Dual sump set up

[SFish]

I want to set up two sumps. One deep sand bed 7" of sand and one refugium. For the deep sand bed I was thinking of making the tank 20"tall. The refugium is a 20 gallon long. Because of the skimmer I can not move the refugium up any higher. This is all going in a stand under the tank. I really don't want to put the return pump in the deep sand bed tank as that tank isn't going to be that big and I want the max space for sand. It will end up being a 10 gallon tall.

1)My first concern is how should I have the water go into the tank so it doesn't disturb the sand. I was thinking of using an over flow. Would this work or do i not need to worry about it? I'm planing on drilling the tank by the way. Also I was planning on running slow through the system 5x.

2)Going out of the deep sand bed sump I was thinking of using gravity. Will this work? I was thinking because the one tank would be taller I could let the water run down into the shorter tank. If not what is the best way to set this up. I heard that you need the out put hole to be 2 1/2 times bigger then the inlet. Is this true? I was going to go with a 1" inlet so would I be able to use two 1" outlets instead of a 2 1/2" outlet?

Thanks

 

[uncleof6]

Actually, you should run a sump, and a bucket DSB, using a 5 gallon hd bucket and 60lbs. of oolitic aragonite. Run a loop (via pump and drain) from the sump to the bucket and back. More than time tested (DSB being the oldest of methods in the arsenal dating back to early 1960's, and the bucket version since 2005.) Glass tanks do not lend themselves to this type of method very well, but a 5 gallon bucket gives you exactly what you need.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=595109

 

[SFish]

So how would I get into the bucket?

 

[SFish]

You mean pump into the bucket the have the bucket drain back into the sump?

 

[uncleof6]

So how would I get into the bucket?

pump from sump to bucket, in with a uniseal... out with a uniseal back to the sump... read the thread i linked you to....there are pictures, examples and discusson on the subject.

 

[uncleof6]

You mean pump into the bucket the have the bucket drain back into the sump?

Yes see post above... diffuse flow is the secret to keeping the sand from blowing away. You need a prefilter (a case where mechanical filtration is useful) anyway...

 

[SFish]

Thanks