Home Depot Sump?

[jphong]

Hi Guys,

I recently installed an RO setup in my condo and made a garbage can reservoir for the water. I now need a pump to help me with the water changes to get the water from the garbage can to the tanks. I was looking at the marineland 1800/3000 pumps for this job. The distance is about 20-25' from the reservoir. Will these pumps do?

I was at the Home Depot store and saw a sump system for $60. It was rated for 3000gph or something crazy like that. Will a sump system like this work also for my needs? Im not sure if this is aquarium safe though. Any thoughts?

[parkinsn]

I would be concerned about the HD pumps having metal parts in them, that will rust pretty fast with SW.

[JonT]

wouldn't be safe for your tank.

RO water would eat that pump up. And who knows what the RO would absorb from the components of it.

Best thing to do is stick to items made specifically for our tanks. I know it will cost more now, but it will save you more than losing everything in the your tank.

[jphong]

It will be for the RO reservoir only so not salt there, plus its for freshwater setups I have. But even without the salt Im sure it will rust in the long run sitting in the reservoir. I also saw some beads of glue/bonding agent on the base of the pump that made me weary to buy it.

[jphong]

Thanks for the fast response, I will be going to Big Als to buy a pump then. Any help on choosing the size of pump? Flow rate needed for this application?

[JonT]

It will be for the RO reservoir only so not salt there, plus its for freshwater setups I have. But even without the salt Im sure it will rust in the long run sitting in the reservoir. I also saw some beads of glue/bonding agent on the base of the pump that made me weary to buy it.

With or without salt...

Water is the most solvent liquid on the planet. It tries to absorb everything. So, take your RO water, that you have removed all dissolved solids from (0 TDS right?) and now you have a liquid that is ready to absorb everything it can.

If you think I am full of it... Take a small piece of your live rock, and toss it in your holding tub. Wait a month or so, then go look. I bet you have a bunch of mush around the rock (if the rock is even left). The water is taking up the calcium, and other elements from the rock.

[jphong]

Okay thanks for the advice Ill be sure to look into whatever pump I end up getting!

[mike31154]

If the 25 ft distance between the two is mostly horizontal, you shouldn't need a large pump, a powerhead might even do the job. Do a search for 'head' calculator and you should come up with plenty of info on pump sizing with respect to their ability to deal with 'head', which is mainly friction in the form of distance through a given diameter of pipe and more importantly, the height that needs to be overcome. Some pumps are 'flow' biased, whereas others are specifically designed to deal better with high head pressure. A few feet of vertical pipe will quickly kill the performance of a flow biased pump.

As far as the dire warnings regarding caustic/corrosive liquids and sump pumps, just think of what your average sump pump sits in 24/7 in people's homes that have them hooked into their septic system. Most of them are designed to deal well with these type of fluids without rusting out, although with salt water, you may have to be more careful. They pretty much have to label them appropriately with warnings as to the suitability for certain fluids. Just check the specifications of the components carefully before thinking of using something like that on your system. Worst case, you could always use the sump and replace the pump that comes with it with one that's designed to handle corrosive fluids.

The glue/bonding agent you saw may be a pro rather than a con. It's more than likely an epoxy to seal and waterproof the pump casing. Epoxy is totally inert once cured, many of us use it to glue coral frags to plugs and live rock.

[Slick Fork]

Don't worry about getting a huge pump... in my experience a bigger pump means more water on the floor when the hose you balance slips off and starts spewing everywhere.

[gobytron]

With or without salt...

Water is the most solvent liquid on the planet. It tries to absorb everything. So, take your RO water, that you have removed all dissolved solids from (0 TDS right?) and now you have a liquid that is ready to absorb everything it can.

If you think I am full of it... Take a small piece of your live rock, and toss it in your holding tub. Wait a month or so, then go look. I bet you have a bunch of mush around the rock (if the rock is even left). The water is taking up the calcium, and other elements from the rock.

mmmm...
rock mush.