How to Prevent Aquarium Sump Overflows

The number of people who own fish tanks continues to rise, and the popularity of keeping fish at home will only continue to grow. However, this increase in popularity has also brought with it a rise in the number of problems that these fish owners face. And one of those problems is an aquarium sump overflow, which can be incredibly dangerous for both the inhabitants and their owners.

In this article, we are going to cover some of the most important tips to remember in order to prevent aquarium sump overflows.

What Is an Aquarium Sump?

The sump is used to turn the water in the tank into other uses. In a fish tank, it turns filtered and dirty water from households (which can be unsanitary) back into clean and sterilized conditions. This process allows for greater post use of your fish tanks by reducing cloudy corners generated through natural filtration processes. And when not being used as part of their normal function, they are often filled with rubble making them the perfect hiding places for fish.

In addition, the sump can also be used to power the lighting in your tank. This is done by running the pump through a filter, which removes any large debris and bacteria from the water.

There are many different types of sump systems available for fish tanks, including the conventional mechanical one, as well as an automatic version that requires no maintenance. However, regardless of which type you choose, they all work in much the same way: they take water from the tank and pump it through a filtration media before storing the filtered water in another area.

Why Do Aquarium Sumps Overflow?

The most common reason for the presence of sump overflows is that the tank has been connected with a siphon tube. This can be placed too deeply into water, or improperly (not within what it needs to in order to work efficiently). Siphons rely on allowing fish owners and their situations of choice access through tubes once they have been plugged ‘in’ via issues as well above considerations.

If these conditions are met, it will trigger the sudden release of trapped gases into your aquarium, thereby causing an overflow. These may be gas bubbles generated by excess oxygen that became poisonous to fish species or chemicals (bubbles) released through toxic medications injected.

There are more reasons as to why aquarium sumps can overflow. Sump overflow can happen when too much organic matter is introduced to media which doesn’t let light get through above it, such as clay or gravel. This incident can also occur after filter pads are added, in which plants and other decorations absorb chemicals which cause the water to biologically search for new places and leave behind damaged biomass that is toxic until disturbed.

How to Prevent Aquarium Sump Overflows?

Perhaps one of the most important aspects to avoid an aquarium sump overflow is having a properly sized and set up sump that has enough space available both within it as well as outside of it to accommodate any excess water build-up. In some cases, this may mean completely installing a new prebuilt unit on site, while other setups will require the removal of small amounts of rubble from the current one. For those who have a larger home aquarium setup, you may already have set-up under your house which means that would need to be removed prior or know about it before moving ahead with this project.

You can also follow these tips to avoid any sump overflows in your aquarium:

1. Install an external filter that catches contaminants floating near or working their way into your aquarium. These filters have the benefit of turning around and cleaning themselves mechanically, only introducing a tiny bit of air to keep them running smoothly.
2. Vacuum the gravel bed around your sump about once a month to remove any particulate that can build up over time. The more media there is between unwanted elements and your aquarium, less it will get through in the end.
3. Instead of using a traditional external filter, use an internal sump pump on its own or together with a return line (a long hose that sends water through your home’s plumbing). An accumulation chamber works the same but allows for only part of the water volume to be pulled in by each time it’s activated.
4. In general, use the slowest flow rates you can find on your sump’s pump regulator. A high speed could pull a lot of water past their filters or return line relatively quickly, leading to increased concentrations and chances for overflows from the overflow.
5. Time the pump on either a timer or fan controller to avoid cluttering your tank’s case (and reducing its effectiveness) with extra electrical wires and noisy components.  Another option is an aquarium air generator that reduces noise by driving air through water in a circular fashion, causing it to circulate around external filters.
6. Filtration first can be done using powerheads which are equipped with sump pumps as well to directly push water onto their filter pads, either tucked away in the sump or on backplates as they are while attached to a tank.
7. UV lights can provide an excessive amount of waste and various impurities so use them wisely when doing your biological filtration with some expensive equipment. Better yet is one that allows you to nourish algae by eating bacteria whilst providing lighting during photosynthesis (it gets bright after it starts working).

Some larger aquaria use sumps for aeration for a living reef tank, but this is another case where if the flows are reduced below what’s required to keep water moving freely through filtration media then biological processes can slow down or stop altogether. While some pumps reduce in efficiency when installed within an aquarium, there are many others that work best when they’re installed in sump applications because their motors run at higher RPMs than continuously-running models and provide a smoother flow.

Sump pumps are an important part of any aquarium set up. However, if you’re not careful, they can be a major source of water damage and overflows in your aquarium. By understanding how to prevent sump overflow, you can ensure that your sump pump does its job and keeps your tank from flooding.