1st sump pump

Ok dont laugh but I a few sump ques lol I am setting up my first one. The sump is max 300gph and my return pump will be around 260gph now does my canister filters 200gph should be figured in that or that has nothing to do with it? Also I have heard horror storries about sumps flooding the floor when the electric goes off or if the pump quits so how do you prevent that?

chech youtube they have some good vids on how to prevent the overflow

hmmm nobody knows the answer? not good for me LOL

fist off you dont need a canister filter if you are doing a sump with a return pump..

1st... i need to know if the tank is drilled for a return and drain.

2nd.. the pump returns 260 gallons at how many feet

3rd.. in order for the sump not to overflow you fill the tank until it starts draining into the sump then you fill up the sump about half way then plug in the return and let it flow.

4th.. turn the pump off and double check that the sump will not fill up and overflow.

5th.. check all plumbing be sure to put a swing check valve on the return line arrow up on the check valve that will allow water to go only into the tank and not out (remember the return line not the drain) also put ball valve on the return this will allow you too turn the pump off without unplugging it


any other questions pm me or just ask

The pump max is 420 and its gonna be pushing the water approx 42 inches and going by the performance chart of the pump it will be pushing 290 at 3 feet and 243 at 4 feet so im just guessing in between 3 and 4 feet will be around 260...This is a 13 gallon 300gph sump with an overflox box...So i dont need any more filteration (canister) ? Cause the max sump is only 300 gph the total tank volume will be 59 gallons minus about 10 % of coarse...And since i will have a uv sterilizer that has its own pump pushing water threw it does that gph need to be added in with the 260gph return pump or is that just diff all togather?

nope no need for the canister


dont worry about all the adding the gph none of that matters as long as the pump has enough umph to push the water if you follow all the advice i tell you then your golden

also from the pump into the uv out of uv into ball valve then to swing check valve or swing check/ball valve doesnt matter

just turning the valve off and leaving the pump plugged in wont damage it?

Also , about Overflowing during power outages . A simple , inexpensive fix is to fill your tank till it starts to flow into the overflow , then mark your return hose 1/8th to 1/4 inch below the water line . Drill a small hole there . About a 1/8 will do fine . then when the power goes off and your tank starts to siphon out , when the water level gets to the hole , siphon is broken and water stops flowing .
Simple and inexpensive ,,, Ray

The reason many sumps overflow is the return pipe starts pulling water back down thru the pump.
You should be able to have your tank and sump full.
The way to fix this is drill a hole on your return pipe the piece that falls inside the tank like an 1/8"hole about a 1/2" - 3/4"below the top.