the_fuzz Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 Hi Guys, I currently have a 4foot Malawi tank using a cannister filter. I'm about to purchase a 6x2x2 foot and was thinking about going down the baffle sump path. 1) does anyone have any good links to info on baffle sumps? 2) How do you know how big a sump to make? Is 2 foot suffice? Is there a calculation? 3) I'm also after info specifically on the plumbing - do you have to drill a hole? What exactly is a weir etc etc I'm pretty sure the actual baffle sump part is ok, looks easy - but I just need to get my head around the plumbing part back and from the tank and also what size to use. Any help is appreciated, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TropheusQueen Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 Hi Guys, I currently have a 4foot Malawi tank using a cannister filter. I'm about to purchase a 6x2x2 foot and was thinking about going down the baffle sump path. 1) does anyone have any good links to info on baffle sumps? 2) How do you know how big a sump to make? Is 2 foot suffice? Is there a calculation? 3) I'm also after info specifically on the plumbing - do you have to drill a hole? What exactly is a weir etc etc I'm pretty sure the actual baffle sump part is ok, looks easy - but I just need to get my head around the plumbing part back and from the tank and also what size to use. Any help is appreciated, Have a look at the articles on the old Sydney Cichlid Page (link on this site) I believe there is a DIY that may interest you. HTH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fongyfong Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 Hi Guys, I currently have a 4foot Malawi tank using a cannister filter. I'm about to purchase a 6x2x2 foot and was thinking about going down the baffle sump path. 1) does anyone have any good links to info on baffle sumps? 2) How do you know how big a sump to make? Is 2 foot suffice? Is there a calculation? 3) I'm also after info specifically on the plumbing - do you have to drill a hole? What exactly is a weir etc etc I'm pretty sure the actual baffle sump part is ok, looks easy - but I just need to get my head around the plumbing part back and from the tank and also what size to use. Any help is appreciated, 2) yes 2 foot will be enough you can go bigger if you want, my tank (6 x2x2 ) had a 2 foot by 40 cm by 40 cm sump and it did the job . 3)Yes you have to drill a hole inside the weir, so the water can come down to the sump, and a weir is that big glass overflow box you see on left, middle or right of many tanks at local fish stores , where the water raises at a level and goes into that box(weir).Only bad thing about a weir is it makes the tank not look good too as theres a big box there, but it can be covered buy a universal background and it also makes some noise, but the noise can be turned down a little by a durso stand pipe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosco Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 It really depends on what you wish to keep in the tank as to the size sump you need. I have 40 Trophs in my 6x2x2 and my sump is a 100x45x50(h) and is a hybrid matrix sump with a small bio chamber. My bio chamber is only really designed to filter and oxygenate the water before it hits the matrix. In retrospect I could have dropped the sump to 75x45x50. I would recommend at least a 60x45x45 sump. That is the sized sump that I am going to use for my 4x2x2 and I will be running a OR3500 on it. cheers rosco Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr67prem Posted February 16, 2009 Share Posted February 16, 2009 Hi Guys, I currently have a 4foot Malawi tank using a cannister filter. I'm about to purchase a 6x2x2 foot and was thinking about going down the baffle sump path. 1) does anyone have any good links to info on baffle sumps? 2) How do you know how big a sump to make? Is 2 foot suffice? Is there a calculation? 3) I'm also after info specifically on the plumbing - do you have to drill a hole? What exactly is a weir etc etc I'm pretty sure the actual baffle sump part is ok, looks easy - but I just need to get my head around the plumbing part back and from the tank and also what size to use. Any help is appreciated, i have been looking at doing the same with my 4x2x2 coz i,m using my canister on my 4x18x18 i have looked around and found a site that showes how to build anover flow then all u have to do is plum it up to the sump hope this helps ya cheers michael http://www.melevsreef.com/acrylics/overflow.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oz_gooner Posted February 16, 2009 Share Posted February 16, 2009 Ok. Now I'm confused. The weir shown in that link looks big and ugly. I haven't seen a weir in use on with a sump setup before. Do you need to use one and what is it's purpose? Does it sit inside or outside the tank? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yellow Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 Ok. Now I'm confused. The weir shown in that link looks big and ugly. I haven't seen a weir in use on with a sump setup before. Do you need to use one and what is it's purpose? Does it sit inside or outside the tank? that weirs for people who have bought tanks without weirs. its just a modification to fix that problem. you dont need that if your tank already has a weir?. if it doesnt then id suggest getting holes drilled in the existing tank and go from there rather then build one of them. you could either have a weir put in it or have holes drilled in it; you just attach your bulkheads to these holes and bingo. i prefer the latter because you dont lose tank spaceto the weirs overflow box hth heres one heres the other; the overflows in the back left hand corner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViS Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 The main advice I can give when building a sump is to make sure it's big enough to handle the excess water in the event of a power failure. When you finally set it up, get it running how you want it, then switch power off and make sure it's not going to overflow. The best way to do it is to fill the sump to the level you'd be happy to run it at, enabling the pump to be comfortably submerged. Fill the main tank until it begins to overflow into the sump, then let it fill until it's close to overflowing. Then start the sump pump and see how far the sump level goes down. If you are happy with the system levels after 10 minutes, switch off power and see if the sump handles the water. If it's all good, mark the sump level at it's maximum working level with the pump going, so you know never to fill it past that level when doing a water change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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