Pump in Middle Chamber?

[CarrieB]

Hi folks,

I'm in the process of setting up a used 120g with a 40g sump. There are two overflows. The sump has three chambers and is not drilled.

The previous owner recommended changing the standard flow overflow water /skimmer -> Refugium -> pump to have overflow water/ skimmer -> pump <- overflow water / Refugium. So the water comes back to both outside chambers and the return pump is in the middle. His reasoning was that the skimmer removes the nutrients that you want to get to the Refugium.

This makes sense to me, but I haven't seen it suggested before. Pros/cons?

Would I need to change the baffles?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[GimpyFin]

I have a newer Eshopps R-300 sump and it's setup sorta the same way, just laid out a little different. It is designed so more nutrients hit the refugium. The drain holes are in one spot, but there are two channels where the water goes. Part goes to the refugium in the front middle, which then goes to the return pump in the back, and the other part flows into the filter sock and then down underneath the refugium to the skimmer chamber, which then leads to the return pump as well.

 

[CarrieB]

Yes, essentially the same idea. Thanks!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Ron Reefman]

I've had mine set up for 6 years like this:
return/filter sock in refugium-> DSB-> pump <-skimmer <-filter sock/return

The skimmer gets it's own independent return direct from the DT.

 

[SFish]

I've had mine set up for 6 years like this:
return/filter sock in refugium-> DSB-> pump <-skimmer <-filter sock/return

The skimmer gets it's own independent return direct from the DT.

Is the idea of this design to get more nutrients into the refugium? With the skimmer first not all the water would get skimmed.

 

[Ron Reefman]

Is the idea of this design to get more nutrients into the refugium? With the skimmer first not all the water would get skimmed.

I drain a lot of water from the 2 DT's (180g & 75g) to the sump/refugium. So I have 1 drain from each tank thru filter socks and to the refugium end. At the other end there is a drain from the 75g to a filter sock and a drain from the 180g DT directly to the skimmer which is also at that end of the sump.

My skimmer (AquaMedic Turbo 5000) gets all the water it can handle from a 1.5" drain gravity fed directly into the skimmer. The return pump in my sump runs at 3200gph. But with 250g of DT water, the return of 3200gph is only 13X flow. That's why I have a closed loop also runing 3200gph, a WP40 wavemaker and a Gyre in the 180G DT and 2 WP10 wavemakers in the 75g DT.

The reason you cited, nutrients for the refugium, is one reason. The other is that from the refugium the water goes to the DSB which doesn't want heavy flow. Even the flow I have would be too much so I made a 'bypass' 1" pipe from the refugium to the return pump section, bypassing the DSB. The pipe has a ball valve so I can adjust the flow through the pipe and therefore, also over the DSB.

 

[SFish]

Thanks

Ron

 

[Ron Reefman]

Thanks

Ron

Anytime. I often do things a bit different than most reefers and I'm always happy to explain why.:beer:

 

[Capsle]

I just made my sump and finished setting up everything, and got it filled yesterday. No waiting for the sandstorm to pass.

From my tank I have 2 1" bulkheads draining and 1 1" return. My 2 overflows link to one drain to my skimmer section and then to my fuge with a ball valve to regulate flow. My sump is setup with the return section in the middle, skimmer and fuge at opposite ends. I wanted less flow in the fuge and DT water as well