TundraGuy
MantisOholic
This sump gives you a way to quiet the drains from the tank (you will want that), a great prefilter (helps to remove more then you know), a dedicated skimmer area, a bubble trap, a fuge area, a media spill way/ alagy trap (this will help with chemical filtration and keep your return pump getting damaged by macro) and a good return section (with a way to run the pump without fear of it getting clogged up).
I know your going to have lots of questions. So right off the bat let me answer some of them.
Having the drains run down into a spot then overflow into the socks acts as a bubble trap and allows you to remove the socks to clean them with out turning off the return pump.
Having more then one sock is a good idea. Building this section with a sheet sitting on the selves as in the drawing lets you remove the sock hoster and replace it with a different one if you want to try different size socks. So don't glue it in.
Having the emergency drains over the socks is important. If you go out of town and the socks get filled no problems will occur just clean the socks when you get home. Trust me you want them.
No you don't need more than one bubble trap unless you upside the return pump into the 3000 gph range. Wich you never will.
The spill way can be used for a lot of different things. Like media bags, blue and white filter sheets, filter floss, carbon sponges, let your mind run with options. It is nice to have something like this if you stir up a dust storm just add filter floss and bam no more milky water! Second thought you may want an er drain in the tall side of the spillway just in case.
The return section is grate for a heater.
The protein skimmer section could be bigger. Just remiber if you ever run a biopellet reactor you will want to run the return to the protein skimmer intake. I think if you did this you mah lose the use of the fuge area due to lack of neutreants. But hay a filter feeding/cryptic zone is a cool bio filter all to itself though.
I personally would like to see a deep sand bed in your fuge to grow mangroves instead of more macro. You are growing enough macro in the DST if you ask me that's what I would do. But you do you.
I know your going to have lots of questions. So right off the bat let me answer some of them.
Having the drains run down into a spot then overflow into the socks acts as a bubble trap and allows you to remove the socks to clean them with out turning off the return pump.
Having more then one sock is a good idea. Building this section with a sheet sitting on the selves as in the drawing lets you remove the sock hoster and replace it with a different one if you want to try different size socks. So don't glue it in.
Having the emergency drains over the socks is important. If you go out of town and the socks get filled no problems will occur just clean the socks when you get home. Trust me you want them.
No you don't need more than one bubble trap unless you upside the return pump into the 3000 gph range. Wich you never will.
The spill way can be used for a lot of different things. Like media bags, blue and white filter sheets, filter floss, carbon sponges, let your mind run with options. It is nice to have something like this if you stir up a dust storm just add filter floss and bam no more milky water! Second thought you may want an er drain in the tall side of the spillway just in case.
The return section is grate for a heater.
The protein skimmer section could be bigger. Just remiber if you ever run a biopellet reactor you will want to run the return to the protein skimmer intake. I think if you did this you mah lose the use of the fuge area due to lack of neutreants. But hay a filter feeding/cryptic zone is a cool bio filter all to itself though.
I personally would like to see a deep sand bed in your fuge to grow mangroves instead of more macro. You are growing enough macro in the DST if you ask me that's what I would do. But you do you.
