sump 2/26/07
Hello again.
<Hi, Kris. GrahamT here.>
  I'm back with a new question/suggestion.
  I have been entertaining the idea of adding a sump to my 55gal FOWLR tank.
<I agree with sumps. "Add volume, add buffering!" I always say. At least, I *should* say that. That would be cool.>
  The sump will be in the basement, my tank is in the living room one floor up.
<I hope you have a solid plan for this. Can be troublesome in the early stages if not planned extremely thoroughly. Imagine having to run up/down stairs to observe what is happening simultaneously.>
  One of my hesitations about adding the sump is the plumbing involved and the fear of flooding when something goes wrong.  
<Mmm, flooding can happen regardless of location of the sump. Actually, that's probably what you meant; sumps introduce the possibility of flooding. D'oh!>
I understand that of the three options for getting water out of the tank siphoning is the worst, external overflow boxes are better but still problematic, and a drilled tank is best.  
<Would agree on basic principles here, but every situation calls for a different application, as you probably know.>
My tank is not drilled, and for the obvious reasons I will not go the route of a siphon, so I'm left with a hang-on overflow box.
<Or you could drill the tank? That aside, I think the overflow is a solid plan. (BTW some of the systems I service have been drilled, and still utilize a overflow, but instead of the lift-tube that could potentially fail, we plumb directly between the two with PVC bulkhead fittings.>
  That said, I understand that, should I lose power, the sump won't flood because the overflow box will only let a minimal amount of water into the sump.  
<Right. The overflow will reduce the level in the tank only to the point where water cannot cascade over the skimmer-edge.>
What I am worried about, however, is flooding the display tank with sump water when the power returns and the pump empties my sump.
<Not to say that that is altogether unlikely, but it *is* quite avoidable with some basic planning/foresight. Make sure the overflow is designed so that the water level never goes so far down below the skimmer-box level that the siphon is lost and you will be alright.>
However, if there were something the pump could be plugged into that would require a manual reset to restore power to the pump after power returns then the display tank could not be flooded from the sump as there would be no water returning to the tank until I reset the pump.  
<This is true, and there are interrupt-reset power-supplies that serve this purpose. The only thing I would reflect on here, is that while the pump is off, your filtration, circulation, possibly heating, etc. are all isolated from the main display. All this is moot if the sump pumps onto the floor though, huh?>
This makes all the horror stories of floods seem easily avoidable to me.   
<I would try to avoid needing the interrupt-reset power-supply, but it would make a great backup in case of failure. One thing you need to have in mind when designing a system is contingency and flexibility.>
Am I missing something in the dynamics of water flow or do you agree that what I have described would all but eliminate flooding at either the tank or the sump?
<I think that if the siphon in the overflow is never interrupted, you won't have to worry about the water not returning to the sump, causing a flood. That said, insurance is the backbone of a solid dependable aquarium. You need to feel secure that you can leave home without placing a camera and broadcasting on a webcam that you check every half-hour. Your idea is one more wall of security. I say, do it!>   
Thanks again for your great service to this incredibly enjoyable and sometimes challenging hobby.
<You're welcome, and thank you!
-GrahamT.>   
  -Kris

Sump a Distance From the Tank, is Feasible.   2/14/07
Hi there,
<Hi Deryck! Mich here.>
I am thinking about putting my sump in another room about 10' away from the main tank because it doesn't fit very nicely under the tank.  
<OK.>
Is this going to cause me problems?  
<No as long as you consider there will be a reduction in the flow the pump produces related to the further distance / increased resistance.>
I am looking at getting some decent size pumps in for the returns, but would like to know if this is even feasible?
<Is feasible.>
Currently I have two drains in my tank, both 1" pipe.
Thanks,
<Welcome!  -Mich>
Deryck