Noob questions - moving water between a 20L and a 10g sump

[paparoof]

Hi folks. I'm slowly reading and purchasing *stuff* for my first salt-water experience. I've kept freshwater fish alive for years at a time, a few times in my life but never salt and never used a sump system before. I don't know everything I need to know yet but I think I have the general concepts down, and I'm 80% of the way through the BRS 52-week video thing, so I'm taking my time and doing my best to get it as close to "right" as is reasonable on the first go-round. No hurry here. Bioload will stay as light as possible for as long as possible - a couple fish, a handful of corals. Yeah - I see you rolling your eyes...

 

The bones of the system are a 20L display with a 10 gallon sump. For a stand I've reinforced the top and added doors to the bottom of a 3/4" MDF bookshelf that fits both tanks just right. I want to drill the tank for an overflow like the attached image. I love the clean look of tanks with these boxes.

 

Priority #1: to every degree possible, I need to make sure this thing does NOT overflow onto the floor. My home office (personal and professional) is directly beneath the spot where I want this tank to go (bedroom). Computers, guitars, recording gear. I understand there's no such thing as a perfect system, yes it's all photographed and insured - I just really wanna keep this particular stuff.

 

Priority #2 is quiet. I'm a light sleeper. A soft but continuous hum or whir is not a problem. Any kind of intermittent sound like gurgling or splashing or whatever-you-call-that-drainage-sucking-sound is a big problem.

 

The return pump I've purchased is a Sicce Syncra Silent 1.0 (reportedly 251gph @ 4.9' head). I'm measuring about 56" (4.7') from the return pump to the output to the display tank so 251 should be a realistic number if I plumb this thing for it. If I'm at ~26 gallons total system capacity, that would be more than 9 times an hour - considerably more than necessary - no? I've also got a pair of Sicce Voyager Nanos (530gph) in the display tank and a Hydor Koralia Smart Wave with the intention I would do a cycling one-on/one-off thing. So I shouldn't need to rely on the return from the sump to provide all the needed flow in the display tank and there should be more than enough "headroom" in the water-movement system so far.

 

Am I even close to correct?

 

If so, what I'm currently looking for is just the right overflow box. From what I've learned so far, Bean Animal is as close as I'm gonna get to the above priorities - please correct me if I'm wrong about that. To that end, the image I attached is exactly what I want, but longer and narrower. If the pictured Eshopps can actually handle a 100g system then I'm hoping I can get away with a much smaller external box (depthwise) and maybe even 1/2" fittings in my system? The box shouldn't have to be 3" deep should it? I need to keep this bookshelf as close to the wall as possible, but I don't want to go out the left or right sides.

 

Another thing: I don't know if I'm overthinking this or just flat-out wrong, but I don't like the slots in the face plate of the manufactured overflow boxes. Are they really necessary? I read somewhere that pulling water from beneath the surface significantly reduces the surface-skimming benefits and that the ideal would actually be a flat top for the water to spill over (no slots) and the internal box would be as long as possible. DT is 29" long in my case - I'm not thinking this needs to be THAT long, but 8" just seems like a wasted opportunity to do some serious skimming. Why not make the internal box 16" long? Or would that just be ridiculous given the size of this system?

 

So question #1 (if my previous assumptions are reasonable): Is there an off-the-shelf box that fits all of the above? I could swear I found one on some website somewhere but didn't save the link and now I can't find it again. If custom is the way to go here, who would you recommend?

 

#2: Is a flat top better than slots for the face of the internal box? I would like to keep the top water line invisible (behind the DT rim) if possible.

 

#3: Is 1/2" ok or am I asking for trouble?

 

#3: Can I use something like PEX to run down to the sump? I'm not at all opposed to hard PVC if it helps me achieve my priorities, I'm assuming PEX is safe, would be easier to run and would have a better flow-rate due to fewer (zero?) joints. Educate me if I'm wrong about this or if there's some other reason I'm not considering.

 

#4: What am I forgetting to consider?

 

 

[paparoof]

TL/DR I spose. Oh well...

[Elizabeth94]

Ill add another thread bump. My overflow for my 29gal was much different, so I am no help with this one. I used a glassholes overflow which only had one drain.

 

TL/DR I spose. Oh well...

[Thunderbird311]

I'm building a similar size system to yours right now so I'll share my thoughts from over the years.

 

You prob are overthinking this all just a bit but thats ok. Better to have the knowledge and not suffer catastrophic equipment failures later. I nearly flooded my living room because I didn't put a siphon break in my return pump line. Please don't forget the siphon break.

 

Flat top overflows do skim better but they tend to have more noise and micro bubbles. The slats help with both as well as deterring livestock from climbing or jumping into the box and potentially clogging the overflow. Personally I hate every off the shelf option out there. I suggest either drilling your tank or building your own diy overflow.

 

Any flex tube option should work fine as long as there is no rubber or metal. I like clear tubing so you can see the water flow. Just make sure it is secured with clamps so it stays in place.

 

1/2 inch is prob fine. Put a ball valve on the return pump just to be safe. Then you dial back the flow if needed. I opted for 3/4 inch on the overflow because I'm getting a bigger return pump but I think it was overkill.

[Polarcollision]

Don't have a sump, but I can tell you the slots are to keep snails --and other stuff--from entering the pipes and clogging the returns. This would definitely cause problems like flooding. My AIO tank has slots positioned so the waterline is midway. Plenty of surface skimming.

[Halo_003]

1. There might be, try Modular Marine on EBay, they do custom sizes and can work with you on stuff like bulkhead size and overall box size.

2. The slots do slightly cut down on surface skimming, but are good because they can prevent large objects from going into your drains.

3. PEX would be perfect I think.