DIY 30g sump

[want2findnemo]

For a 75G tank that is on a stand, from the ground to the top of the tank is 52inches. The tank is 20inches high.



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Im planning to make a sump that is

48x19x10



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Is this sump drawing correct? And when putting it together should it be like (a) or (b)

(A) being making the frame and then put the baffels in
(B) being essientally making the outer edge the same size as the baffels and slap on the long sides



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Just wondering if B would be weaker..., but B is easier to make than A


Look forward to your suggestions and comments.


Thanks!

[ccCapt]

I assume you are building this yourself from acrylic? You want to glue the 4 sides to the bottom (and each other) first. Put in the baffles after the sump is built.

I would suggest moving the set of baffles on the far right more to the left. You aren't leaving much of an area for the return pump. Evaporation will affect that section of the sump. I would worry about the pump running dry.

[fijiwigi]

I am not a sump expert at all but I am thinking you just need 2 sets of baffles
from left to right
drain-line/skimmer/equipment zone (over-under-over) Refugium (over-under) return pump zone.

with 48" to work with I am guessing here but this sounds about right to me.
skimmer and equipment zone 12", baffles (3"), refugium zone 20", baffles (2"), return pump zone 10"

[CatatonicBug]

I'm no expert either, but my little 2.5g tank is built like version A, with the small ends overlapping the ends of the long pieces. Based on the fact that the people who build tanks are making them that way, I think I would go with version A myself.

[cmor1701d]

Also, get rid of the wet/dry section and plumb the drain below the water line to quiet it down.

[want2findnemo]

So this is what my sump should look like?



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So I dont need a wet/dry at all?

Some people have suggested that I have the wet/dry but put live rock rubble in instead of bio balls.

Some people have suggested that I take out the wet/dry and have a powerfilter to do some mechanical and chemical filtering. But then I was told that powerfilters are a factory for nitrites/nitrates or somthing...

And what is the difference between Baffel being setup OverUnderOver and UnderOverUnder?


Please advise...

Thanks!

[Ziggy953]

Have a look at this site. There is a ton of information on sumps and how to build them.

Melevsreef.com | Acrylic Sumps & Refugiums

[want2findnemo]

How do I determine how many baffles I need?
A bubble trap is a narrow section within the sump that is made up of three baffles. The center one is higher than the two outer ones. The bubble trap should be located after the area that contains the most bubbles. Normally, that would be where the water enters the sump and your protein skimmer is located. Microbubbles abound in this zone, so the bubble trap would be set up next, to prevent these from continuing through to the refugium and/or return section. If you have a refugium next, you'll need one more baffle between the refugium and the return section. All four baffles should be the same height in this setup. "

How wide should the bubble trap be, and how high off the bottom is the middle baffle?
1” of space between baffles, with the middle baffle 1” off the base of the sump. 1.5” - 2” works fine as well. A carbon tray can be incorporated between the baffles if desired.

How deep should the refugium be?
12” works nicely, because 2” of sand takes up some space. The baffle should be 13” or 14” tall, with teeth cut 1.5” (vertically) along the top edge. The teeth prevent the macro algae from going into the next compartment, and helps keep snails in the refugium.

What is the best layout?
There are a number of ways to configure the compartments, including some comments:

Skimmer à Refugium à Return
This is a simple layout that keeps the flow going in one direction. One objection often voiced is that “you don’t want to skim out the nutrients in the water going to the refugium.” This isn’t possible to do, unless every drop of water had to go through the skimmer to get into the refugium. Most of the water runs right past the skimmer! Even with a very weak return pump, the water pumped into the skimmer is only a portion of the body of water traveling into the next compartment.
Benefit - all baffles are the same height.

Skimmer à Return ß Refugium
In this situation, the two outer compartments receive their water from two sources (or one supply line that has been split), and pour into the central compartment.
Benefit - Refugium wall can be taller, and the amount of water flowing through it can be controlled with a ball valve.

Refugium à Skimmer à Return
This is a bad idea in my opinion, because the micro fauna (copepods, amphipods and more) that you hope to send up to your display tank as food are going to be skimmed out of the water before they ever reach the Return zone. If this is your layout, have the refugium drain via PVC pipe directly into the Return zone, bypassing the skimmer zone.
Benefit - none.

It doesnt really explain the difference between Baffel being setup OverUnderOver and UnderOverUnder

And he doesnt say If I need a wet/dry but since he has mentioned that best practice is having only the skimmer/refug/return then i guess ill leave it at that.

[dskidmore]

Originally Posted by want2findnemo

So I dont need a wet/dry at all?

If you don't have enough live rock in the tank, wet/dry can compensate, but if you have enough live rock, wet/dry is redundant.

[dskidmore]

Originally Posted by want2findnemo

It doesnt really explain the difference between Baffel being setup OverUnderOver and UnderOverUnder.

If you did the water going under over under, then the gap between the baffle and the bottom of the tank could get clogged up with sand from the refugium. (Assuming a planted refugium.)