Frag drain design question

[wisnia99]

Hi All, Im planing to add a frag tank next to the sump in the basemant. The issue Im having is thet the sump is already on the table. And I cant make the frag too much higher.
As you can see on the picture the frag would be 20"tall and sitting about 6"above the sump bottom. The sump is 17"tall so the top of the frag tank would be 9" above the top of sump. The frag tank would be about 2 feet away from the sump.

The big question is is there enough gravity pressure for the tank to drain into the sump?

 

[KrisReef]

Put a valve on the return or put extra drains in the sump and gravity can be used successfully.

 

[wisnia99]

Would a 2" drain pipe help? I don't really want to drill 2 holes in the sump

 

[wisnia99]

I should also mention that the water level in the sump is at 11"

 

[BeanAnimal]

Just put an overflow in the frag tank into the top of the sump.

 

[Dom]

Hi All, Im planing to add a frag tank next to the sump in the basemant. The issue Im having is thet the sump is already on the table. And I cant make the frag too much higher.
As you can see on the picture the frag would be 20"tall and sitting about 6"above the sump bottom. The sump is 17"tall so the top of the frag tank would be 9" above the top of sump. The frag tank would be about 2 feet away from the sump.

The big question is is there enough gravity pressure for the tank to drain into the sump?

 

[wisnia99]

No comments Dom?

 

[esquare]

What is the water level in the sump? They way I'm seeing it, the 11" water level in the frag tank plus the 6" elevation of the FT puts the water level at the top of the sump so assuming the sump isn't completely full you should be able to drain the FT down to the water level of the sump. I assume you are using a stand pipe on the Frag Tank?

 

[Dom]

Would a 2" drain pipe help? I don't really want to drill 2 holes in the sump

Why drill holes in the sump? I mean, it sounds like a nice idea, but why wouldn't you just go in to the sump from the top?

 

[wisnia99]

Yes it will be an overflow box with pipe inside if that is what you mean

 

[wisnia99]

Why drill holes in the sump? I mean, it sounds like a nice idea, but why wouldn't you just go in to the sump from the top?

The issues I have is that the frag tank is red sea refer and has the holes on the bottom of the tank.

 

[esquare]

Yes it will be an overflow box with pipe inside if that is what you mean

So, the way you have it drawn up and if I'm understanding it correctly the FT will drain down to the water level in the sump (not the top of the sump) so you should be good assuming the water level of the sump is not to the top of the sump. But, hopefully more folks with better understanding of fluid dynamics will chime in.

 

[edd59]

i would put 1 return to display and split the drain to frag tank and sump. let the frag tank drain to sump.
you would have to put a stand pipe or something if its drilled on the bottom. or plug it and drill for an overflow box.

 

[Joekovar]

What if you swap the supply and return lines in the FT?

 

[ca1ore]

Somebody implied it earlier ..... the important thing is how much of a water level difference there is between the frag tank and the sump. If its 6"+ then the frag tank will drain just fine. Making the drain line bigger gives you even more peace of mind.

 

[ScottieB]

i would put 1 return to display and split the drain to frag tank and sump. let the frag tank drain to sump.
you would have to put a stand pipe or something if its drilled on the bottom. or plug it and drill for an overflow box.

This is essentially what I did. I added a "fuge" using an old sump and just tapped into a drain from the DT and let water passively pass through the makeshift refugium. My sump in the basement and my fuge is behind the DT in the wall. If anything malfunctioned like the return pump or ATO my pass-through fuge just functions like a standalone system until its back up and running.