Fuge flow rate

[Charlie]

I seem to have lost a previous post. :?

I will be using a 28 gal fuge/sump for my 72 gal tank. The fuge/sump has 4 chambers:

1. Intake chamber
2. LR rubble chamber
3. Refugium chamber
4. Skimmer & return pump chamber

I will be running all of the water from one end to the other using a single intake hose. In the refugium - the water will enter 6.5" above the bottom and will leave through a (sponged) baffle that is about 2" above the bottom. Ideally, what should my flow rate be. I have a pump from my old wet/dry but would like to purchase a new high quality pump for this set-up.

 

[Ziggy953]

I would suggest no more then 600gph and less would be better. The point of the fuge is to allow your water to mingle with the Macro and LR that you have in there, so you really don't want a lot of flow.

I would also suggest getting rid of the sponge. It will cause problem.

 

[Charlie]

I would also suggest getting rid of the sponge. It will cause problem.

How should I keep my pods from flowing through the baffle and into the skimmer/discharge area? I figured if I put the baffle plates close together and placed a thin course sponge in there I'd be good to.

I have a sponge (prefilter) in the overflo box and leave one floating in the wet/dry so that I can put it into the QT HOB if I need to get it started in a hurry. So far I haven't had any problems that I've noticed. Nitrates & nitrites remain at Zero.

 

[chase33]

Do you plan on getting the pods to the main at any point? Also I'm trying to picture the setup. The 4th section houses the skimmer and the return pump. With both in the same section aren't you sending some of the water that went through the skimmer back through it again prior to going into the return?

 

[Charlie]

I assume that some water is normally picked up by the skimmer more than once. In my current wet/dry the pump picks up water from the same chamber that the skimmer discharges into. In this case it happens to be in the first chamber where the water enters. Excess water overflows into the diffusion tray and so on.

 

[chase33]

Has the sump already been setup? Personally I would place the skimmer in the first section sending the output to the second.

 

[Charlie]

The first divider is glued in and the first chamber is only about 3" wide. It accomodates the inlet pipe and a heater or two. I didn't receive the AquaC Urchin yet so I don't know exactly how it discharges. The remaining dividers haven't been glued in yet.

 

[Ziggy953]

I had a sponge in my wet/dry (when I was using one) and it became so soiled that water barely moved through it. If you are going to use the sponge you will need to clean it often. Can you get a pic of your setup? I'm with Chase I'm not sure I'm imagining your flow through correctly.

 

[Charlie]

I'm using this sump/fuge in a larger configuration.

http://cgi.ebay.com/24-L-MegaPro-Re...oryZ3212QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I intend to eliminate the bio-balls and relace them, with LR rubble. The eggcrate will be removed and the rubble will stacked up on the bottm of the chamber. I will be adding an additional partition just to the right of the rubble so that incoming water which enters at the top will only exit through the very bottom. Then it will rise up 6-7 inches before entering the fuge chamber. The last chamber seen in the image is where I intended to put the skimmer and outflow pump.

 

[chase33]

Nice looking sump. Me personally though, I don't like the idea of having the skimmer in the last chamber. I would place the LR in the chamber with the LS and Macro and move the skimmer to the section where those bio-balls are.

 

[Ziggy953]

I don't think that is designed to have a skimmer in it at all. The last chamber is for a return pump not a skimmer, at least that is the way I see it.

I would not put the skimmer and pump there. You will have millions of miro bubble sent up into your tank.

 

[Charlie]

I don't think it was designed that way either but I want to run a skimmer in the sump. Maybe I should set the skimmer up on the intake side but that would require that I tear out the first acrylic panel and I'm not thrilled with that idea either. The LR will not fit in the fuge area because I have quite a bit if LR rubble that is being transfered from the wet/dry to the new sump. I guess I'll rethink this all when the skimmer arrives.

Suggestions?

 

[chase33]

Try melevsreef.com for some ideas. I'd also look into the DIY section here. Maybe you can find some ideas on how to make this one work for you. Good luck.

 

[Charlie]

UPDATE

I received the AquaC Urchin Pro today. I half filled the sump and tested the skimmer to see how it discharges. The skimmer came with a MagDrive 3 (350 GPH) which I ordered. With the skimmer running, water flows gently out of the unit and runs down the side of itself. No bubbles are discharged and there are only a few large bubbles that are caused by the discharged water entering the sump water. If the sump was filled I don't think there would be any bubbles at all.

At this point it seems that the sump/fuge should work as originally planned even if the skimmer may have been better placed on the inlet side. Either way - I'm always learning and always open to your suggestions.

Thanks for everyone's input.

Charlie

 

[Ziggy953]

You normally want the water going to the skimmer to be right out of the tank, this is when it is most effective. What you are planning will work.