Sump Design. Looking for input!

[mattruggiero]

Hey Guys & Gals,

As I've mentioned in previous posts, I'm putting together my first reef tank and right now I'm working on designing my sump. I picked up a 50 gallon tank off of Craigslist to support my 125 and need your input in how to setup the baffles, refugium, return, etc...

I've poorly designed two sump concepts in MS Paint and would like you to critique them and let me know which you prefer and more importantly... why.

Due to my elementary school MS Paint skills... please imagine that there is a protein skimmer and socks in the first compartment

Thanks! :thumbsup:

Designs:

<iframe class="imgur-album" width="100%" height="550" frameborder="0" src="//imgur.com/a/Pv7NW/embed"></iframe>

 

[brianr24]

http://gmacreef.com/reef-tank-sump-diy-glass-baffles/

Check this out

 

[RocketEngineer]

I like the first one. I would recommend two changes:

1) The second baffle of the bubble trap doesn't need to be that short. I would make it 1/2-1 inch shorter than the first one.

2) I would make the refugium almost as tall as the sump. At least 16" tall if not 18".

Good Luck.

 

[mattruggiero]

I like the first one. I would recommend two changes:

1) The second baffle of the bubble trap doesn't need to be that short. I would make it 1/2-1 inch shorter than the first one.

2) I would make the refugium almost as tall as the sump. At least 16" tall if not 18".

Good Luck.

Recommendations noted. Thanks Rocket!

I like the first one more myself as I'm able to dial in the gph going through the refugium. Although I don't know if this is necessary?

 

[RocketEngineer]

I run a lot more flow past my skimmer than I do through my refugium. I prefer the two flow rates weren't linked.

 

[Tigerdragon]

The first one is very similiar to my sump other than my fuge is fed from a tee off the main drain instead of the return

 

[Tigerdragon]

This is a pic of my setup

 

[mattruggiero]

This is a pic of my setup

Thanks for sharing Tiger :thumbsup:

 

[davehead86]

I plan on having my sump setup as the first version you have here. I have a question, how are you determining the height of the glass baffles? Is it based on the skimmer? Fuge? Return pump gph?

 

[mattruggiero]

I plan on having my sump setup as the first version you have here. I have a question, how are you determining the height of the glass baffles? Is it based on the skimmer? Fuge? Return pump gph?

Umm... there are several factors that came into the decision. I am no expert but here is my thinking...

The first baffle... let's call it the "skimmer baffle" is based on the recommended water level of my Aquamaxx ConeS CO-2 (8-10"), the height of my skimmer (23") and the height of my cabinet which is 29". I can raise my skimmer about 4 inches or so and still have some headroom underneath the cabinet to clean the skimmer and work around. A higher skimmer baffle means that I can make my return baffle higher which will give me more water in my return section. This is good for evaporation fluctuations. That's how I decided on the skimmer baffle.

Then there is the bubble trap. The exiting bubble trap baffle needs to be lower than the skimmer baffle so I reduced it by 3 inches. However, as Rocket mentioned above, I only need to reduce it by 1/2-1". So that's what I will be doing.

The fuge baffle I set at 13" because I wanted to make sure that my sump would cover the excess water in case of a clog or power outage... but I did the math and I'll be fine. So I plan to raise it to 16".

I hope this helps.

 

[thegrun]

I also like the feed for the refugium off the drain rather than from the return line.

 

[mattruggiero]

I also like the feed for the refugium off the drain rather than from the return line.

Yea... from what I've read some people mention that method puts detritus in the fuge. I don't know personally. It makes sense though.. so that's why I'm feeding it from my return.

 

[thegrun]

I actually like a little of the waste coming down from the DT to settle out in the refugium, but I understand your point.

 

[mattruggiero]

I like the first one. I would recommend two changes:

1) The second baffle of the bubble trap doesn't need to be that short. I would make it 1/2-1 inch shorter than the first one.

2) I would make the refugium almost as tall as the sump. At least 16" tall if not 18".

Good Luck.

I ended up using design #1 and included the recommendations given by Rocket. I just did my first test run to see if there were any leaks in my system and noticed there is a lot of water crashing from the bubble trap into return area. The water is just flowing over the bubble trap too fast... at least that's what it seems.

I can tune down the water crashing by allowing more water into the refugium.. but then I don't know if I'm pumping enough water through the sump. I know the goal is to get 5 times DT turn over.

Does anyone have a recommendation on how to keep the water from crashing or limit it?

Thanks!

 

[mmittlesteadt]

Looks good. Here's a pic of my 65 gallon with a 27 gallon refugium in the middle and return on the end...