Reef nutrition

Remote sump, what return pump?

kinetic

kinetic

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I'm just teasing an idea of having a remote sump. It would be far (about 15 feet away).

I'll probably build out a small shed, put in receptacles form my 20A dedicated circuits, put in some venting etc.

But what return pump would work? I guess I could plumb an external?

Also, do I have to worry about the drain pipe needing to be cleaned out?
 
How high do you need to pump vs far away and how much flow you looking to get?

I’m of the opposite view of add unions everywhere. I plumb everything slip fittings unless it is something I know I will be removing. If i ever need to take plumbing out, I cut it out and add a union to put it back together.
 
Height will probably be at most 10 feet (from the return pump on the ground to the actual return outlets). Horizontal travel distance will be about 15 feet. I'm hoping for about 1,000gph return flow +- a little. I think I could get something like the Abyzz A100 and it would do just fine.
 
Wow, that’s a lot of flow. I was expecting 300 - 500 gallons. You only need enough flow to the sump for your heaters to work and to feed your filtration. You will need a big pump to get 1000 gal with 10 feet head plus all the other plumbing losses. Find something 2500 gal at 10 feet if that is really what you want.
 
Qwiv said:
Wow, that’s a lot of flow. I was expecting 300 - 500 gallons. You only need enough flow to the sump for your heaters to work and to feed your filtration. You will need a big pump to get 1000 gal with 10 feet head plus all the other plumbing losses. Find something 2500 gal at 10 feet if that is really what you want.
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Ah, you're right. I meant I'd like a pump that can do 1,000gph, but I think I would be closer to 500gph.

I was planning on a under tank sump with the VarioS-4 pump which does a max of 1050gph, but I would run it at like 30% or even 50%.
 
kinetic said:
I'm just teasing an idea of having a remote sump. It would be far (about 15 feet away).

I'll probably build out a small shed, put in receptacles form my 20A dedicated circuits, put in some venting etc.

But what return pump would work? I guess I could plumb an external?

Also, do I have to worry about the drain pipe needing to be cleaned out?
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Go 1-1/2” drains, of course have unions and you should be fine without having to clean out.

And I’m pretty sure a Vectra L2 would get the job done at a fraction of the cost vs the A100 without losing reliability.
 
I’d recommend an external ac pump like an iwaki. I’ve had some in use on and off for almost 15 years.

Not quiet by modern standards though !
 
I have a somewhat remote sump in the garage. Very handy to not have to dig around under the display tank.

At that head pressure, most of the normal pumps will not work.
You probably need something like a Reeflo Hammerhead.

The pipes do get a fair bit of detritus, yes. What I did was put a Tee at the lowest point, with a small valve and flex tube.
That way you can just open the valve and dump water into a bucket, removing the detritus.

Suggest wrapping the pipes in insulation.
 
Hey Art!
I have similar to what you are thinking about and I use this pump
on the return and the closed loop.
I bought some extras to swap out in case, but the pumps have been insanely rock solid for like 6 years. You can throttle them down and I believe the3y come in different sizes, but I would go with the bigger. Cna be run external or internal.
I also think the COR20 or the big vectra would do just fine as well
The abyzz would work well as well
I have been using an old ehiem to run the water to the lab tanks, and that works fine. Totally enough flow, but not a ton. If I were replacing that pump I would use a Sicce.

Make the drain lines 1.5 in and you really shouldn't have to worry about cleaning them out.
I have my sump in the crawlspace under the house for a long time and haven't really worried about insulation that much. I do have heaters in the display because that is the water I most care about being heated. I used to wrap with foam in the winter, but too lazy now and have given up on the idea that I can insulate enough to make it worth the time and money. YMMV
 
Thanks everyone! Such good information. If I go this route I'll probably have some more questions, but I'm definitely pointed in the right direction to do more research.
 
How big of a sump do you plan on running. When I did this I had more water in my crawl space than in my display. It did not go so well in regards to electricity usage
 
iani said:
How big of a sump do you plan on running. When I did this I had more water in my crawl space than in my display. It did not go so well in regards to electricity usage
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It wouldn't be huge. I was going to basically take what would go in the cabinet, and relocate just for noise issues. Honestly, it's not really a big possibility. My current setup is already near silent (even the skimmer is silent -- NYOS 120).

I had thought about just using a 100G stock tank and just going bonkers. But I don't think I'll do that after all. Even if I try to keep anthias/genicanthus, a fleece roller, skimmer, and algae scrubber should easily keep up in a regular sized sump. I'm looking at the Trigger System Platinum 34 or 39.
 
I would also recommend an AC pump such as a Reeflo. I ran mine for 10+ years and never had any issues. Just a little noisy towards the end as the bearings started to wear a bit.
 
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