Sump/Refugium DIY: need advices

[xeanliao]

Hello, need your help to validate or invalidate my sump/refugium design. I dont' have confidence if I do it right:worried2:

• Display Tank is 100 gallon.
• The sump is only 20 gallon total.
• The return pump is 800 gph.

Do you have any concerns about the sizes/volums of the 3 chambers, or anything? If I miss providing need info here, please let me know.

Regards,
Sean

 

[GroktheCube]

Why so small?

I see three problems:
-Relatively little empty space. Will this actually hold all the excess water from the tank when the return is shut off? If not, you're going to have water all over the floor.
-No need for second set of bubble trap baffles.
-The chamber the return pump is in is tiny. That will make it very prone to water level fluctuations and thus make ATO operation difficult.

I might suggest using a 40 breeder instead. It'll give you a lot more space to work with.

 

[bws]

I personally would go with more down the lines of a 55 gallon sump, I have made a 20 gallon version before and it was quite small, the extra cost of a bare bones 55 would not be that much .. sorry.. I assume you have the room. maybe not. I keep my sumps in my basement so space is no object for me. that 20 gallon did fit under my tank I will say that. how ever it also cracked one day from the thin chinsy glass walls. some body jumped in the house next to my tank, next morning I woke up with a huge mess. that was the end of my under the tank sumps right then.. go as big as you possibly can though. I will say that

 

[xeanliao]

I have space constraint for bigger sump :-(

With check valve on the return line, how much would the excess water from back flow be? Do I just calculate the water remains in the pipe? If I make the highest point above certain point to prevent back flow, any drawback of doing that?

Also, for ATO, how much space I should have for the return chamber? I guess I would have to steal space from other chambers?

Thanks so much!

Why so small?

I see three problems:
-Relatively little empty space. Will this actually hold all the excess water from the tank when the return is shut off? If not, you're going to have water all over the floor.
-No need for second set of bubble trap baffles.
-The chamber the return pump is in is tiny. That will make it very prone to water level fluctuations and thus make ATO operation difficult.

I might suggest using a 40 breeder instead. It'll give you a lot more space to work with.

 

[bws]

hmm 40 breeders are wider than a 55 yes? that would be even better

 

[bws]

to be honest with you, making a real good quality sump is harder than it sounds.. you have to get all kinds of creative to make a good drain and incorporate it with the glass tank.. I used a piece of acrylic and glued it down to the top.. it did work but it was not the prettiest thing. then make the chambers plenty wide so you can easily silicone the dividers, and also make sure there is a nice fit for them, too tight against the glass will lead to problems. you want them a tad loose and fill the gaps up with silicone. its a couple day process just for the chamber walls

 

[bws]

also, are you planning on it being a sump/refuge? don't forget about that chamber.. if you are making one mays well do it right, then a skimmer.. make sure the skimmer fits

 

[bws]

looks like you are out of room by the pic. and those walls at 1 inch thick or whatever is going to be tricky to silicone in

 

[GroktheCube]

I have space constraint for bigger sump :-(

With check valve on the return line, how much would the excess water from back flow be? Do I just calculate the water remains in the pipe? If I make the highest point above certain point to prevent back flow, any drawback of doing that?

Also, for ATO, how much space I should have for the return chamber? I guess I would have to steal space from other chambers?

Thanks so much!

How big is the space under the stand?

Check valves tend to fail and relatively quickly at that in SW applications. Too many tiny critters in the pipes. You can drill siphon breaks in the return plumbing just below the water line, at which point you just need to account for water in the pipes/above that, and water in the overflow box.

If you need to stick with such a small tank for the sump, you might be better off skipping the fuge chamber. in favor of slightly bigger skimmer and return chambers.

 

[xeanliao]

Hello, need your help to validate or invalidate my sump/refugium design. I dont' have confidence if I do it right:worried2:

View attachment 328390

• Display Tank is 100 gallon.
• The sump is only 20 gallon total.
• The return pump is 800 gph.

Do you have any concerns about the sizes/volums of the 3 chambers, or anything? If I miss providing need info here, please let me know.

Regards,
Sean

Note: the picture on the top is the Front View. The one on the bottom is the view from top

 

[bws]

I don't want to be a Debbie downer here but in all reality you will have 100 bucks or more into making this by the time its all said and done, you might find a sump that works for you online that's all done and nice for 150 ish I was thinking the same thing you are.. save some cash and build one but I think I am just going to buy one of the e shop reef sumps and be done with it and never ever have to buy build or modify another

 

[xeanliao]

How big is the space under the stand?

Check valves tend to fail and relatively quickly at that in SW applications. Too many tiny critters in the pipes. You can drill siphon breaks in the return plumbing just below the water line, at which point you just need to account for water in the pipes/above that, and water in the overflow box.

If you need to stick with such a small tank for the sump, you might be better off skipping the fuge chamber. in favor of slightly bigger skimmer and return chambers.

Thanks for this practical advice for working with my limitted space . I need somewhere to grow pods for my dragonets. How about the smaller-sized design as shown in the attached picture, or it better off just remove the refrigum chamber?

 

[xeanliao]

I don't want to be a Debbie downer here but in all reality you will have 100 bucks or more into making this by the time its all said and done, you might find a sump that works for you online that's all done and nice for 150 ish I was thinking the same thing you are.. save some cash and build one but I think I am just going to buy one of the e shop reef sumps and be done with it and never ever have to buy build or modify another

No worry about any advice. This is practical advice, too. I just built the stand and the space is constrainted by myself :-( I wish I can start over rebuild a bigger stand.

Still, I probably will choose to do DIY again just because it is the fun part to me