Long Islander Needs Help.?????

H

HEADCHEF1971

New member
i am having some difficulty with my sump / refugium.
i have a 58 g oceanic drilled with a 20x12x12 glass tank which i am using for my refugium. there i will store my protein skimmer , heater, return pump etc. i made partitions out of plexiglass and sealed them to the walls of the tank with silicone.
will the silicone hold with the harsh elements off saltwater?
should i have used glass or acrylic to fuse the partitions?
i made 3 chambers. the first one holds the skimmer. it goes through 3 baffles 1 inch apart and the tallest ones the 1st and 3rd are at 9 inches.
2 1/2 inches from the top. is that enough.?
i did the same at the end with 2 baffles. in the second chamber it holds the refugium. going into 2 baffles. then into my pump area. after doing all of the seperations in the tank i am left with 13 1/2 inches x 12 inch refugium that is 9 inches high. is that enough room for a refugium ? it looks kind of small. how much do i really need in accordance to a 58 g tank. i am new to saltwater and thanks to you all out there for the past 2 years i finally made the leap. i would appretiate the help. thanks. p.s. i too am from long island... suffolk
 
Your sump baffles/partitions made from plexi then sealed/mounted with silicone should hold if you place it on thick enough.
Plexi and glass will not bond with silicone. Most often the plexi will be forced out of the silicone channel due to flexing.
Glass on glass would be a stronger choice. If I had to due my old sump again I would use glass baffles.
Your probably safe for about 6-8 months of use untill somthing gives.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7512433#post7512433 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by HEADCHEF1971
how do i send a picture so you can see my refugium sump?
Click to expand...

upload them to photobucket and then place the url that they are stored at using ths IMG button on RC.
 
Years ago I made a 20 AGA gal sump with acrylic baffles with aquarium silicone and they held up with no leaks until i tore down the sump a year later. I used a fairly thick guage acrylic so there wasn't much flex if any....also used a lot of silicone..If you didn't use a thin guage acrylic and put alot of silicone on , I also think they should be ok..I made a new sump but this time I used glass for the baffles and have a small refugium with some macro in it..
I think your refugium area sounds large enuf to me but someone else may know more it...
 
I'm thinking the baffels might be too high.You're running 9 1/2 " to 10 " of water normal. When the tanks shuts down and fills the sump, you'll be close to the top with the water. Mike
 
ITS 9 INCHES BUT I THINK I HAVE 3 INCHES TO PLAY WITH. IM NOT SURE IF THAT IS SUFFICIANT. does anyone have pics of there diy sumps maybe i can get an idea. i went to alot of site on the net about how to build a sump but either they where too big or to small for me. so i made one by taking similarities of the sumps and applying it to mine.
 
Here are your photos. Just one question. Will your skimmer fit in that section with the pump on it? It looks kind of tight.

SUMP 001.jpg


SUMP 002.jpg


SUMP 003.jpg


SUMP 004.jpg


SUMP 005.jpg
 
the skimmer and pump fit but it is very tight i just checked. is that cause for concern. since i know very little about sumps i get paranoid when something comes up. im spending alot of time making sure everything is right .
 
You're sump will work. Make sure you mark you're water levels on you're sump with a marker. Min. water level, running level, and shut down level.
 
thank you so much. i felt so confused about if it would work or not. i was really interested about my in and out flows. meaning, an area for chemical filtration where water flows evenly like between my baffles. next , egg crate after the refugium so snails and etc... dont get chewed up in the pump area.it looks like you have egg crate after the last baffle.
i was wondering how come you dont have up down flows . did i put too many especially at the end before the pump or am i over thinking this sump thing?????????????????????
 
I have the eggcrate there between the last two baffles just to put the sponge on top so that no crud from the refugium can get to my return pump..I deciided just to design a very simple sump/refugium (two 6" baffles and one 8") but it has been working fine and I get no micro bubbles in the main tank The refugium part is small but it was only to grow some macro.I used acrylic for the baffles on my last sump but this one was done with glass baffles. As far as the up and down flows , I guess you can make it as complicated or as simple as you want as long as it works.
 
how far up do your baffles go. meaning i left 2 inches of space between the highest baffle and the rim of the top of the tank. is that ok or should i have gone all the way to the top.i left it a little lower just incase it over flows and the water has an easy escape over the top instead of flooding everything. what do you think.
 
how far up do your baffles go. meaning i left 2 inches of space between the highest baffle and the rim of the top of the tank. is that ok or should i have gone all the way to the top.i left it a little lower just incase it over flows and the water has an easy escape over the top instead of flooding everything. what do you think. thanks vyger
 
2 inches below the rim should work fine. That's the way I have mine... I don't see any point in going all the way to the top ,,,
 
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