how do these sump plans looks?

[Spider_Whistle]

Here's what I'm looking at so far for the new sump for my 135gal.

Nothing too fancy, but hopefully it will work ;)

Any suggestions?


Please forgive my gawd awful paint skills, I don't use it too much hehe.

[Spider_Whistle]

guess it helps if I attach it :rolleyes:

[melev]

I'd raise those baffles higher than 6". That is very shallow for a refugium. I just put up a webpage with a 12" tall sump a few minutes ago. In your case, you're going to have to keep in mind exactly how much water will drain into your sump when the return pump is turned off.

http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/tank/sumps/sump_model_a.html

[Spider_Whistle]

I only chose to make the baffles that short because it was the only way to make sure it could hold enough water when the pump is off (like you were saying).
Is there any way I can make the refugium deeper without having to worry about it overflowing?

I love your design, it's very clean, and looks like it would work great.

[ejmeier]

Design looks okay, and I'm sure whatever way you decide, it will work out great. :)

Just thought I might say that skimmer and refugium work against each other, so you might want to split them up. That is, feeding a refugium skimmed water (with all the organics removed) would be less effective. Likewise, feeding a skimmer with refugium water would strip out most of the food stuff that the refugium supplies. :p

What you could do is split the drain line coming in from the tank so half goes to the skimmer section, and half to the refugium. You could put ball valves on each line to control the flow if need be.

Or if you want to get fancy, you could sandwich the return pump intake inbetween the skimmer and refugium. Maybe that's getting a little too convoluted, but then you could raise the refugium height on the far right side without effecting the water height of the skimmer and the rest of the sump. Again, you'd have to split the drain line. :)

Good luck with whatever way you go. :)

[melev]

Eric is correct, and that is why so many people like to copy the Model F on my site.

However, I have to say that I disagree that the skimmer will pull out all the organics, because there is so much water rushing through the sump that the skimmer only gets a portion of it. Even when I feed, food gets to all areas and the skimmer doesn't pull it out.

[Spider_Whistle]

Thanks for all the info guys :D

I've updated my design a bit, how does this look?

I still have to check the measurements to be sure it can hold enough water when the pump is off.

Anyone know the number for figuring out tank size? I always forget. LxWxH/___?

[xchrisjb]

I believe the number you're looking for is 231. 1 gal = 231 in^3

Don't forget about RC's sump calculator (http://reefcentral.com/calc/sump.php)!

[Spider_Whistle]

that's what I was lookin for, thanks :D


Anyone have any suggestions on the sump design?

[xchrisjb]

I'm tagging along since I'm planning out the sump for my 135g as well. Melev's website's helped out a lot.

What type of skimmer are you going to be running? The water depth in the skimmer section should be at least as deep as the manufacturer's suggestions for the skimmer. If the water's too deep you could make a stand to set the skimmer on. It would probably be a problem if your skimmer section wasn't deep enough.

[Spider_Whistle]

I'm running a DIY skimmer, so I guess the depth will have to be a shot in the dark hehe

Melev's site definitely helped me too, that's where I got my updated design from. Now I'm just waiting for some input on that design before I start gluing things ;)

[smurf04]

so tell could someone plz tell me how exactly the water gets down to the sump? is it via pump or sypon of what? Im looking at using a 10gallon tank for a sump for my 20 gallon nano so im looking for all the help i can get

[melev]

Please look at this page:

http://www.melevsreef.com/what_sump.html

[Spider_Whistle]

Melev, what did you think of my redesigned plans? From your experience, can you tell if there are any flaws that might cause me big trouble at some point?

[melev]

I think it will work fine for your needs. The only negative is that you may skim out some of your micro-fauna as it travels past the skimmer to the return pump. Some of them, not all of them.

[Spider_Whistle]

Cool, thanks for the input, and all the great info on your site! :)

[smurf04]

i have looked at that page but i need pans and what exactly everythign is used for for a 10gallon setup. could someone plz educate the stupid newbie on what everythign is and what its for.

[melev]

I noticed you are in Ft Worth, as am I. Why don't you call me up and I can answer all your questions that way? I'll PM you my phone number.