DIY sump plan/modifications.

[The Shrimp X]

Ok this pic is Waterlily's (here on RC) She got this design from here and i like the design but i want to modify it a little.

Left is the liverock fuge (low flow low light) Right is the macro fuge (high flow high light)
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/585/66374sump.jpg


Its made of a 20 gallon long tank. I am not sure of all the specs, but i will get them.lol. I want to use this design, except i want to use a 30 gallon (36L X 12W X 16H) and have the extra space for the liverock fuge part and for the area that has the equipment.

what do you guys think?

[edwar050]

I think the design would work well, what about skimmer location on it though?

[Valclore]

Go for it if you say you have the room.

[The Shrimp X]

well its going to go on my 75 when i upgrade. lol. forgot to mention that .lol. I want the extra room in the equipment section for a skimmer and other stuff. the tank is going to be a BB starboard so i wont need a huge skimmer.

[waterlily]

The skimmer will go in the right portion with the macro. Right now I have a Remora hang-on back.

Some rationale for this design, from what I pulled from Calfo's "Reef Invertebrates" (note that he does not suggest this design, but I think it provides the best of everything that he talks about).
1) DSB refugium - mine is not as large as he suggests, but it does have at least 4" of fine sand. Calfo suggests the DSB be at least 20% of the display's volume in size. He suggests that it be unlit to reduce the risk of nuisance algae taking hold. I have a black glass lid on mine. Some light still gets in the side, but I'm not dealing with nuisance algae in that part. The DSB facilitates the growth of natural plankton. The live rock rubble provides a habitat for larger micro-crustaceans, while the fine sand facilitates the growth of smaller zooplankton like mysids and copepods.
2) Regarding water flow - Calfo says that refugiums with chaetomorpha and gracilaria can take the full volume of water flow, but refugiums to culture fine zooplankton require a "decidedly lower flow". This is why I have teed off the plumbing from the tank and send a much lower volume of water through the left portion. The right part gets a very high water flow.

You can make any one of these sections whatever size that suits your needs the best. I just eyeballed it. One thing to keep in mind...do not make the return portion of the sump contain any more water than can be sent up to the main tank without it ( the main tank) overflowing.

[SHOmuchFUN]

Originally posted by waterlily
The skimmer will go in the right portion with the macro. Right now I have a Remora hang-on back.

You can make any one of these sections whatever size that suits your needs the best. I just eyeballed it. One thing to keep in mind...do not make the return portion of the sump contain any more water than can be sent up to the main tank without it ( the main tank) overflowing.

Keep in mind that many beneficial pods live within the confines of macro algea, and if your macro is in the same compartment as your skimmer, those pods will probably never see the main display of your tank.

Your second point is very important and many people running sumps do not employ this methodology. I always roll my eyes when people say that one of their drains got clogged and it flooded their display. It can easily be prevented by making the return compartment's volume, less the volume it takes for the main display to breach the upper lip... It also helps keep salinity fluctuations minimal, as evaporation has a much greater effect on the water level.

[dpstrand]

That is exactly the problem for me with a tiny return section volume. Evaporation. If I had to manually fill it every day after I get home from work I'll find myself resenting it rather than enjoying it.... Luckily I'm still gathering equipment and in the design stage so I think I'll go with a best of both worlds method; small return section for flood protection with auto top off for sanity protection.

[SHOmuchFUN]

That's how it should be :thumbsup:

[waterlily]

[B]Keep in mind that many beneficial pods live within the confines of macro algea, and if your macro is in the same compartment as your skimmer, those pods will probably never see the main display of your tank.[B]


Well, you got me on that one. :D This is true. I suppose, then, ideally you would have a separate compartment for your skimmer.