Custom sump for 37 gall?

[kelley_mc]

I don't know the answer to that one.... I know nothing about seahorses and what turnover you would need.

The problem that I noticed with mine was that because the 37 is so tall, the lack of pressure didn't penetrate deep into the tank and the lower part was pretty stagnent. During the wet test, I didn't even have rock in my setup either. The rock would have only made it worse. You may be able to use it to keep the upper water moving a little then a powerhead down low to keep the lower portion moving. I think...

 

[kelley_mc]

One other thing I just noticed was that your drain lines go to one line. Most likely this would be fine, but I am paranoid. If something ever got in there and plugged the line, then you would have a flood.

I build my tank with 2 bulkheads and two seperate drains. Each drain can handle all the flow from the sump. If one gets blocked, the other one takes over. No flood, I hope....

 

[fishymann]

so just run two drain lines into the sump? Never thought of that, thanks for the idea. What pump did you use when you tested the manifold? Also, i've seen a few people use those rubbermaid buckets as sumps, now directly under my 37Gallon tank i have no room for a 20gallon rubbermaid bucket, but on the 55gallon stand next to it i do (on the bottom). (see picture of idea of how far away). Would it benefit the tank that much to just use one of those rubbermaid buckets with (obvously)a bigger pump as a sump? and if so how big of a pump

the container you see on the 55gallon stand would be the one used. i would move it all the way to the left though.

 

[fishymann]

One last thing until i get a response, would 1/8" baffles be okay if i went with the 10 gallon sump?

 

[fishymann]

bump

 

[kelley_mc]

1/8 baffles may be too thin. I would go with something bigger. I used 1/4" glass on my sump. It may be overkill, but I have no worries.

As for the pump, I am no expert of that. Again, I would point you back to the RC calculator. I used a Quiet One 4000 with no restriction. Again, is it possible to get enough flow from your sump into the tank using a manifold? Sure. Do you want that much flow going through your sump? No. If you are really interested in the manifold design, try a closed loop. Melev has one on his site.

 

[fishymann]

i have a good idea of a new return that i think would introduce a lot of nice flow all through the tank. I've seen a few diagrams that have pipes, valves, and all that good stuff, any idea what program to use ? (here are a few examples of drawings what i mean)
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=9097617#post9097617

gonna try google sketchup, hopefully will have a design soon.

edit
alright im pretty good with computers but i can not figure out for the life of me how to use sketchup and how to create pipes. any ideas on programs?

 

[fishymann]

alright after spending like an hour not figuring out sketchup i just did the design in the program i've been using. The new return is a 9" pipe that has two .75" outlets coming off of it, on the right side of the tank one is angled 45degrees facing the front, and the other is facing left.
On the left outlet, the one is facing front and the other is facing right but alternating (the pics explain it getter). I think the pump should have no problem at all putting out enough flow to get it through this system. The outlets on the return will be like a nozzle and three quarters so it shoots out more. Also, two drain lines.

(you can really see the return design)

 

[fishymann]

should i do 3\4" for the return or 1"? I'm going to go with 1" for the waste line into the sump so that thers more flow.

 

[kelley_mc]

Yes, I would do 1" for the drain. As for the return lines, I think they should work. However, you will need to drill a siphon break hole near the water surface of the return lines. Otherwise, when you shut the pump off, your display will drain to the level of the highest return outlet.

A small hole just under the surface should be fine.

 

[fishymann]

So a whole in each return line just under the water line? here is a diagram of where the baffles will be and such

will 8" high baffles be okay? placed 1 inch apart, 1 inch off the bottom.

Also, my stand is a prebuilt, the back has a small space (like 5" maybe) of where the back is open, will it be safe to drill the back to pass the pipes through? or will it weaken the stand?

 

[fishymann]

if i restricted the 1" OUTPUT of the QO 3000 to 3\4" would that be an advantage to flow at all? For the waste line i think ill do it strainer style and drill a bunch of holes into each pipe to protect the seahorses from being sucked in.

 

[fishymann]

also whats the safe silicone i caan use for the baffles? and can i get it at hd

 

[fishymann]

CR@P! the tank was cracked, so im stuck using that 20gal rubbermaid, will that work or not? PLEASE IF NOT LET ME KNOW!

 

[fishymann]

well this is the newest design, should be picking up the 20LG tank today along with the plumbing i hope

Should I keep 1" for the return line?
I'm going back to a single line for the waste because of space problems

 

[fishymann]

heres the layout of the sump, good, bad?

the 5.5 gallons on top is how much water the tank will be able to hold until over flows

 

[fishymann]

okay, just ran through the head loss calc and not sure if i did it right, but if i did than the QO3000 should be more than enough heres what i entered in

and heres a picture of hte return lines with measurements

 

[fishymann]

anyyone?

 

[fishymann]

well i posted this on afew other forums and one pointeed out that my drain lines wont work. drilling i dont think is an option so i guess im gonna have to spend the money on an overflow

 

[kelley_mc]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9155057#post9155057 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by fishymann
well i posted this on afew other forums and one pointeed out that my drain lines wont work. drilling i dont think is an option so i guess im gonna have to spend the money on an overflow

Yes, that's true. I didn't realize you weren't planning on drilling. You will need an HOB overflow or drill the tank. Having tested both, I would never use an overflow again. Drilling is cheaper and safer. Overflows are more expensive and less reliable and if they fail, you have a big mess.

I bought my drill bits for $9 shipping on E-bay. Then less than $20 for bulkheads and maybe $10 for glass to make the Calfo box. For about $40, I have a much more reliable overflow than any other HOB.

Drill it. You'll be happy you did and most likely sleep better at night.

As for silicone, I originally bought the HD stuff, GE without the mildew additives. Most people seems to say its safe. I used in my sump and then changed my mind. For an extra few dollars I went to my LFS and bought some aquarium silicone. For the amount of money this hobby costs, a few extra bucks on silicone is worth the piece of mind to me.