Fuge/Sump Help

[cloakerpoked]

I disagree with your disagree ha HA. he's going to be running a euro reef 180. The only place that's going to fit is in the center. I agree with you if the left section was about a foot longer that would be skimmer section. The problem comes when it needs the constant level in center section which then creates the need to use that sump in reverse so the right and center stay constant level and the left will fluctuate and house the return.

I guess its possible to run it left to right with an ato to keep skimmer in a constant level. but then there's no bubble trap to keep bubbles out of return pump except for the split wall.
yinzer. What are the dimensions of the sump? How tall is that baffle? I wasn't even considering that for the depth your skimmers going to be in. Where did you get the sump from?

Depth should only be an issue if you can't use eggcrate or something to raise it in the sump (read a clearance issue.) If you run the tank from left to right, your constant water level is going to be at the lower baffle to the right if you want to keep the center a constant height. I guess you could run it the other way, but trust me, Lloyd Mason (who ran the Seahorse for over 20 years) built all of his sumps this way, and they ran from the right to the left. I guess with an ATO you could run it however you wanted, but you should still have the bubble trap immediately before the pump if you want to avoid microbubbles swirling around in your display tank.

 

[bmiller1234]

Depth should only be an issue if you can't use eggcrate or something to raise it in the sump (read a clearance issue.) If you run the tank from left to right, your constant water level is going to be at the lower baffle to the right if you want to keep the center a constant height. I guess you could run it the other way, but trust me, Lloyd Mason (who ran the Seahorse for over 20 years) built all of his sumps this way, and they ran from the right to the left. I guess with an ATO you could run it however you wanted, but you should still have the bubble trap immediately before the pump if you want to avoid microbubbles swirling around in your display tank.

Agreed, I was just curious on the height of the baffle, Actually had nothing to do with anything else, but yes, if clearance is an issue and that baffle is 13 inches high that opens a whole new thing to talk about!!!

But just to clarify cause this is kinda swinging around a bit, The majority rules that it should flow from right to left as per the original pic correct?

 

[bnmir]

... Seahorse ...
nuff said?

 

[Yinzer]

Well, it showed up yesterday and I was so excited to get started, I opened the box and the entire right side of the acrylic was busted off. I was p!ssed but I called the vendor and they are sending a new one. Only me. This same stuff happens with my vendors at work too, I cant get a break.

On another note, Ray, the skimmer just fits and everything seems to be just right when I placed things in to see if they would fit. I am going turn it around and have the flow go in to the right side with the skimmer then will be the fuge then the return.

Is it ok to have both drains go to the skimmer area (the right side if looking at photo above, but I will turn it around) or should I split off one of them to go 50% into the skimmer area and 50% into the fuge. Is this a good idea or should both go into the skimmer?

 

[Yinzer]

on another note, the top of my tank is not completely open it has 2 holes maybe 10x14 with 2 covers for the openings, this sucks for when I am cleaning or whatever I need to do. Is it possible to open the access panels more with a saw or would the acrylic spinters fall into the tank and kill everything?

 

[cloakerpoked]

on another note, the top of my tank is not completely open it has 2 holes maybe 10x14 with 2 covers for the openings, this sucks for when I am cleaning or whatever I need to do. Is it possible to open the access panels more with a saw or would the acrylic spinters fall into the tank and kill everything?

If these are intended to be braces for the tank, you certainly don't want to mess with them, totally unrelated to what may or may not fall into the tank.

 

[AHDOnline]

Agreed. Maybe provide a picture, but if you are talking about this then Cloakerpoked is correct.

 

[Yinzer]

is this accurate or is there something that needs to change?

 

[Yinzer]

Agreed. Maybe provide a picture, but if you are talking about this then Cloakerpoked is correct.

yes, that is what it looks like. So I will leave them alone. its just a pain in the butt. I dont plan on having this acryllic tank forever, I will cope with it until then.

 

[Yinzer]

Bump for my diagram

 

[cloakerpoked]

The diagram looks right to me. It definitely makes more sense from the perspective of keeping a higher water level in the sump. Ultimately, there isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to do it...just what best suits your needs. All I can say is that sumps designed like yours have been traditionally designed to be used in a way similar to how you are planning to use it.

 

[cloakerpoked]

Also, I'd turn your return pump around so that the input is facing closer to the glass...gets more of the water in that compartment moving through. The water level inside the baffle will be the height of the return compartment, not the height of the fuge compartment....but that's probably just oversight.

 

[bmiller1234]

How many gallons is that sump?

 

[Yinzer]

Thanks guys, I just kind of threw that diagram together but I am glad you suggested turning the return pump around.

So it looks like I will need some cheato and what would be an inexpensive option for the lamp?

 

[AHDOnline]

11.00 at lowes..

Get a clip on light, and a bulb.

take the reflector off and get a CF bulb

 

[AHDOnline]

I cannot remember the name of the bulb but it was a 3200 CFL in a reflector. like 8.00

 

[Yinzer]

excellent. and it is a 36 gallon sump. I think I was running a 15 before which is what came with the tank and stand. Which I think was too small for a 135, the owner before me just had freshwater fish and I think strictly Mollies for some reason?? To each his own I guess.

what does CF stand for?

 

[AHDOnline]

compact fluorescent. They are the squirrly bulbs, but these are the same bulb but wrapped in a reflector like the big outdoor flood light, but being CF they are not hot

similar to this.
http://www.lowes.com/pd_22519-75774-017801997767_0_?productId=1235565&Ntt=reflector%20bulb&Ntk=i_products&pl=1&currentURL=/pl__0__s?newSearch=true$Ntt=reflector%20bulb$y=0$x=0

 

[AHDOnline]

that didnt work well. You will see them in the bulb section.

 

[Yinzer]

Thanks!!