Building a sump, need help and knowledge

[Ga1981]

Hello, about 2 months ago I upgrade from a 30 g to a 70 g mixed reef.
I told I can get away with a hob refugium and a hob skimmer,after a couple of weeks I got a diatoms bloom and some cyano on my sand bed.....
Finally I decided to invest some money on a phosphate reactor and installed yesterday ....
Now i have too many things hanging on my aquarium and I do not like it....
I was looking at those cpr overflow boxes, even if I read about flood using hob overflow.....
Now I have a few question,
Do those overflow boxes are really cause of flood?
Can I use my 30 g as a sump?if yes can I just hang everything on the 30 g when is used as a sump? Or how to build one?
I was thinking to get an hob cpr overflow box, siphon water to the 30 g and hang the skimmer, refugium, reactor and heater on it and pump the water back into the aquarium....is that possible?is 30g too big? Can I use 1/2 of the 30 g ?so in case of power outage I don't get a flood?
Thank you

 

[mr_X]

A nutrient spike is pretty common when switching tanks. I don't think it's attributed to your HOB components. The 30 is a fine sump however. You'll need to partition it in at least 2 sections. One for the intake, which will hold all of your components, and the other as the return area, which will hold your return pump. You will need a bubble trap in between the two, and properly thought out, you'll have enough room for extra water in the event of a power outage.
Will you add a refugium? How about an automatic top off?

 

[Ga1981]

Thanx mr X,that's a good idea,I just need to buy a overflow ,a proper return pump and some glass & silicone to do that.I was thinking to use my cpr hob refugium on the 30g sump if is possible,and about the top off I already have an ATO but need to be installed, I'll like to get the sump going first.... I have no clue about sump.

 

[mr_X]

Ok...so since you will have an ATO, the return area only needs to be large enough to hold your return pump. What skimmer are you using?
What are the dimensions of this 30? Is it [FONT=Arial, Arial, Helvetica]the 36" 30, or the 24"?[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Arial, Helvetica]
[/FONT]

 

[Ga1981]

I have aquamaxx hob skimmer, rated for 50-75 g (on marine depot), also have a seaclone 100 somewhere .
The tank is exactly a 29 g, 30"x18"x12"
Thank you Mr X

 

[mr_X]

Neither one of those skimmers are going to do much good I'm afraid. You may want to upgrade. You want a skimmer rated for 1.5 to 2 times your total system volume, so a 70 plus 30 sump.....I would looks for a quality skimmer rated for 150 to 200 gallons.
Ok, so pick out the skimmer and then you will know what size to make the compartments in the sump. I would suggest a bubble magus skimmer due to your limited space (front to back in the sump) A BM curve 7 is what I would choose.
You are going to want a filter sock holder so you will need some extra room for that. If you can squeeze a 7" sock in there I'd rather that than a 4" sock, because they last longer before clogging, and you can easily turn them inside out to remove fish or any critters.
I would make the intake with skimmer about 20" or so, and the rest as return area.

 

[Smoothmullet]

Checkout melevs reef sumps great info on design and how to.

 

[Ga1981]

I will do mollet, Thank you!!!
Mister X you veryhelpfull, thanks a lot, i was looking at the curve 7 on marine depot, look pretty sweet,where can I find good skimmer at a good price? The marine depot price are reasonable IMO ....
So how high the glass have to be in the sump?
Should I leave the hob refugium in the aquarium or in the tank?(same with the heater)

 

[mr_X]

I would just google the skimmer you want and then go for the cheapest retailer.
As for the refugium, wherever it fits I suppose.
The glass partitions should be around 10" or so. This will depend on the operating water level of your skimmer. The first partition will dictate the water height. The second partition could be around an inch away from the first, and an inch off of the sump floor. This will force water to go downward under the partition and the theory is, that any air bubbles should float upward and not make it under the partition. then you can put another partition after that about an inch away, which the water will then flow back over into the return area. The other 8" above the partitions will serve as a safety net if the power goes out.
I would take the tank to a glass shop and have them cut the glass for it. It won't be expensive and they will make it exact. The inside dimension of the tank is slightly less than 12".
The heater will go in the sump. Anything on the tank that takes away from it's beauty, should be hidden in the sump

 

[Ga1981]

Thank you Mr X really appreciate , description is so clear, good thing I have a glass shop just down the street is going to make everything really easy....
,I will try to get all the stuff in the sump, so the aquarium is going to look sharp
Thank you again

 

[Ga1981]

So, the 30g did not fit my cabinet opening,I had to get a 20g instead....



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[Masoniac]

What skimmer is that?

 

[Ga1981]

Hello, is a Classic reef octopus 150 int...
I look for bubble magus here,as mr X suggested me, but I could not find it in the store and did not want order online because the shipping was expensive....
I went for the reef octopus because was the only choice I was comfortable with,in between vortex and coralia....
The review are most positive, so hopefully I made a good choice....


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[mr_X]

Yes, they are decent skimmers. What pump is that? That's not the new aquatrance 1800, is it?

 

[Ga1981]

The pump came with the skimmer and is a aqua trance 2000s,
For the return pump I only have 3-4 option at the store, eheim(out of stock),tunze or sicce,or I can get a fluval one from a friend


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[Masoniac]

I'd go with sicce

 

[Vdub99aml]

+1 on the sicce. They are super quiet pumps.


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[Ga1981]

Ok,going to get a return pump in the next few days...
Had a kind of a problem with the skimmer, the instruction say water level 7.9"-8.7", so I got some custom glass cut at 8&1/2 ".after I place the skimmer in the sump ,the intake looks a little lower than the glass, I check on marine depot and coral vue about the suggested water level,and their is completely different , 6"-8".
I contacted the coral vue about it, and the suggested me to raise the skimmer at least 1/2", as they are trying to get that change on the instructions from reef octopus....
Now I don't want to take the glass off and cut it again, or spend $50 for the proper acrylic raiser, I was thinking Can I maybe use some PVC pipe?or anyone have any inexpensive idea?
Thank you


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[Masoniac]

Get some light diffuser you can get at Home Depot for around $12 cut it and put it under the skimmer.

 

[PB_Smith]

or anyone have any inexpensive idea?
Thank you


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a plastic lid from a peanut butter jar or something similar?
It doesn't have to be fancy does it.