[AOA]

I am building a big corner pauldarium in my new office and I have a question about my sump holes. Ive been off the forum for a bit and havent updated any of the tanks in the lab. Life is crazy busy. I did a quick search and came up empty so forgive me if this is a no brainer question.....

I am pretty sure I want to use a Durso drain for the sump.
Was thinking of one main drain 1 - 1.5" (maybe an emergency one too)...suggestions?
I want my water level to be 10.5 inches.
I want to do side drain holes.

How high should I drill my holes so that my water level will stay at 10.5.......its really the main reason for me doing the sump. I have never done one before and want to give it a try!

Thanks so much for any help you can give. The build snuck up on me as I was able to get most of the office finished ahead of schedule (for once).

JD

 

[AOA]

I think i answered my question. Found a perfect post. I'l keep ya posted!
JD

 

[solidsnake]

I love paludariums. I’ll be following along on this build process!

There’s a bunch of super smart, ex-aquarium folks here, but if you need more in depth advice on sumps, paludaria, etc. check out www.plantedtank.net

 

[AOA]

Thanks SS. I love the planted tank. was into that before darts. Lurking on Dendro got me hooked. I am laying pond shield today, but need to order some more. Ive never been so rushed on a build before. I need to have all the main parts in place in order to finish off the rest of the book shelves in the office. Once the right side shelving is locked in, the top wont ever get in over the tank!

Im using acrylic for the top which I hate. Bracing it to stop the inevitable sagging that comes along with acrylic is crucial. I am hoping it will work with screws all around the tank edges, and some 1/2" Al angle (disguised as branches). Thoughts?

Also: do you think it is beneficial to have the main return tube outside of the false bottom and in with the critters. I was planning to keep all return tubes behind the false bottom with an access hatch built into the tank, but maybe it would be better to draw water from the dirtiest water section???

 

[solidsnake]

I’m not very knowledgeable on acrylic vs glass pros and cons or construction. I actually had a professional aquarium builder build my enclosure. I just gave him the layout I designed.

I personally would incorporate your return(s) into some sort of waterfall or drip wall. That way you can directly observe its rate of return. It can help identify failing equipment, and aid in pacing your return:drain. It’s also aesthetically pleasing. <I’m not sure if I interpreted your question regarding returns correctly >

I’ve tinkered with a few different designs. What has worked best for me so far has been a glass partition separating terrestrial portion from aquatic. My aquatic portion has the bulkhead set at the desired water height. I have two returns: The main return is a waterfall regulated with a variable speed DC pump. The second is a drip wall regulated by another variable speed DC pump. Both of these features directly feed the aquatic portion and drain into the sump via overflow.

The terrestrial portion uses an eggcrate false bottom that is tall enough to accept the full volume of the water section in event of a flood due to a leaky/failed glass partition. This side also has a bottom drilled bulkhead with barbed fitting and petcock valve to allow full control of draining waste water or could be used to evacuate the flood should the partition fail. I drain this PRN into a bucket to discard. The aquatic side has a similar setup minus the petcock and drains/returns to/from a 30 gallon sump.

I hope this helps.

There are some other paludarium folks that I’m sure will contribute to this thread too.

 

[AOA]

cool that your false bottom can withstand a flood failure. I wont have that kind of head room for mine i dont think.
I think I am going to have all my drains underneath the false bottom and away from the viewing section and fauna. If organics become a problem, i'll manually gravel vac as needed.
My main return will be split into 2 for good flow.
all water features will be on their own pumps so they can have separate timers. Its so hard to have a constant water feature without getting covered by cyanobacteria and the snotty gunk..... This one will be designed so that if I need to fill it all in and go terrestrial it will be easy enough.
thanks for sticking along. I'll make progress this week and get some pics uploaded.......