sump/refugium building

[dmorel]

Home depot is the greatest, they will cut plexi glass to whatever size you want :)

So, now I have this 29g tank with baffles all drying into place.
I made a media chamber about 5" wide, 7" for my skimmer, then 13" for refugium, with about 5-6" left for return and heaters, etc...

So couple of questions: (it's always about me isn't it...)

I made the refugium *walls* 12" high, how much over that height should I keep the level of water?

Does anyone have any suggestions on transferring my current sump/refugium contents from the old one to the new one?

The problem with the old one is that it's just a 20g long with some broken pieces of plexi-glass sort of stuck in there, and there is no separation of refugium from either skimmer or return pump. Switching to the mag with that sort of pre-filter on it has helped return flow, but the skimmer suffers from picking up sand and the like. I now will also have a bonafied media chamber instead of an old pasta sauce jar...

Thanks for any thoughts you might have on these questions.
I figure I should let the silicone dry for 48 hours before I transfer anything so I won't be doing anything for a couple of days.

-david

[Zmann]

David its kind of difficult to give you any advice with out seeing your project. Maybe you can post some pics?

[dmorel]

Originally posted by Zmann
David its kind of difficult to give you any advice with out seeing your project. Maybe you can post some pics?

Sure, here you go.
Pardon the two minute photoshoping.

http://morelweb.com/URS/sump.jpg

-david

[Zmann]

1st thing your first filter is way to close to the top. Its an accident waiting to happen the first time you forget to change the filters ask Todd on that one. He made his nano sump pre filter box a tad to high. 2nd your refugium box should be of the same height on both sides and much shorter. Water seeks its own level when equal amounts of pressure are forced upon it. Your water level will have to be at least 13" high to work right. Which will defeat the first rule of sumps if not calculated right and that is if you shut all your electric off and your overflow box which is full of water flows down to the sump and then your returns back siphon your top 2 inches of your main tank down into your sump. Will your sump which at its minum height of 13" of water be able to handle that with out soaking your floor. If you thought of all these details great! It would kind of scare me though. I have made all the above mistakes with previous sumps so I know how frustrating it can be when something you make just doesnt turn out as planned. If you think I'm being to critical I'm sorry. I tell it as I see it.

[dmorel]

I hear ya' on the filter, I can move that lower without working too hard at all.

On the refugium box, they actually are the same height (12" on either side) It's just both a bad picture and a bad diagram of the water flow.

I was thinking the same thing you were about the height, but I currently run a 20g long as my sump with about 3" or 4" left to the top, and when I loose power (which happen more then I care to think about) I don't overflow, though I do come close. Here, I have a few exrtra inches to play with and I wanted as much space for the refugium as I could get, which is why I went with the 29g instead of using the same 20g long... I don't think overflow is a problem. Rather my biggest concern is making sure my top off system is always on the money, otherwise I could have some troubles.

At the end of the day, I welcome the increased volume for all the usual reasons.

Don't worry about being critical, I neither felt you were being so, nor would I mind if you were, I am novice with thick skin :)

Thanks for your thoughts, I will move the filter down, I certainly have plenty of room to do so.

-dm

[Zmann]

Glad to hear I didnt offend you. At least not enough for you to call me the A word. I wish the best for you and your sump. I dont know if you saw mine on my web page but thats actually the second sump I built for the 40g and its only been set up since Sept 2001. I'm actually thinking about building another one. It would be the exact same design but just not as wide. I would like to eventually have room down there for a calcium reactor but it will be awhile before I need one since I'm still on the same set of jugs of B-ionic that I started with in Sept.

[_ShotgunShrimp_]

Well... the only problem i see is i hope the silicone/plexi stays in place... i had alot of problems with pleaxi not stickin with silicone... ive heard that glas is the better format with glass and plexi better with plexi (and offcourse good plexi glue) looks like a winner... wish mine could be that easy..... my problem is the pump externals are a pita sometimes :)