DIY 30g Sump/Refugium Design

[PrettyFishies]

Hi All. I've decided to make my own sump/refugium and I'm looking for advice on what I need to consider. The display is 125g and the P/S is operated outside of the sump. The return pump is outside of the sump as well.

Please tell me if i missed something or need to change something.

TIA!

Tank water comes in from the right, pumps to P/S. There's a small gap at the bottom to let some tank water into the refugium. The water passes through the fuge and then out the bulkhead to the return pump.

 

[melosu58]

Here are three good articles on sumps

Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sumps, Part I by Greg Taylor - Reefkeeping.com

Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sumps, Part II by Greg Taylor - Reefkeeping.com

Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sumps, Part III by Greg Taylor - Reefkeeping.com

 

[David S]

Looks ok but I would have the return from the skimmer going back to the first section,you dont want micro bubbles going into your DT

 

[PrettyFishies]

I was thinking that I want only "dirty" water in the first chamber. So either I send the skimmed water to the fuge or create another barrier in the final chamber to combat the micro bubble issue.

 

[mr_X]

the skimmer won't catch everything. also, putting a long hose on the skimmer like that might impede it's performance. i would just let it drain right where it is, like david said.
i would also not have a little hole down low for water to enter the refugium. just let it come over the top. stuff is going to fall out/grow out of that hole and enter the intake section.

 

[PrettyFishies]

So the skimmer is located outside of the fuge. It's an oversized model that is rated for a 500 gallon tank. The owner that I'm buying from has it setup this way with a long hose and no issues. His fuge is all one tank, no baffles.

The hole in the bottom will be plugged up with a fine mesh to allow water flow, but no critters getting out and into the intake.

 

[mr_X]

how will you clean the fine mesh? it will probably clog up pretty quick if not regularly maintained.

 

[PrettyFishies]

Good point. I actually am going to revise the plan to move that up to 7.5 Inches from the bottom instead of 2". That way I can have the 6" sand bed and still access the mesh for cleaning.

 

[PrettyFishies]

How deep should I make my sand bed?

 

[mr_X]

as deep as you want. i like to put a couple inches for the sand dwelling critters, and then cover that with live rock rubble.

 

[PrettyFishies]

So this is where I ended up. Thanks all for your input!

 

[PrettyFishies]

When I add the bulkhead, does it just get hand tightened to the tank? I remember that I'll need Teflon for the pipe attachment, but I couldn't remember if I needed to tighten a bit more. The gasket goes on the inside of the tank as well?

 

[David S]

Mine was hand tight plus 1/4 turn with pliers

 

[mr_X]

gasket on the inside of the aquarium. try not to use any tools to tighten the bulkhead if you can help it. it's not a bad idea to smear some silicone grease on the gasket as well.

 

[PrettyFishies]

How much wattage do I want/need for my refugium? I have an old 64w coralife PC freshwater fixture that I planned to use so I don't have to buy lights right now.

The DSB chamber is 18l x 13.5h x 11.8d. I opted to do a setup with a plenum, an inch and a half of CC an then aragonite reef sand topped with LR rubble and small shells. I will start with only cheato macro algae until I devise a solution for growing the culpera? without disturbing my sand bed

 

[PrettyFishies]

Update:

Made one more change. Added a separate chamber for the DSB.

 

[mr_X]

that fixture will work fine for growing algae.
you can grow caulerpa if you like right away. it's not going to effect the sand bed. just keep the caulerpa pruned and you won't run into any toxic episodes.