DIY 10 Gal sump?

[ThrowedToad]

This is for a 29 Gal reef tank with one fish, cuc, 20lbs LR and lps only.

I'll go ahead and start with the pics.
http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o...d/S7300472.jpg
S7300473.jpg picture by throwedtoad - Photobucket

I have siliconed a piece of glass and a piece of plexi to see which one I would like better (I'm going with the glass next time) to make three compartments in my sump. The left compartment is where the tanks overflow drains, The small section in the middle is packed with LR rubble, and the right compartment I drilled and mounted my sump pump externally hoping to decrease heat. Now, the question I have is what to put in the left and right compartments. The right compartment cannot have anything that can be sucked into the pump (that is where the protein skimmer pump is also). Any and all ideas are welcome. Thank you in advance!

[ThrowedToad]

anyone?

[CaptainAhab]

Making sure I follow.. You have 2 compartments and an external recirc skimmer?

I guess 3 if you call that small area where the bubble trap is a compartment (most don't)

[ThrowedToad]

yes.

[CaptainAhab]

Equip in the right (heater, etc) that will fit. More and more and more LR. Your kinds stuck w/ macro. If you put it in the left where the drain is it'll get beat to death, in the right and it's cause problems with your return.

Why not drain into the sump chamber? That's the problem with small sumps.. no room.

[Tank2379]

This is what I did with my 10 Gallon Sump... I made a Fuge available for pods and LR as well as LR in the overflow side...

[ThrowedToad]

sweet, that looks awesome! Did you use glass or plexi?

[Tank2379]

Plexi.. It is alot stronger than Glass..

[ThrowedToad]

yeah, but it bends under pressure.

[CaptainAhab]

As long as you're using it for baffles you're not going to have enough pressure to worry about. I've used very thin glass and plexi. Prefer plexi just because it's easier to work with. Just glob the silicon bead on heavy.