sump help

[heartben]

so im going to redo the baffles on this sump.

now i have the design im going to use (the reverse of the original)

there is a pretty decent sized fuge in the middle and i was wondering...

should i put sand in it? should i put rock in it? should i just have some cheato in it? i have quite a bit so ill probably just use it all if thats the thing to do.

id just like some pointers. im hoping to have it up and running by thursday.


thanks!
-ben

 

[js_bass]

Some people do use sand i do. i have heard that people who run bare bottom will put a deep sand bed in the sump, but i use a little sand and 30 pounds live rock. If you need any rock let me know

 

[heartben]

im thinking i will put sand in but... im just waiting to get some more input.

if we get another tank im going to strongly debate going bb...

thanks
-ben

 

[waverz]

Crap, sorry for bailing on you on for this project. I've been pretty busy with other stuff, besides I figured being you have all the time in the world you could do a little research on it yourself and design a system according to your needs.

There are plenty of examples of sumps here on RC, just use the search.

 

[bgreenlee]

I like the idea of a sand bed in the sump, I have had success with a DSB under chaeto in my sump on my small tank. I have about 5" of sand under about 6 inches of chaeto through out my refugium.

 

[heartben]

thank you for the responses. I think i will do a dsb in the fuge section. i have a tonnn of extra live sand (its nicer than whats in the DT currently!)

jeremy - its all good. i will look at some sump designs, there are only a few things id like to change but i wont be able to because i just dont know how. id like the water level to be a little lower than it has to be - which would require trimming down the plexiglass but i cant do that... i think other than that ill keep the basic design and switch it around.


itll give me a good reach to clean all the glass so it looks nice and clean and i can see what our tank does to it!


woo!
-ben

 

[bgreenlee]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11130413#post11130413 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by heartben
thank you for the responses. I think i will do a dsb in the fuge section. i have a tonnn of extra live sand (its nicer than whats in the DT currently!)

jeremy - its all good. i will look at some sump designs, there are only a few things id like to change but i wont be able to because i just dont know how. id like the water level to be a little lower than it has to be - which would require trimming down the plexiglass but i cant do that... i think other than that ill keep the basic design and switch it around.


itll give me a good reach to clean all the glass so it looks nice and clean and i can see what our tank does to it!


woo!
-ben

One key to sump design is to make sure that when you shut the pump off you have enough room for the water in the tank to drain back to the sump without running over. Even if you have a check valve in your return line you can expect some drain back as they will tend to leak a little bit and water will continue to flow out of the display until the level is lower then your overflow.

What size tank are you using for your sump?

Billy

 

[Philby]

If you need sump design ideas check out melevsreef.com - he has a bunch of different sump layouts posted somewhere on there.

 

[heartben]

he sure does have a selection... ive been here before but didnt pay as much attention to the diy section.

 

[heartben]

sorry billy i missed that post! its a 29 gallon tank (for our 55 dt)

 

[bgreenlee]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11130503#post11130503 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by heartben
sorry billy i missed that post! its a 29 gallon tank (for our 55 dt)

30 inches long will make a pretty good sump. I like the 20 long for sumps that lengh as well. Do you have an in sump skimmer? How big is your return pump, or what is your return pump?

 

[heartben]

ill try to anwser these as well as i can. no, not yet. might be awhile before we get one, all we have right now is a prizm hob skimmer. were going to be using a mag 9.5.

 

[bgreenlee]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11130626#post11130626 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by heartben
ill try to anwser these as well as i can. no, not yet. might be awhile before we get one, all we have right now is a prizm hob skimmer. were going to be using a mag 9.5.

Using dimensions from the pump, a good skimmer (Euroreef 80), and trying to work in a fair sized refugium you might try something like below.

 

[heartben]

hmm. is that return - fuge - skimmer area? - if so, thats like.. the exact same design it is right now... maybe i should just leave it alone then? i thought the skimmer area was too small...

there is just one less baffle in the sump currently. it worked when the other person had it.. maybe i should just leave it, i wanted ot make the skimmer area bigger for a future in sump skimmer...

 

[bgreenlee]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11133018#post11133018 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by heartben
hmm. is that return - fuge - skimmer area? - if so, thats like.. the exact same design it is right now... maybe i should just leave it alone then? i thought the skimmer area was too small...

there is just one less baffle in the sump currently. it worked when the other person had it.. maybe i should just leave it, i wanted ot make the skimmer area bigger for a future in sump skimmer...

10 x 13 will hold a good size skimmer. look at euroreefs simmer line and their dimensions.

 

[heartben]

oh, then you had it the other way. unless you have the skimmer in the return area?

anyways, if youre thinking what im thinking then i just need to do what i planned on and reverse the design that i have.

the skimmer area is way small and the return area is big on my sump and the fuge is the biggest, its probably the reverse if what you drew.

 

[bgreenlee]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11133123#post11133123 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by heartben
oh, then you had it the other way. unless you have the skimmer in the return area?

anyways, if youre thinking what im thinking then i just need to do what i planned on and reverse the design that i have.

the skimmer area is way small and the return area is big on my sump and the fuge is the biggest, its probably the reverse if what you drew.

I guess a prerequisite of what I drew is setting up an auto top off unit, which is very simple with parts from your local radioshack. you dont have a lot of return area volume to allow for evaporation. If you need that then you would make your refugium area smaller.