Jessica's sump build

DebsSisterFlo

DebsSisterFlo

New member
Ok, after my mild heart attack this morning with Jason's oh-so-witty "small pile of glass" joke :hmm1: it's time to start learning about and building the sump for this funny tank.

Jason requested a pic of my skimmer, so that's on the way.... please hold...

It is a Coralife super skimmer rated up to 65g.

107457skimmer.JPG
 
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What kind of sump do you want and how big? My suggestion would be to drill a hole in your floor and..........
Do you have an old tank fro use as a sump? If not I have two larger sumps that may fit under your stand (probably could let one of them go for a frag. How much space do you have under your stand?
Jon
 
Jason has my 20g and that will be the sump.
No holes in the floor.

We are now looking at designs and options for how to build and rig up this 20g sump. Kevin will knock out the back brace of my stand to get the 20g under there. Jason has a "possible" lead on a pump for me... I have absolutely no clue about pumps and what I'd want, but I do know I have a $50 limit... now I have to go get a new alternator for my car, and we've been snowballed with unexpected bills these last two months so cash is at a premium right now.
 
What kind of pump are you looking for? In-sump, external? What head hight and flow rate? I have all my externals in use (still want a spare to swap if anything ever fails at some point), but have a few Mag pumps. LOL, one of each probably. I think I have a 2, 5, 7, and 9 all in my box-o-stuff.
 
I have absolutely no idea what I want. 5 foot head? From the bottom of the stand to the top of the tank. That's what I have all of you for! :D
 
I have a mag 7 that I could maybe work out a deal with you on.

Let me know if you are interested. The pump has been used for about 6 months total and is in good shape.

I used this on my 75 when the sump was in the bottom of the stand and it did a good job.
 
You should be preparred that you may be between 30-40 for glass and silicone for your fuge though.

Start thinking about if you want your pump to sin inside you sump, or if you want to drill another bulkhead and put your pump outside your sump... this would give you more space to work in the sump.

I think you should plan for:

A polishing sponge to reduce air bubbles... and act as a mechanical filter.
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An area for at least a Kent or other brand float valve - I like Kent because theirs is mechanical, not the electronic switch type.

Enough room for your heater in the sump.

An area for your skimmer.

An area for media bags should you need to run, say, carbon.

I have been looking and I think the answer on that 20 gallon is to use more of the height. you sure you don't have room for a 29 gallon???

Here, look at this one from Madison... the MARS forum... scroll down to the custom sump and filter. now imagine that design modified to fit your 20 gallon.
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=7776277#post7776277

We could even build in a small area for bio-balls or bio media for some biological or perhaps a small fuge. (fuge will take some time to think about - maybe that's where we pickup a small acrylic 5 gallon or something to "build" into your tank, and use excess water flow off your pump I think you should run at 700 gallons per hour at 5' head... that gives you 100-200 gPH to siphon off... and run thru a fuge or some other attachment that would help your setup.


So, what do you think...

Jason
 
I'd rather not do a fuge, just a sump to hide the gear... simple is the key! Why does that guy have so many baffles, I thought they only needed 3 or 4?

what are the measurements on a 29g? cripes that's all I need to do is buy ANOTHER tank... oy...

see I pictured the skimmer, baffles, sponge and then pump, that was it. no fuge, don't want yet another thing to take care of, and light, and heat. I'm trying to cut down on all the gear and cost, so everyone, please help me build a cost effective and useful skimmer.

We have plexi here, enough for baffles, is there any way that this can be used?
 
Since it sounds like the sump itself is barely going to fit in the stand, you probably wont have space for an external pump besides and will have to use one in the sump. Do you already have an idea of what turnover you want?
 
Kiowa's Mag 7, at 5 foot head would be about 420 gallons/hour. That doesn't take into account head loss for any elbows, tees, plumbing itself, etc. so will be somewhat lower than that. Could calculate almost exact with all fittings and pipe diameter known, but is a decent rough estimate probably to assume about 400. That's more than enough for sump turnover, but depending on your circulation needs you may need something in the tank just for additional circulation and distribution.
 
Who says how many you need to have... or how far apart they must be?


I say do what works.

to heck with what "they say" and who are they anyway..?

J
 
LOL

Yeah, what Jason said!!!

Actually, seeing the size of the sump in that thread, they had plenty of room to spare anyway, so why not reduce the possibility of bubbles even further.

As for baffles otherwise, the higher the volume of water flowing through the sump, the higher the odds of micro-bubbles reaching the return. Too account for the higher flow one could add more baffles so the bubbles simply have more to get through. Or, increase the spacing between the baffles which will decrease the velocity of the water so more bubbles will be able to rise to the surface as they flow through.

And, LMAO, I hope that made sense, because even knowing what I MEANT to say, if I had to read that it wouldn't make any sense to me :)
 
A back to back post, just to bug Jason :)

Jessica, I'd first start with the footprint of your skimmer, or one you may possibly upgrade to first. You will need enough for it, so the footprint and working space you would like will determine the size of the first compartment. Then you'll know how much is left for baffles and the return area.

Then, check the specs on your skimmer and any you may upgrade to and see what the optimum water depth is, if any. That will give a starting point for the height of the baffles.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8380198#post8380198 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by scooters reef
Since it sounds like the sump itself is barely going to fit in the stand, you probably wont have space for an external pump besides and will have to use one in the sump. Do you already have an idea of what turnover you want?
Click to expand...

I have no idea what turnover I want. :p Oh the 20g will fit with room to spare, a good foot I'd say, if the sump was up against one side wall.

water depth for the skimmer? :confused: you guys start talking about gph and you just lose me after a while. You can all hash that out at the meet next saturday and I'll go throw the frisbee for my pooch, then I'll come in and you'll all be in agreement and say "yep, this is what you need... blah blah blah..." or something like that?

As far as my skimmer, this is what I have, this is what I'm using, I am not buying another one!
 
I found on a retail site that your skimmer's max dimension is 5.5". It didn't say if that included the pump, or not, so you might want to measure the one you have. IF it includes the pump, I'd still go 10 inches at least for some working room.

And, all I'm talking is starting points, so much will have to be adjusted for various reasons. However, just for a start, I'd say 10 inches for the skimmer chamber, 10 inches for the return, and the remainder for baffles.

Now, if too many bubbles make it through you'll need more baffles or lower flow. The smaller the return chamber is, the more often you have to add top off water. Make the skimmer chamber too small and getting it in and out becomes difficult. Lots of trade-offs :(
 
Oh, forgot to ask. I recalled it was a 20, but only assumed it was a 20 Long. Is it a 20 High? That would take away any chance of either the skimmer or return area being 10" if you want any baffles.
 
Great project for the meeting... why don't you pickup the 20 tonight... you can get some cardboard and tape and design a sump, and then I'll get the glass cut the way you all design it!


Maybe that's not a good idea if there's gonna be beer....

J
 
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