Plumbing a Refugium and Sump to 55 display

[Shinok]

Hi, Ive been trying to plumb a refugium and sump to my 55 SW display tank and have been having a hard time. Try not to laugh but I have all the pipes and things connected great but my problem is that I went in with the idea that all three tanks should have a pump going into the next one and its been killing me trying to get correct flow rates cuz in the end one tank is filling up too much. I went to a LFS and they said that was not the way to go, to use gravity for the first two and then one pump for the sump to the main.

Right now The circulation is Display, Refugium, Sump and all are in order of height too. I also just bought a quiet one 3000 which will give me around 400 gph at 6 feet head.

Ive already had a few ideas from the internet and thinking about the system I have setup by possibly just syphoning towards the surface but I want an effective system that will last.

I looked at this and it seems good but he says that the GPH rate will be low.
http://www.aquarticles.com/articles/management/Krampetz_Automated_Water_Changing.html

any ideas?? those prefilter boxes look good but they are expensive and I cant afford one for display and refugium too.

 

[roka64]

WELCOME TO AA!!!

Sorry, I don't know much about them. I know one of the more experienced folks will be able to help you. You may want to get one of the mods to move this to the DIY or hardware discussions, so it can get the proper attention. Anyway, I just wanted to welcome you.

 

[Shinok]

Thanks

I found this article too which seems good. My only problem is that I only have a couple inches between the tank and wall.

http://www.melevsreef.com/acrylics/overflow.html

I should draw a picture, but if I place an elbow pointing up where it used to be connected to a pump and it is maybe an inch at most from the surface, then tie some sort of small screen to to the intake to keep fish and what not from getting sucked in would that work until I get a better system up? I know id have to start the syphoning everytime something happened but im not sure what else to do.

Also, would it be good to connect a valve to the display inflow so that I can adjust to the rate at which the gravity is pulling the water? Im worried that the 400 gph is gonna be to much to match the rate that the water is being syphoned.

 

[Ziggy953]

The PVC option would work but you wouldn't get much surface skimming. I would suggest the overflow from melevsreef, or one off of ebay. Gravity is your friend when plumbing sumps and fuges. I have a similar setup with 4 tanks but only have 1 pump (return) gravity takes care of the rest. Remember that if you ever loose power you need to allow for water to continue to drain and fill your lowest tank. HTH!!!

 

[Shinok]

Now comes the big question.... I only have about 2 inches of space between the wall and my tank :/ should I try to drain 3/4, move, and then fill it back? Not much in the tank right now so the biggest hastle would be the water pretty much.

 

[Ziggy953]

I think that if it were me in this situation and I planned on really building this tank up I would move it away from the wall a bit. I'm not sure what some of the pros will say to this advice but if you are going to have a reef with coral and inverts you are going to need a sump with fuge to help with the nutrient export. That's what I would do. When I set my tank up I took that into consideration but looking back I wish I had gone with 10" off the wall instead of 6". Just some food for thought. If you were planning on making your own overflow you could make it to fit the space you have. HTH

 

[Shinok]

that melvsreef looks like it needs 5-7 inches from the wall thats why im worried since i only have 2 inches which is barely enough for anything really. I have just enough room to place PVC down the back.

 

[Ziggy953]

True, that is why I said if it were me I would move the tank now before I got too far into it to move it.

 

[Shinok]

I got it moved out and here is a pic of it in full. Pretty bare so now its time to invest in some rock