70 gal sump idea

[neurosis05]

I'm planning on building a 70 gal sump. I have room in my basement directly below my display tank. I had a 90 gal DT there with a 30 gal sump and I just bought a 150 gal tank so I would like a larger sump to go with it. My new tank has a ghost overflow with three drains. so the normal drain would supply the right side which is where my skimmer would sit. The emergency drain will supply the left side which will be a fuge holding rock and cheato. If the flow from the emergency drain is too much or not enough I might tee off from the main drain and use a gate valve to maintain flow.

One concern is if the sections are so large that flow might be so slow that I will have dead spots. The baffles are pretty tall and I'm wondering if I shorten them if I will increase flow. This will reduce the amount of water it will hold but I could make the sump deeper. So instead of having 1' 6" tall baffles I would have 1' 4" baffles. and I would increase the sumps depth from 1' 8" to 1' 10". this would give me roughly the same amount of water. But would it decrease dead spots?

In the past I do all my water changes in the basement and suck out any detris in the sump anyhow, so dead spots may not even be a concern.

Skimmer is a sro-5000 int and return pump is a iwaki 55 rlt

Anything I'm missing before I start construction? Thanks

 

[lapin]

Be sure to account for drain back into the sump when your return pump is off.

 

[mcgyvr]

3 drains....2 shown.??? emergency will have ZERO flow through it 99% of its life...
And yes a basement sump will need quite a bit of extra capacity for the back flow when power is off...

 

[neurosis05]

Will 1/4” acrylic with weld-on 40 be ok for this sized sump?

 

[Vinny Kreyling]

1/4" is borderline, I had a 90 gallon made with it & needed extra support with bowing.
Most sumps even ones made run @ about 1/2 full to allow for drain down on power outages. IMHO there is not enough room with your drawing, there will be water on the floor.

 

[OzIA]

I agree, lower the water level (baffles) in the sump to allow for power off conditions. I think you could get by with 1/4 if you use polycarbonate. Euro-brace the top. Acrylic will warp extensively, as designed.