Moving sump in basement-just thinking out loud

[Intheflesh]

I've had this idea haunting me since my GF planted the seed a few weeks ago. We have 2 tanks, a 12 g nano, and 50 mixed reef. Her nano tank is a "KISS" tank with an internal filter, heater, and lights. Manual top off daily. My tank is pretty simple too: return pump, sump, skimmer, 1 recirculating pump; lights and ATO controlled by an RK lite.

Pros: We were thinking how nice it would be to have one sump in the basement. Maybe upgrade the RKL to a Neptune so we can have better control with our "smart" devices. Now we can have a bigger sump, improved stability, one skimmer for the whole system, dosing for both tanks can been done at once, same with water changes. I can have a bigger ATO reservoir, and a WC reservoir. WC could be as easy as turning a valve. Also, the possibility of a bigger refugium, and frag tank.

Cons: 1) the work to set it up (and updating equipment that might be undersized, drilling her tank which means draining it) and 2) out of sight/out of mind: what if there's a leak, skimmer overflows, etc. Might not be as easy to catch this.

Also on the "con" side: we are talking a relatively small volume. 60 gallons of DT, plus maybe and additional 40g of sump? Is it even worth all of this trouble for such small tanks?

 

[this is me]

I think it's well worth the effort if you can do it. Larger water volume is always a plus. And like you said, you can consolidate some of the equipment being used in both tank.

 

[Flame Angel]

Good luck with your decision. Keep the following in mind... the impact of this decision must be weighed beyond just expanding to a sump in the cellar.

There are many pluses and minus to this approach. Mold, salt spray, equipment upgrades, ventilation could be a few of the issues you may have to address.

Do a search and check out a few of the other threads out there in regards to cellar sumps.

Like said... is it all worth it... once you get started you may want to just expand the size of the display tank and go with just one.

Planting seeds is great! But the soil conditions must be right for things to grow and flourish.

I will be curious to see what you both do.

 

[Intheflesh]

Yea, it definitely could work. I have an area set aside as my work bench area that I could use. The basement is unfinished at the moment which would make running pipe easier. One issue is that the tanks are on opposite sides of the house. (Well i don't know how much of an issue this really is). The sump would be directly below the nano. Cue awesome paint drawing:



My problem is I have project ADD. I get an idea in my head, want to execute, but keep forgetting about the 12 other projects that I have started and abandoned. Ha!

 

[choff]

What I'm seeing is the gfriend is getting upgraded to a 50 and you a 180 with a nice big sump and frag tank in the basement

...stupid auto correct

 

[Intheflesh]

Ha! I have played that card a few times. No dice..

Now lets play the "what if game". Assume I have about 12' head room. ( the return would be about 4' above the floor, and the return pump would probably sit about 3' from the ground) I calculated that there will be about 7 extra gallons in the piping and tubing, a 40 gallon sump (about 85% capacity)... that brings us to about 105 gallons total. (I rounded up here. I like round numbers) What would be a suitable pump? right now I am using an Eheim 1262 which is way over kill for my 50.

 

[choff]

I'd look at a waveline dc10000. At 12' you are looking at 800 gph and you could throttle it back some. Or you could run the 6000 and would get you around 400gph.

I have my sump plumbed so I can run the pump internally or externally (winter internally, summer externally ) these don't put out a ton of heat to begin with, but they are very energy efficient and dead silent. Mine is in the unfinished part of our basement( no insulation in the ceiling) and I could still hear my old pump upstairs in the room directly above.

...stupid auto correct

 

[Intheflesh]

Thanks, that is some great info right there. Gives some fuel for thought.

 

[delta]

You need to think about heating it in the winter. So some type of enclosure will help. could be as simple as rigid foam insulation this is what I did at first. But then I built a small room and heat it to neutralize the issue. In the summer it works in your benefit. You will definitely need to ventilate it I use a simple bathroom fan that draw 50 watts. Enclosing it also makes dealing with the moisture a lot easier

The pump you use will come down to the setup you choose. but more than likely a pressure rated pump.

Water change station is one of the best benefits not that you can still do this with your system up stair. but the way mine is set up I can stop and leave it for an indefinite time period at any point of the water change. and all I do is change valves. I can do a water change in under 5 minutes from start to finish. And never touch a drop of water

 

[choff]

You need to think about heating it in the winter. So some type of enclosure will help. could be as simple as rigid foam insulation this is what I did at first. But then I built a small room and heat it to neutralize the issue. In the summer it works in your benefit. You will definitely need to ventilate it I use a simple bathroom fan that draw 50 watts. Enclosing it also makes dealing with the moisture a lot easier

The pump you use will come down to the setup you choose. but more than likely a pressure rated pump.

Water change station is one of the best benefits not that you can still do this with your system up stair. but the way mine is set up I can stop and leave it for an indefinite time period at any point of the water change. and all I do is change valves. I can do a water change in under 5 minutes from start to finish. And never touch a drop of water

No, this is great info.

And all things I learned the hard way. I had an exhaust fan installed and my dehumidifier runs quite a bit in the summer. Make sure it's plumbed for continuous use. You will never keep up with changing out the bucket.

 

[Intheflesh]

A month later, and I'm still thinking about this. I had another thought: keeping the sump where it is, and just connecting the 2 tanks to a common sump. Hmmm.

The basement is unfinished ATM, and I was thinking I could run some PVC lines along the floor joists, and back up through the wall.

Cue another awesome paint drawing:

A couple of thoughts/questions right of the bat:
1) as long as the outlet is below the inlet for the drain pipe, this should work right?
2) I need to consider whether or not my sump cant handle the extra water volume when the system is shut off.
3) im thinking of using this for my over flow: