My Sump Design

[sean_w_mcgrath]

Ok, here is the situation. My display tank is a 75 gallon, my return pump will be a Mag 700, head will be roughly 4 ft, my overfolw is rated for 700gph, my skimmer just barely fits in my stand when in the sump tank so the water level in the skimmer area is limited to 10".

Here is my design using a 27 gallon glass tank:

I could probably make the baffles 11" high, so would that be worth doing? How much room should I leave for the water that will drain from my tank when the return pump is shut off?

And my other concern is with the return area of the sump. I have read that this is where you will lose water from when it evaporates. So I made it as big as possible to give more time before my pump starts running dry. Is it too big? Cause I would like a bigger fuge is possible.

Any feedback and suggestions are welcome.

- Sean

 

[cmacld]

i have a design that im working on that looks alot similar, i did make a seperate chamber for intake to my skimmer, but it is a little overkill, i also did a double bubble trap(not shown in pic), sorry for the ryhme. i figured that i had 2" of tank volume flow to my sump before drainage stoped. I have a 180 gallon with a 55 sump so a little different calulation for yours but i needed 15 gallons of room in my sump to suffice a disaster. so i just made sure that there was 15 gallons of space in my sump . i accually make my return sectiona little smaller for the same reason, i wanted a bigger fuge. Ill try to get you the dimensions here soon. Good luck.

 

[lemonhead]

the only problem i see is when water pours off that 10 in. plate to the return pump it is going to create bubbles.

 

[cmacld]

so would you go with a toothed baffle between the return and fuge?

 

[lemonhead]

i put two more baffles after the main baffle (refuge to pump baffle). the first baffle is off the bottom of the sump so water passes under and air moves up. the second baffle is on the bottom of the sump to help direct any bubbles that make it through upward. the water level can be above the last baffle. the baffles are the same size just one sits off the bottom 2 in.

 

[psyco_guy_abd]

I would move the bubbe trap to the return side and use the flat single divider between the skimmer and fuge. Who cares if there are bubbles in the fuge.