4800GPH Media-Max 74 Aquarium Sump Package

Freshwater and Saltwater The 4800GPH Media-Max 74 Aquarium Sump Package has a max flow rate of 4800 gallons per hour. This sump package can accept up to four H2Overflow® lines. Refugium or Evaporation Plumbing If you have noticed that we offer two different plumbing options but are not sure why you may want one or the other, this section is for you. The evaporation configuration is drilled low. This makes it so that the water level in the mini reservoir tub will be the same as the baffle tub. However, in the event so much water evaporates the water level in the baffle tub goes below 2.3″ the water level in the baffle tub continues to fall while the Mini Reservoir Tub will remain the same. There are two main advantages of the evaporation configuration. The first is that for each evaporation Mini Reservoir Tub you will have about 13 extra gallons of evaporation volume. The second advantage is that it provides extra volume in your sump system to absorb the small amount of back siphoned water from your aquarium if your pumps fail or lose power. The refugium configuration is drilled high. This keeps a minimum water level of 11.8″ and 16.4 gallons. This gives you a safe place for live rock, coral, fish, or plants. Typically, you will want to add our filter screen to the tube to keep food and debris out of the pump chamber. Understanding the 1-1/2″ Tube Upgrade In this section, we will briefly discuss why you may want to upgrade to the 1-1/2″ tube. Sump Overflow Prevention Our Siphon Stopper® is designed to break a back-siphon in case your pump fails or loses power. However, it is still possible to have 1/8″ to 1/4″ of back-siphon with a properly mounted Siphon Stopper®. Additionally, there is an estimated 1/2″ to 3/4″ of possible water from your H2Overflow® that will flow to the sump. Depending on the size of your aquarium this may be a few gallons or a lot of water. In the worst-case scenario, you will need your sump system to absorb 1″ of water from your aquarium. 1″ is more than you will likely lose. However, as it has been said, “Plan for the worst, expect the best.” When all this water starts rushing to your sump a little will come from the Siphon Stopper® and the majority will be from your overflows. All of the water will land in the Baffle Tub. If your reservoir tub is drilled for evaporation it can also help absorb the water from the aquarium. The larger 1-1/2″ tube between the Baffle Tub and the Reservoir Tub allows the water to move faster into the Reservoir Tub keeping your Baffle Tub from potentially overflowing. In this Seamless Sump® Package, the total amount of water that can be absorbed is around 2,810 cubic inches. The two Baffle Tubs can absorb around 990 cubic inches each. For example, if you used this sump package on our 300* Gallon 30″H x 96″L x 24″D Aquarium Special an inch of water loss would be a little under 2,200 cubic inches. This is more than the Baffle Tubs could likely absorb on its own. Because the Mini Reservoir Tub only needs to absorb the extra 220 cubic inches to keep the Baffle Tub from overflowing it is very unlikely you will need the increased flow provided by the 1-1/2″ tube. However, with a larger aquarium that needs multiple Reservoir Tubs, it may be needed. High Flow Refugium Another reason you may want to upgrade to the 1-1/2″ tubing is to increase the flow inside a refugium. If you have coral or anything else in your refugium that needs increased flow the 1-1/2″ upgrade will provide it. In the case of a high flow refugium you may want to look at running a 1/2″ overflow line directly from our StealthBox® to your refugium. Stand Size Limitations It is important to note that the 1-1/2″ tube upgrade increases the depth of the system from front to back to just under 21″. This means you cannot use the 1-1/2″ tubing in one of our 18″ deep aquarium stands.