rooroo December 19, 2006 Share December 19, 2006 (edited) I'm bored here at work this week, so I've been doing lots of planning for my tank. Here's my sump design. Any recommendations? Things to watch out for? This is the first time I've designed a sump and I went with one of Melev's designs that worked best for the tank size I have. Side view. Top down view. Edited December 19, 2006 by rooroo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dandy7200 December 19, 2006 Share December 19, 2006 Looks good. I built one similar with a very small return section like that. I was worried about evap so I slotted the last baffle and drilled a bunch of holes in it. This effectively seperated the macro from the return section and gives me more leeway as far as evap is concerned. There is a sand bed in the fuge section so the pump sits about 4" lower in the last section. Every now and then when the water level gets really low the macro is exposed to air but I have never seen any harm in tat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phisigs79 December 19, 2006 Share December 19, 2006 looks like a sump to me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dandy7200 December 19, 2006 Share December 19, 2006 BTW you could get a 29 to fit in that stand if you like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhoch December 19, 2006 Share December 19, 2006 I would think you would want flow from the bottom for your last baffle (i.e. add one more baffle)... Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rooroo December 19, 2006 Author Share December 19, 2006 What if I raise the outside baffles and drop the inside one to the bottom? Trying to get as much space in the refugium as possible, but if I have to add one more no big deal. Dandy, good idea with drilling holes in the divider from refugium to pump section. I actually have some egg crate laying around, maybe that would work with a 5" piece of acrylic on the bottom? Also, I don't think a 29 will fit as the opening for the stand isn't as big as the footprint of it. It's got 4" supports on both sides, and I want to be able to get the sump out without dismantling the tank. Can I use acrylic to make the baffles? I know silicon doesn't stick to acrylic but will it hold the baffles in place? Or am I better off to use glass? I'll be able to cut the acrylic myself with hubby's router. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dandy7200 December 19, 2006 Share December 19, 2006 Acrylic works fine. The silicone sticks to the glass and holds the acrylic in place like a channel. I think you want smaller holes than eggcrate. I slotted it with a tablesaw blade and that seems about right. You could do the same with a 1/8" straight router bit although it will take much longer. To bad you can't bring the router to work when your bored huh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rooroo December 19, 2006 Author Share December 19, 2006 (edited) Haha, with how quiet the office is right now it would anger everyone. We've got a router table too so it wouldn't take too long. I just hope we have a bit that will work. What kind of bit should I use? Edited December 19, 2006 by rooroo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dandy7200 December 19, 2006 Share December 19, 2006 #1 choice or #2 choice. FYI this is my favorite place on the web to get tools/blades/etc. Their prices are better than Amazon, they ship free in most cases and they don't sell junk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveoutlaw December 20, 2006 Share December 20, 2006 (edited) I would switch the return and fuge chambers. That way you have raw tank water running to the fuge and get the most benefit from nutrient exchange. You can just T off of the overflow and control the flow to the fuge with a ball valve. Edited December 20, 2006 by steveoutlaw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zmalexander December 20, 2006 Share December 20, 2006 (edited) I would split the return and fuge chambers. That way you have raw tank water running to the fuge and get the most benefit from nutrient exchange. You can just T off of the overflow and control the flow to the fuge with a ball valve. Agreed. Melev actually now recommends this on his site so that you aren't skimming the water that then goes to the fuge. Just swap the fuge and return sections, so that now both the fuge and the skimmer sections drain towards the center into your return. By the way, I'm planning on building the exact same sump as you into a 20H for my 58. Would love to get together with ya when you do the acrylic work since I have no real tools..... Have you purchased your acrylic yet? Would be willing to go together with ya on that as well. Zac Edited December 20, 2006 by zmalexander Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rooroo December 20, 2006 Author Share December 20, 2006 I haven't purchased the acrylic yet. I'll probably get a good sized sheet from Piedmont Plastics Friday. Or just stop by Home Depot some day next week and get their el cheapo plexiglass. Friday is a slow day in the office so I can probably run out and get it. As far as the tools, they belong to my hubby, but there's a good chance he'd be ok with us cutting some extra acrylic. I'll be home all next week, which is when I plan on doing the sump. Shoot me a PM if you're available during the day next Tuesday and we can see about building the sumps together. If not that day I'm sure we can figure out another time. So I should do like Melev's F style design and have fuge on right, skimmer on left, and return in middle? Or just run the water fuge -> skimmer -> return? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveoutlaw December 20, 2006 Share December 20, 2006 I would do like Melev. You don't want skimmed water going to the fuge because the skimmer takes out the good stuff your fuge needs. By the same token, you don't want the water enriched by the fuge to go through the skimmer because the skimmer will take out some good stuff the tank needs. Did you like all of my technical terminology?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rooroo December 20, 2006 Author Share December 20, 2006 Layman's terms is always good! Alright, updated design. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rioreef December 20, 2006 Share December 20, 2006 My sump is a 29g and is the same basic setup. I have a wider return section to have less evap fluctuations. The water from the return is Tee'd and a slow flow goes into the fuge section. Since this leaves two walls (mine are glass) that the water will flow over the top and into the return section, I placed them at small angle. This prevents the water from spilling over and down into the return area and creating bubbles that can get sucked into the return pump. In the end I wish the angles were larger though. I never have worried about skimmed water and the fuge area. My skimmer by far has less input flow than the amount the main drain has into the sump. Thus, more 'raw' water is cycled through the sump and entering the fuge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveoutlaw December 21, 2006 Share December 21, 2006 Looks perfect! Mine is that exact same design (but mine is a 55g). Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zmalexander December 21, 2006 Share December 21, 2006 YGPM Zac Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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