Sump/Refugium Design Feedback

[Grizz]

I was gonna do 1/4" glass......you really think 1/8" is enough?

I'd go with 1/4" the 1/8" i used in my 55 gal sump split from the water pressure My sump is set up the same as yours and i had no problems except for the baffles went to 1/4" glass

 

[Reefdoc]

JBJ ATO works great and reasonably priced. There are tons of options for hooking up ATO's and R/O units, you could hook it up directly with a simple float switch and skip the controller all together but it wouldn't be my first choice unless space is a serious issue.

 

[Sniperhank]

I run a JBJ ATO on my sump/fuge. Great little unit.

 

[Reefdoc]

If you want to see sump layouts that make sense check out Reef Dynamics. A lot of others on the market make no sense at all, these guys get it right IMO....

 

[bioteacher]

I'd go with 1/4" the 1/8" i used in my 55 gal sump split from the water pressure My sump is set up the same as yours and i had no problems except for the baffles went to 1/4" glass

Ok, well one story like this one is reason enough to go 1/4". What a pain to totally decommission a working sump and reglazing the whole thing!

Do you feel that all the baffles were necessary? some people are suggesting maybe only 1 baffle to seperate that skimmer from the fuge and only 2 to seperate the fuge from the return.

 

[bioteacher]

If you want to see sump layouts that make sense check out Reef Dynamics. A lot of others on the market make no sense at all, these guys get it right IMO....

Ok, so I am not sure that I understand this design that well. I think the skimmer goes to the left and the 6.75" high baffle is what maintains the appropriate water level for the skimmer. That obviously overflows into the small 4" chamber. The fuge to the right then also overflows into the 4" chamber. But, where does the return pump sit? I imagine that it is in the large left chamber with the skimmer, but then won't there be microbubble issues? Or maybe it sits in the small 4 inch chamber? Also, it seems that you would need a 2nd small pump to get water over into the fuge area?

Explain?

 

[Mrc8858]

Your missing your return section

 

[Grizz]

Ok, well one story like this one is reason enough to go 1/4". What a pain to totally decommission a working sump and reglazing the whole thing.

Do you feel that all the baffles were necessary? some people are suggesting maybe only 1 baffle to seperate that skimmer from the fuge and only 2 to seperate the fuge from the return.

It sucked lol I used 4 panes went skimmer 1st then bubble trap (3 panes) fuge (1 pane) then return. i'll to get some pics up

 

[bioteacher]

Your missing your return section

I assume you are referring to the reef dynamics design. My sump design is shown in the first post of the thread.

 

[bioteacher]

Ok, I did a little playing around today. Getting closer to the goal. I ordered panes of 1/4" glass from a local glass shop for the baffles. I went 12" on the first, 11.5" on the second, and 11" on the third based on the suggestions above. They won't be ready for a week :-(! So I have time to drive myself crazy fiddling with the design. I pulled my skimmer out of my current wet/dry to dry fit it in the new sump. I still would love to make that section smaller if I could to make the fuge and/or return section larger. If I turn the skimmer sideways it takes up way less horizontal space. Only problem with that is that the 2filter sock holders take up 10" of horizontal space, so it only buys me an inch.

Let me ask this one. Is it possible that I could split up the drain socks? Could I keep one drain going into the skimmer section and put the other one in the fuge section or even the return section?

 

[Mrc8858]

Ok, I did a little playing around today. Getting closer to the goal. I ordered panes of 1/4" glass from a local glass shop for the baffles. I went 12" on the first, 11.5" on the second, and 11" on the third based on the suggestions above. They won't be ready for a week :-(! So I have time to drive myself crazy fiddling with the design. I pulled my skimmer out of my current wet/dry to dry fit it in the new sump. I still would love to make that section smaller if I could to make the fuge and/or return section larger. If I turn the skimmer sideways it takes up way less horizontal space. Only problem with that is that the 2filter sock holders take up 10" of horizontal space, so it only buys me an inch.

Let me ask this one. Is it possible that I could split up the drain socks? Could I keep one drain going into the skimmer section and put the other one in the fuge section or even the return section?

Yes a lot of people actually run a second line into the fuge