HOB protein skimmer in sump

corbett_n · #1 01/07/2008, 02:03 PM

Does anybody have a Hang on the back protein skimmer in there sump? I am trying to make a sump/refugium out of a 20g High with a Hang on the back protein skimmer. I have acrylic to make baffles, I just don't have a good design in mind. I also am not sure about how to attach my flexible hose from my overflow box to the sump? any ideas diagrams or pics would be greatly appreciated.

MrSpiffy · #2 01/07/2008, 02:23 PM

I'm guessing you have a HOB skimmer that you want to use instead of buying an in-sump skimmer? How big is the display tank? You want to make sure that skimmer can handle the volume it's supposed to be processing.

TwentyTwenty · #3 01/07/2008, 02:32 PM

Yes, I do. Have a 20 gal. long as a sump/refug. set up. First compartment (7x12) has skimmer, so raw water is feed to it. I just built a box in the corner with a hole on top of it and stuck the overflow line in it. Second comp. is fuge. about (12x12). Third is return area (6x12). I put 2 sets of baffles in my set up. Works great, been almost a year now. Check out Mel, he has all kinds of designs. Good luck, Mike.

corbett_n · #4 01/07/2008, 02:37 PM

Twenty Twenty do you happen to have any pics of your setup, and how do I looks at what Mel has?

TwentyTwenty · #5 01/07/2008, 02:55 PM

Sorry no camera here. I still live in the dark ages. Melvsreef.com is the site. Thats where I got my design. Great site, explains and shows how its done. Keep us updated on your progress.

AquaKnight407 · #6 01/07/2008, 03:04 PM

I have one on my 29gal reef. The sump is a 40gal breeder, the equipment side is first, 12x18, the bubble trap, the return, then the refugium. The return feeds the fuge.

I had an in-sump venturi skimmer I broke (the gate valve was too hard to turn). So now I have a Bak-Pak with a GenX 1400 NW pump. It's strattling the return and fuge. The big pump is in the return (below the return pump, just in case in runs empty) and drains into the fuge.

I'll toss some pics up tonight.

TwentyTwenty · #7 01/07/2008, 03:12 PM

Sorry its Melevsreef.com

corbett_n · #8 01/07/2008, 03:12 PM

I would really appreciate the pics, I think that will help me a lot

MrSpiffy · #9 01/07/2008, 03:16 PM

Here's my 20L sump. Skimmer on the right. Refugium on the left. Return in the center. (Drain splits to go to 'fuge and skimmer sections, feeding both. I did this for even flow from both return outlets back into the tank.)

corbett_n · #10 01/07/2008, 03:25 PM

does your skimmer section keep the same height of water at all times?

MrSpiffy · #11 01/07/2008, 03:31 PM

The skimmer section is always filled up to the baffles, yes. You can see the mark of blue tape. The 'fuge section and return section are only divided by a short baffle. I fill the water above that line, and hold macroalgae in the 'fuge with a piece of eggcrate. By doing that, I combine the water volume of both compartments into one. Otherwise, if you evaporate a lot of water, you might end up running your return pump dry, since that's the section that'll see the losses to evaporation.

MrSpiffy · #12 01/07/2008, 03:34 PM

In fact, I even modeled my skimmer up in CAD (because I'm a nerd like that

). Here's a better example of how it actually looks with the eggcrate in.

corbett_n · #13 01/07/2008, 04:30 PM

How could I take a hang on the back skimmer and make it work with your diagram?

bpoore89 · #14 01/07/2008, 04:46 PM

I have a 55g reef with a 10g sump. I also have a HOB skimmer and to save space in my tiny sump its hanging on the sump. Works perfect for me. Still have nice dark skimmate

MrSpiffy · #15 01/07/2008, 04:51 PM

Just hang it in the sump on the skimmer side. You might need to make the baffles higher, though, to make sure the pump is submerged.

MrSpiffy · #16 01/07/2008, 04:53 PM

bpoore89, I would hope your skimmate would be nice and dark, considering it's a HOB skimmer on a larger volume of water. What skimmer are you using, and what do you have in your tank?

thecichlidpleco · #17 01/07/2008, 06:23 PM

Flow from tank with protein skimmer and live rock, fuge, then return pump. Best way to do a small sump.

AquaKnight407 · #18 01/07/2008, 07:55 PM

Here a pic of mine; pretty simple equipment side on the right, the bubble trap, the return, then the refugium on the left. The return also feeds the fuge.

And the skimmer

MrSpiffy · #19 01/07/2008, 11:20 PM

AquaKnight407: "Why is the rum always gone?"

Cause I drank it all.

I love a good, dark rum!

corbett_n · #20 01/08/2008, 08:38 AM

Do any of the sections lose more water than other in your sump? I just don't want my skimmer or return pump to run dry.

MrSpiffy · #21 01/08/2008, 10:04 AM

That's exactly why I used the eggcrate to divide the 'fuge and return sections, because now the evaporation affects both sections together. You'll always see the evaporation in the return section, as all water flows over baffles to get there, so all the other sections (in this case, just the skimmer section) stay full. And because I combined the water volume between two sections, the water level drops much more slowly than if I had completely separated the return from other sections. I'd be topping off everyday, if not more than once per day.

The nice thing about how I did mine is that I still get the 'fuge section. I keep the chaetomorpha algae in there by using the eggcrate. Copepods can move more easily to the return pump to feed my display tank, since they can move through the holes in the eggcrate. I can still add a small DSB in the 'fuge section, if I really want to, because I have a short, 5" glass baffle in there. And evaporation causes a much slower drop in water level.

You don't need to put the return in the center. You can swap the return and 'fuge sections to get a more traditional sump. But I like this design a lot.

In case you're curious, I based my design on one off of Melev's site:
http://www.melevsreef.com/acrylics/s...***/index.html (second sump pic)

AquaKnight407 · #22 01/08/2008, 10:23 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by MrSpiffy
AquaKnight407: "Why is the rum always gone?"

Cause I drank it all. I love a good, dark rum!

10 points if you (or anyone that reads this) can name where that quote came from

Dark rum is always a classy choice. Myer's is great!

No, you'll only loose water from the return section, (until the pump runs dry). The return section on mine is about ~6.5 gallons. The tank is only a 29gal lit my PC's so evaporation isn't too much. (Only a 1.5gals a day roughly). When I upgrade to T5's I will definitely be looking into an auto-top off.

corbett_n · #23 01/10/2008, 06:05 PM

The challenge is going to be using my HOB typhoon skimmer on the sump

MrSpiffy · #24 01/10/2008, 09:01 PM

Mmmmm.... I love Meyer's dark rum! Although, I've just recently found the joys of a different rum called Pyrat. Now THAT is good stuff!! It's not the cheapest, but it's worth it.

(Sorry to hijack the thread to talk about rum... lol! It's just really good stuff!!)

Quote:

Originally posted by AquaKnight407
10 points if you (or anyone that reads this) can name where that quote came from Dark rum is always a classy choice. Myer's is great!

No, you'll only loose water from the return section, (until the pump runs dry). The return section on mine is about ~6.5 gallons. The tank is only a 29gal lit my PC's so evaporation isn't too much. (Only a 1.5gals a day roughly). When I upgrade to T5's I will definitely be looking into an auto-top off.

AquaKnight407 · #25 01/10/2008, 09:17 PM

Hmm, will have to give that a try, it's my buddy's 23rd this weekend. Will grab a bottle for that. Will report back.

Indeed, sorry for the highjack though...