So i am getting close to setting up my 180 (6' x 2' x 2' with doors on 3 sides of the stand) and have been debating how to build my sump for some time. I think i have finally come up with a design to accomplish all of my goals and fit in the space allowed. Please comment and help me make sure i do not miss anything.
The sump will be 44" long by 22" deep by 22" tall. It will have 4 sections, refugium, frag, skimmer, and return. The refugium and frag section will be 33" long by 11" deep by 18" tall (q1). There will be two 3" sections on opposite ends of these two sections for the 2 drains coming from my 180 tank (q2). Connecting the refugium to the frag section will be a 2" by 6" gap opposite the drain section and connecting the frag section to the skimmer section will be an 2" by 8" gap (q3). The skimmer and return sections will take up the remaing 11" by 22" and will be 16" tall and seperating them will be a 3 baffle bubble trap 1" apart (q4). The skimmer section will have two holes drilled for my external EX2 skimmer and my calcium reactor as well as an in water Q1 12k pump for 2 phosban reactors that will just hang on the side. The return section will have 1 hole drilled for my external return pump (q5) and i plan on feeding my auto top off drip into this section from a seperate 20 gallon tank. The attached pictures help explain a little better. Also, a little unrelated, but i plan on putting dual 30" 2 bulb T5's over the frag section, since it should fit perfectly over the area and i will have a pvc platform to hold frag plugs at 2 different levels, 4" below the water and 8" below the water (q6).
My initial questions are :
q1) Do these seem sufficient size for the tank and is it ok to have them the same height? My only concern is drain from one section to the other, but my thinking is it wont matter, because the water will flow over regardless.
q2) Two questions regarding the drain sections, and that is a: should the outlet be at the top of the section or the bottom, and b) is 3" enough or too much or an unneeded space to help disapate the power of the 600 gph drain? My original thought was to have the drains at the bottom, as is shown in the pics, but now i am thinking bubbles may be broken up more if it drained at the top.
q3) These gaps will be the tooth sections that allow water to pass and keep things contained, do they seem to be the appropriate sizes? I really just kind of guessed on them.
q4) Does the section with the bubble trap seem large enough to disapate all the bubbles when there is almost 1200 gph flow going through the section? I am really concerned with this as it seems to be alot to me. The return pump is a Q1 6k.
q5) This almost seems like alot of wasted space, but i think it will be ok as i am feeding my top off into the section and the room will help mix it. No specific question here, but i am just questioning my design a bit.
q6) Do you all think this lighting should be sufficient to hold frags of all sorts? Best thing i could find to cover the space effectively with minimul heat transfer while still providing significant lighting. I was thinking of using these :
Current USA
Please comment and question all you like to help me make this decision, i really want it to work out well the first go without having to redo it several times to get it just right.
Thanks