Sump tank or no sump tank?

[George Hall]

The more research I do the more questions I have. I've watched a lot of videos of different  systems it seems most just pump the water from the fish tank to the grow beds but some are using a sump tank also can somebody explain why one would set up one way vs the other?.

[Tom McLemore]

A sump will allow you to maintain your fish tank at a constant level. I use a sump because it allows me to divert water to grow beds that are at different elevations and not necessarily at an elevation higher than my fish tank. My fish tank water level never drops below the over flow and I am assured that I will never pump all of the water out of my fish tank and take a chance on killing my fish. You can take precautions to prevent draining your tank by not placing your pump on the bottom of your FT but you will still have an ever changing fish tank water level.

[TCLynx]

A sump tank allows one to have more grow beds without having the water level in the fish tank fluctuate as much.

[George Hall]

Ok thanks, I am planning on using a pond that's about 1000 gallons and a grow bed of maybe a 100 gallons if that so I'm thinking the water level should be fine.

[TCLynx]

Water level is no problem, you may find that a single 100 gallon grow bed isn't really enough to filter the water very well so you might need to supplement filtration a bit and you will be limited in the number of fish you can grow but the water level fluctuation won't be a problem.

[Larry]

I to am getting ready to start a system in Phx AZ and had differents thoughts about this. Please someone chime in on my thoughts. With a CLIFT-PIST system the water flows to the growbeds nothing wrong with that. But here is my thought. the fish poop is at the bottom of your fish tank, Wouldn't you want pump that into your grow beds for food and break down?  Is that why I have read alot of people adding a bio filter AKA grow bed to help handle this waste?

[TCLynx]

Media filled grow beds make very good filtration (both solids and bio filter.)  You don't necessarily want to pump the solids in a CHIFT PIST since there is no pump in the fish tank, you just make a SLO (solids lifting overflow) drain that takes the water from the bottom of the fish tank without risk of siphoning the fish tank down and have that water flow to media filled grow beds first and then you could take the water from there to feed raft beds or other methods that do better with filtered water.

here there are some diagrams in my plumbing class presentation that might be helpful.

Plumbing class

[RupertofOZ]

Indeed... the SLO is an integral part of the basis of a "Chift Pist" system design....

[Larry]

 ok this sis the first time i have read or heard of a SLO. Followed your link still not sure what a SLO is and where dose the water go from the SLO? or is it where the water leaves the tank and goes to the grow beds with just a pick up line at the bottom of the tank?
 
TCLynx said:

Media filled grow beds make very good filtration (both solids and bio filter.)  You don't necessarily want to pump the solids in a CHIFT PIST since there is no pump in the fish tank, you just make a SLO (solids lifting overflow) drain that takes the water from the bottom of the fish tank without risk of siphoning the fish tank down and have that water flow to media filled grow beds first and then you could take the water from there to feed raft beds or other methods that do better with filtered water.

here there are some diagrams in my plumbing class presentation that might be helpful.

Plumbing class

[TCLynx]

A SLO is just an overflow but it has a branch down to the bottom of the fish tank so it can lift the solids and take them out.

You can design a system where the water from the SLO flows to the grow beds or the water might flow into a settling tank or a vortex filter or they might flow to the sump tank in a CHOP Mark 2 system design.