Dmitri's 1000 gal DT journey!

[sharis100]

I would use this as opportunity to have a chat with whomever made your sump- like wow, what a pain….
I would either remove the socks and baffle and use mechanical filtering like rollers or swap out those pipes for acrylic bars or solid pvc pieces as the pipes will cause problems as folks above mentioned - Steve’s idea seems brilliant.
Might be easier to swap out now that you have things in place. Are there any warranties with that sump?

 

[Adam]

I would use this as opportunity to have a chat with whomever made your sump- like wow, what a pain….
I would either remove the socks and baffle and use mechanical filtering like rollers or swap out those pipes for acrylic bars or solid pvc pieces as the pipes will cause problems as folks above mentioned - Steve’s idea seems brilliant.
Might be easier to swap out now that you have things in place. Are there any warranties with that sump?

It's a used custom MRC iSump that's about 4' tall and holds more water than many of the large tanks in the club.

Dmitri's 1000 gal DT journey!

Hi Folks, I want to introduce myself first. My name is Dmitri and I’m a reefoholic ;) I’ve been in a hobby for about two years, started with a 14gal biocube some basic soft corals a pair of clown fish and a goby. I quickly upgraded to more and bigger tanks, needless to say, I was well hooked...

atlantareefclub.org

https://atlantareefclub.org/boards/index.php?attachments/img_4413-jpg.1639/

He was doing a 300+ gallon water change and the sump was empty. When refilling, all of the water was going in on the return side and would then flow through the sock openings. But there was no water in the rest of the sump. The main weir leading to the socks buckled under the pressure of 3 or more feet of water only on one side. It's actually very fortunate that it just separated the way it did at the top shelf and one side wall. Had the welds held the whole sheet of PVC could have cracked in the middle somewhere. A 24" or less sump won't see anywhere near the hydraulic pressure, but when I fill my DIY 120 sump, I dump the water on both sides of the main weir so I don't blow the glass out of the silicone.

 

[sharis100]

It's a used custom MRC iSump that's about 4' tall and holds more water than many of the large tanks in the club.

Dmitri's 1000 gal DT journey!

Hi Folks, I want to introduce myself first. My name is Dmitri and I’m a reefoholic ;) I’ve been in a hobby for about two years, started with a 14gal biocube some basic soft corals a pair of clown fish and a goby. I quickly upgraded to more and bigger tanks, needless to say, I was well hooked...

atlantareefclub.org

https://atlantareefclub.org/boards/index.php?attachments/img_4413-jpg.1639/

He was doing a 300+ gallon water change and the sump was empty. When refilling, all of the water was going in on the return side and would then flow through the sock openings. But there was no water in the rest of the sump. The main weir leading to the socks buckled under the pressure of 3 or more feet of water only on one side. It's actually very fortunate that it just separated the way it did at the top shelf and one side wall. Had the welds held the whole sheet of PVC could have cracked in the middle somewhere. A 24" or less sump won't see anywhere near the hydraulic pressure, but when I fill my DIY 120 sump, I dump the water on both side of the main weir so I don't blow the glass out of the silicone.

Wow 4 feet tall ?!?!!! Incredible. Did not know that the entire sump emptied during the water change, I can now understand why that happened. Most sumps are not designed for that massive pressure during a water change- I did not understand and just thought it gave out during a normal water change. During our large water changes, we set up our process so that the sump never empties fully to prevent damage to the baffles and we fill from the 2nd middle compartment after the sock entry and empty from the return just for that reason so that water flows in all directions- on a much smaller scale of course. Yes, he is super lucky that the PVC did not break. Again, wow.

 

[Adam]

Wow 4 feet tall ?!?!!! Incredible. Did not know that the entire sump emptied during the water change, I can now understand why that happened. Most sumps are not designed for that massive pressure during a water change- I did not understand and just thought it gave out during a normal water change. During our large water changes, we set up our process so that the sump never empties fully to prevent damage to the baffles and we fill from the 2nd middle compartment after the sock entry and empty from the return just for that reason so that water flows in all directions- on a much smaller scale of course. Yes, he is super lucky that the PVC did not break. Again, wow.

I don't believe he's done it this way before and was testing a very large water change through the sump. So this may have been the 1st time he's had the whole sump empty since it was installed.
I actually do something similar on my display system but I do not fill it from the drain chamber. I fill in the center chamber as well but my sump isn't even 2' tall. Draining it completely is about 130ish gallons. I have started just draining everything but the two drain chambers of the sump and it's real close to 100 gallons. This has me rethinking about how I do my changes.

My fear with Dimitri's situation is that water will seep through the separated section at the wall and it's no longer a true weir. It may fill in with crap over time but I wouldn't drain it like that again even with the piping crossmembers he's put in. Hopefully @skriz will chime in and give his long term recommendation.

 

[Dmitri]

I don't believe he's done it this way before and was testing a very large water change through the sump. So this may have been the 1st time he's had the whole sump empty since it was installed.
I actually do something similar on my display system but I do not fill it from the drain chamber. I fill in the center chamber as well but my sump isn't even 2' tall. Draining it completely is about 130ish gallons. I have started just draining everything but the two drain chambers of the sump and it's real close to 100 gallons. This has me rethinking about how I do my changes.

My fear with Dimitri's situation is that water will seep through the separated section at the wall and it's no longer a true weir. It may fill in with crap over time but I wouldn't drain it like that again even with the piping crossmembers he's put in. Hopefully @skriz will chime in and give his long term recommendation.

Ya this was kind of careless of me pushing that much water so fast without giving it too much thought… sump is built to last! Quality for sure.

Before this I do remember it had a leak between those baffles. That’s probably was a weak point and gave out after 2 years

I filled up 300 gallons in 5 minutes, that water pressure from 2” pipe and how fast it was pushing definitely was too much. Next time I’ll be filling it much slower.

Sump is without warranty since I bought it second hand. I think if I drill few holes in those pipes that support each wall, it will be good enough not to cause any problems with sulfur. The water flow in that are is pretty crazy so I double anything would build up inside those pipes other than sponges and feather dusters.

Thanks for tagging along!

 

[Adam]

@Dmitri I updated my thread... tag, you're it

 

[Dmitri]

I am sad to say that due to major life changes and future relocation I will shutting down this system. Everything will be going for sale...

 

[york1]

I am sad to say that due to major life changes and future relocation I will shutting down this system. Everything will be going for sale...

Sorry to hear it. That is a awesome tank

 

[wildernets]

Oh wow. So sorry to see this happen but it is just another phase of life. Amazing tank my friend.

 

[Cook]

Heartbreaking. I loved being able to see this tank in person a while back. My favorite. Good luck to you in your new journey.

 

[Doberman13]

Sorry to hear. I wish I had the opportunity to see this beauty in person.

My wife already said no.

 

[samsisson]

Dang, I’m sorry Dmitri. I hope everything is okay. Give it some time and I’m sure you’ll have another beautiful tank in the future.