help sump pump 101

[kimberly]

Greetings fellow discus friends,
Recently my tank leaked, so I am starting from scratch. If I want to buy a sump pump instead of the hang over kind, then where do you recommend that I buy the full system? I never set one up, so it needs to come with directions.

[Ryan925]

Can you elaborate more on your question? Are you asking about setting up a new tank with a sump for filtration?

[Jenene]

Can you elaborate more on your question? Are you asking about setting up a new tank with a sump for filtration?

Oh Kimberly- the right guy found you to help you with this!

Ryan the Jebao pump you suggested is amazing on the reef- dead quiet and perfect at half power to not overflow the overflow box. Thank you! :focus:

[Ryan925]

Oh Kimberly- the right guy found you to help you with this!

Ryan the Jebao pump you suggested is amazing on the reef- dead quiet and perfect at half power to not overflow the overflow box. Thank you! :focus:

Lol I'm no expert but glad I could help

[JBurgo]

I think the Jebao is a cheap Chinese version of the Vectra M1. I have the M1 and it's really good, very quiet, and likewise set at less than 1/2 capacity. Haven't tried the cheaper KOs so I can't make a comparison. But the silence was worth the money for me.

[Jenene]

I think the Jebao is a cheap Chinese version of the Vectra M1. I have the M1 and it's really good, very quiet, and likewise set at less than 1/2 capacity. Haven't tried the cheaper KOs so I can't make a comparison. But the silence was worth the money for me.

It was noisy the first day while it broke in. Now it is absolutely dead silent and perfect at 1/2 power. Very sturdy and perfect for my sump.

[Clawhammer]

I think the Jebao is a cheap Chinese version of the Vectra M1. I have the M1 and it's really good, very quiet, and likewise set at less than 1/2 capacity. Haven't tried the cheaper KOs so I can't make a comparison. But the silence was worth the money for me.

You sure that Ecotech Vectra M1 doesn't say "Made in China"? I am pretty sure it is made in ShenZhen.

[Ryan925]

I think the Jebao is a cheap Chinese version of the Vectra M1. I have the M1 and it's really good, very quiet, and likewise set at less than 1/2 capacity. Haven't tried the cheaper KOs so I can't make a comparison. But the silence was worth the money for me.

The jebao is silent. Dear silent and that is while test running my sump before even putting it in a cabinet.

How can you knock the jebao as junk and then say you have no experience with it?

[Ryan925]

[QUOTE=Clawhammer;1260303]You sure that Ecotech Vectra M1 doesn't say "Made in China"? I am pretty sure it is made in ShenZhen.[/QUOT

[rickztahone]

Everyone, let's not lose sight of the real issue here. A fellow member needs help.

OP, are you looking for suggestions on an overflow as well as a sump setup or just one or the other?

[adrian31@outlook.com]

Greetings fellow discus friends,
Recently my tank leaked, so I am starting from scratch. If I want to buy a sump pump instead of the hang over kind, then where do you recommend that I buy the full system? I never set one up, so it needs to come with directions.

I got my full system (tank + sump, lights, stand, hood) from fishtanksdirect.com to be sure everything would work together. Look for the 'Deluxe' systems. The directions were limited but I put it together myself no problem.

[JBurgo]

You sure that Ecotech Vectra M1 doesn't say "Made in China"? I am pretty sure it is made in ShenZhen.

The jebao is silent. Dear silent and that is while test running my sump before even putting it in a cabinet.

How can you knock the jebao as junk and then say you have no experience with it?
Don't read into comments things that aren't there. Where did I say it's junk? I explicitly said I hadn't used the Jebao and couldn't make a comparison. If you can make the comparison to the M1, I for one, certainly would appreciate to hear it (no sarcasm). I can comment on the Vectra. I bought the M1 because, when spending the money, I didn't want to risk the cheaper copy possibly not being as silent, when you can't hear them running personally. I'm happy to hear there's a cheaper option that's silent too. I don't have any commercial or emotional interest in either product.

Almost everything's made in China. Reputable products and KOs in most products are both made in China. I think the OP should be able to know all options with honest opinions, that say what experience they have openly.

Why flame?

+1 Ricardo we need to know more information, sounds like she wants a weir. In that case she should search `Bean Animal` and `Herbie Method`. I run the Herbie method and can attest to it's silence.

[Clawhammer]

Jason, I wasn't flaming at all. I procure products in China for a living in the hardware industry and know first hand that the same factories that make the cheap Chinese versions of these products are actually the same factories that are contracted to make the name brand versions. Go to a trade show in Shanghai and you will see what I am talking about.

My point was that it makes little sense in my experience to pay 4 times more for a product that was likely made in the same factory, using the same components as the cheaper versions. I can attest to the silence of the Jebao DCT, and they just came out with a new, quieter version, the DCP.

I think the herbie is just as silent as the bean animal, but bean animal is safer.

[Jenene]

Greetings fellow discus friends,
Recently my tank leaked, so I am starting from scratch. If I want to buy a sump pump instead of the hang over kind, then where do you recommend that I buy the full system? I never set one up, so it needs to come with directions.

Kimberly, I wish I could advise you on the sump. I have an Eshopps and wish I would have known more before I bought it. It is really geared toward reef and very hard to clean.

My best advice would be if you do not want to build your own to go to a specialty aquarium store or reef shop. My reef shop has acrylic sumps that are very open and are really easy to set up with a discus tank. Open areas where you can put lots of media at a vertical angle instead of horizontal is what I have found to be the easiest to maintain.

Hope this helps.

[farebox]

My advise to you if you are not drilling your tank, go with an LifeReef pre filter from LifeReef.com. You can contact Jeff there and tell him what you need for your discus tank. I had my system running for the last three yrs. without a hitch. Highly recommend, the cost is worth not having to worry about an flood period. As far an sump goes, buy an empty aquarium that will fit under your stand and use your K-1 and poret foam. No baffles required. Check out my sump: https://youtu.be/viNS76gbDSk

[kimberly]

Can you elaborate more on your question? Are you asking about setting up a new tank with a sump for filtration?

Yes, sorry it took me so long to answer. It has been a tragedy over here. I am sorry my fish are going through all this, but it was out of my control. the tank leaked, so I want to replace it with a sump and a tank/stand that can fit a sump under it.

[kimberly]

Everyone, let's not lose sight of the real issue here. A fellow member needs help.

OP, are you looking for suggestions on an overflow as well as a sump setup or just one or the other?

I am really dumb about this topic.

I want a filtration system that is the best. i want something that I can have options with in the future. I found an overflow. The guy at the store explained it to me. I am pretty sure that it will be great for discus right?

[Ryan925]

I am really dumb about this topic.

I want a filtration system that is the best. i want something that I can have options with in the future. I found an overflow. The guy at the store explained it to me. I am pretty sure that it will be great for discus right?

Since you are starting from scratch I would recommend going with a tank that already has an internal overflow. That's what I would do anyway.

[rickztahone]

I am really dumb about this topic.

I want a filtration system that is the best. i want something that I can have options with in the future. I found an overflow. The guy at the store explained it to me. I am pretty sure that it will be great for discus right?

Have you heard of the ghost overflow? The company that makes them sends a template of where to drill if your up to it

[kimberly]

Since you are starting from scratch I would recommend going with a tank that already has an internal overflow. That's what I would do anyway.

Yay! I did that. Thanks. Why by the way?

[Ryan925]

Yay! I did that. Thanks. Why by the way?

One less item to purchase, plumb and tune. Also one less thing to worry about.

I've had my tank for a year and decided to go with a sump so I have no choice but to use an external overflow. If I had to do it all over again I would definitely go with a drilled tank from the start

[kimberly]

One less item to purchase, plumb and tune. Also one less thing to worry about.

I've had my tank for a year and decided to go with a sump so I have no choice but to use an external overflow. If I had to do it all over again I would definitely go with a drilled tank from the start

Thanks! I am still grieving the passing of my Blue Diamond. I don't get attached, but I still grieve the loss of anything living that passes away. He was there with me through so much and he brought peace. So yea the next tank will be in memory of him.

I am told that I will have 2 bulk heads, a stand pipe, and 2 holes in the bottom of the tank pre drilled. Any suggestions on easy or hard plumbing methods? I heard there is a flexible hose procedure or a PVC method. Also any suggestions on sump and return? I will be looking for ideas on the best method for me and I prefer to do it myself...

[Ryan925]

Thanks! I am still grieving the passing of my Blue Diamond. I don't get attached, but I still grieve the loss of anything living that passes away. He was there with me through so much and he brought peace. So yea the next tank will be in memory of him.

I am told that I will have 2 bulk heads, a stand pipe, and 2 holes in the bottom of the tank pre drilled. Any suggestions on easy or hard plumbing methods? I heard there is a flexible hose procedure or a PVC method. Also any suggestions on sump and return? I will be looking for ideas on the best method for me and I prefer to do it myself...

If you have two holes I would recommend the herbie overflow style. You can Google the herbie method and you will find very detailed instructions on how to set it up. Pretty simple really. One stand pipe will be your full siphon the other will be your emergency.

Actually you are going rimless...so if you don't want to see your return coming over the top of the back rim you would need to use one of those two holes for your return. That would give you only a single hole for the drain and the herbie method would not work.

I did tons of reading on sump setups. A lot of what you find online is geared towards salt so keep that in mind. The nice thing about a sump is that the options for customization are endless. My sump will be using submerged bio media as well as a wet/dry chamber but I went a little overboard by design lol. Have later plans for the sump....

I believe one if the earlier posts was a good suggestion. You can keep it very simple and use the poret foam as your baffles which will also act as mechanical filtration. Then you can load your main bio chamber with lots if bagged media. For a return pump dc pumps are the best option. Energy efficient and adjustable to the amount of flow you need. Just be sure you size the pump properly to turnover requirements for the tank and flow rate of what your overflow can handle along with making sure you aren't blowing your discus all over your tank with too much force

And yes you can use flexible pvc to make things a little easier on yourself