Ready for changeover to sump for my 75 gallon tank

[JK75gal]

Hi All,

I have been running a FX6 for 2 years as of February. Went to the LFS to talk about Sumps and came home with the following:

Right off the HOB overflow Does not fit "Perfect" and I still don't know enough to determine how big of a deal that is.
The water line I use is the black of the tank and using this overflow I would have to either DIY the internal to the tank box to go deeper or raise the water level to flow into the box. It is close but the image below shows the box at the lowest that the it can go using the supplied pieces.

Please feel free to let me know any and all thoughts as the list you see is a lot of money to me and if it is worth it, fine. However, if they oversold me due to my reliance on their knowledge then I need to know.
As always thank you all for the input it has and is always appreciated.

 

[Kingsley_Reef]

Not a fan of HOB overflows other then that you got some serious hardware what’s the reef run controller for?

 

[JK75gal]

Not a fan of HOB overflows other then that you got some serious hardware what’s the reef run controller for?

thank you for the reply,
Honestly scared of the HOB but I have 2 options. I can wait until I move this year to drill the tank or see if there are any failsafes I can use. I have decided that I won't use it if everyone agrees there is no absolute protection methods from water damage.
Let me throw this out there, there are 2 drains (hope I am using the correct terms) can one be to the sump and the other extended a bit in the event water was building up and about to go over and onto the floor and have that side go to a large storage for lack of a better word? I am still youtubing the HOB but, will not have any water on the floor unless all hell broke loose.
the controller is for the new pump and skimmer.

 

[Kingsley_Reef]

Shouldn’t need a controller with the vectra it comes with a physical controller plus the mobius app

 

[JK75gal]

Shouldn’t need a controller with the vectra it comes with a physical controller plus the mobius app

Well, I guess the LFS guy saw me coming.... I literally hate when I "have to" take advise from the person selling me something. Can't complain, I should be further down this road and know "stuff"

 

[Kingsley_Reef]

Well, I guess the LFS guy saw me coming.... I literally hate when I "have to" take advise from the person selling me something. Can't complain, I should be further down this road and know "stuff"

lol it’s a nice pump I don’t have any experience for ya about the Red Sea skimmer but I can’t believe a dc skimmer doesn’t come with its own controller of some sort

 

[bobnicaragua]

I ran HOB overflows for about 15 years on 3 different reef tanks. They used to be much more common. Never had an issue.

Pic from 2011:

 

[JK75gal]

lol it’s a nice pump I don’t have any experience for ya about the Red Sea skimmer but I can’t believe a dc skimmer doesn’t come with its own controller of some sort

OK, so after looking at the box for the skimmer it has the same app so, being all about staying in one app I bought it to control both from the one app? sound right??

 

[JK75gal]

I ran HOB overflows for about 15 years on 3 different reef tanks. They used to be much more common. Never had an issue.

That is awesome to hear, do you mind a few questions?

 

[bobnicaragua]

That is awesome to hear, do you mind a few questions?

Sure.

If you have two drains, I would set one higher as a back up, if that’s possible. Then have both the primary and backup drain to the sump. I would not have your backup going to a separate container.

Go ahead and shut off your return pump and make sure the sump can hold all the water and there are no issues with your siphon when you restart the pumps.

Since the overflow box is a little higher than you’d prefer, I would run your return pump fairly slow.

 

[JK75gal]

Sure.

terrified of water on the floor, let's start with that.

I have been you tubing sump setup but not getting great results (to be fair this was only last night) will be hitting the videos in about an hour. any suggested channels or do you mind providing guidance?
Not sure if you saw my earlier post about the two drains on the overflow one side extended a bit to be higher than the sump side draining to "water storage" of some kind in the event power goes out (I even have a generator and still terrified) and water decides it doesn't want to be in my tank anymore.
How do I get the balance of water in the sump and still able to handle an overflow of the overflow.
Also, kinda confused on the "how" water will end up on the floor from the overflow box, won't the water level go under the inlets on the overflow box?
Need to research more on the actual setup of a sump with a HOB. Problem is I am more of a diagram guy, once I get it I am good to go plumb it out make it pretty and watch it go.
Finally, a bit embarrassed I am so confused over this. So thank you!

 

[JK75gal]

Sure.

If you have two drains, I would set one higher as a back up, if that’s possible. Then have both the primary and backup drain to the sump. I would not have your backup going to a separate container.

Go ahead and shut off your return pump and make sure the sump can hold all the water and there are no issues with your siphon when you restart the pumps.

Since the overflow box is a little higher than you’d prefer, I would run your return pump fairly slow.

Well I guess I should have waited a few minutes...

 

[JK75gal]

Sure.

If you have two drains, I would set one higher as a back up, if that’s possible. Then have both the primary and backup drain to the sump. I would not have your backup going to a separate container.

Go ahead and shut off your return pump and make sure the sump can hold all the water and there are no issues with your siphon when you restart the pumps.

Since the overflow box is a little higher than you’d prefer, I would run your return pump fairly slow.

first point got it
second point makes me nervous, are there any options other than have a lot of towels that you would recommend when performing this step?
third got it.
thx again

 

[bobnicaragua]

first point got it
second point makes me nervous, are there any options other than have a lot of towels that you would recommend when performing this step?
third got it.
thx again

Just be ready to turn your return pump back on quickly! It’s a stress test. You have to know you can survive a power outage without flooding your house!

 

[JK75gal]

Just be ready to turn your return pump back on quickly! It’s a stress test. You have to know you can survive a power outage without flooding your house!

see, that is common sense. I am no good at that, too dang technical ... if I stopped and thought about it prior to asking I could have come up with just turn the pump back on..
ok, if you don't mind another two:
1. To get the level that works I would adjust the return pump to keep the water at whatever level I need for my don't let water on the floor sump?
2. What if the power doesn't go out but the siphon gets cut, what would you suggest to deal with the return pump sending all the water in the sump to the tank.
I really think this is all i need to start making sense of my first sump setup. for now at least...

 

[bobnicaragua]

1. Make sure your siphon tube is full of water. Fill the sump part way with salt water. Turn the return pump on low. Fill the sump to the right water level for your skimmer. Mark the water lvl with a sharpie on the outside of your sump.

2. The siphon should not break. Really hope the siphon doesn’t break!

 

[JK75gal]

1. Make sure your siphon tube is full of water. Fill the sump part way with salt water. Turn the return pump on low. Fill the sump to the right water level for your skimmer. Mark the water lvl with a sharpie on the outside of your sump.

2. The siphon should not break. Really hope the siphon doesn’t break!

Sounds like I should really wait until I can drill the tank.

 

[bobnicaragua]

2. Sorry, I was being over dramatic with my answer. Like I said earlier, I used hob overflows for years. The siphon never broke, even when the power went out. Everything works normally once the power returns.

I’m sure there is some risk, but I never knew anyone with a failure.