Sump Help

[Chago09]

Ok here is the plan.... from my new knowledge thanks to reefcentral members. I had my 150 gallon tank drilled so I can make it a saltwater tank. Ok I am going to be setting up the following.
- FOWLR
-150 gallon tank 72" x 18" x 26"
- 80 lbs of live rock
- Two aqua Clear 110's packed with biomax
- Sump
- Normal Flourescent lighting 2x 40 watt
- 2 powerheads totalling 600gph, putting my powerheads and aqua clears at 1400gph(not incluing sump yet)

Ok so now you have noticed I didn't mention my set up for the sump. That is because I have no idea on how to lol like I know the plumbing I just don't know how to set up the sump box and with what media. I don't want to just make partitions and not put them properly where I'm getting no efficiency. Can someone tell me what media should be put inside, how its partitioned, what size is minimum for my tank and how strong of a pump would I need with roughly 4 feet of head distance. Some pics or links would be super great. I have found some but I don't know if those were good methods and that is why I'd rather you guys tell me.

 

[jer77]

Well there are many ways to partition a sump, and many things to put into it. www.melevsreef.com has lots of answers to sump FAQ's. Are you going to be using a skimmer? How much room do you have in the stand for your sump? Do you want a refugium? A good rule to go by for return pump size is 3-5x your tank size with head loss. You could do more, but this will cause heat, bubble, and cost problems. Most of your flow should come from a closed loop or powerheads.

 

[L and L]

Check out Melev's site for sump advice.

http://www.melevsreef.com/allmysumps.html

The main points about setting up a sump are to allow room in the sump when your power goes off; allow enough room in the evaporation chamber (i have 8 gallons in it); watch out for air bubbles in your sump and from coming back into your 150g.

Adding baffles is easy. I used acrylic baffles in glass 30g tank.... just siicone heavy.

Are you planning a sand bed? The biggest factor in setting up any saltwater tank is filtering (biological/mechanical/chemical) and that's all relative to how stocked with fish you want to keep. I am a firm believer in 100% biological filtering.

I think adding a refugium in your sump would be a great addition. It will grow all sorts of pods, mysid shrimp and worms that will be a food source for the fish. You could also add a macro algae and a deep sand bed that will help reduce nitrates.

Pumps: Most online sites give pumps w/ 4' of head. I have my return pumping around 720 gph.

 

[Chago09]

is there any threads of pics of the back of a tank so I can see plumbing and evrything as well??

 

[L and L]

Here's my plumbing schematic (total system)