Is this a good sump build

[Chris86]

I am in the process of building 35gallon reef tank and am working on the skimmer and refugium and have questions about it. Just wondering if this is a good idea on one. The size of it is 25L x 4W x 17H it will be setting behind my main tank. Do to not having room for one under the tank. I have a really nice idea for a hood and back filler to cover everything with just need to get this built to move onto the lighting.

And will my heater be fine in the refugium

 

[Chris86]

If i need to make changes just let me know and will get them changed it is my first reef tank so its all new to me. But am having fun learning everything about them and building the stuff .

 

[LaWoWee]

Sorry to say but most of that design is unorthodox and not well designed. The skimmer uses an airstone which is not that effective for you size tank. Its better to invest in an in sump skimmer with a powerhead attached. Also i do not really understand the little pocket where the water hits the return pump. If the water evaporates below that wall line then your return pump will run dry and break. The only good thing i see is that it has a refugium. Try creating a sump more like this.

 

[h8z2luze]

simple and effective... and yes your heater is fine in the sump.

 

[mr_X]

I don't see how that bubble trap is going to stop any bubbles. If that's all it takes, you don't even need the raised partition. A bubble trap should be 3 partitions. over, under, and then over again. The idea is enough time in the trap for the bubbles to reach the surface. I would at least use 3 partitions.

 

[h8z2luze]

I used that sump design and have no micro bubbles.

 

[mr_X]

I used that sump design and have no micro bubbles.

I use no bubble trap and have no bubbles. How big is your sump? You have to consider the size of the sump the OP is building.

 

[h8z2luze]

mine was a 20G long. I actually didnt have a fuge in mine but i used the same idea on my old setup. The one I have now is just two baffles in the whole sump but I am running a sponge and filter pad in it.

 

[CorallineAlgae]

I used that sump design and have no micro bubbles.

Same here. I used nearly the exact same type of sump design as this for over 10 years, even had an air driven skimmer which I loved, and never had one problem with bubbles or anything else. It should work out just fine. My system used an in sump return pump that was on a box made of eggcrate to get the pump above the sand and rock. Worked for around 12 years and kicked but.

There's nothing at all wrong with using an air driven skimmer. Copepods and especially mysis shrimp would even swim in and out of it to feed on the inner walls of it and not get harmed. They're the friendliest type of skimmer you can have to tiny fragile invertebrate life.

 

[mr_X]

This sump is 25 inches long and 4" wide.

 

[h8z2luze]

oh... I saw 25L and was thinking 25 long lol. Thats a weird shape for sump... must have been a HOB fuge or something.... unless he is just building it like this?

Note to self: Read the whole post before posting haha.

 

[Ingy]

Chris, you certainly started a conversation.

I had a 30 gal with a hob skimmer/refugium very similar to the one you are designing. If a true sump is out of the question , as it was for me, then I only see 1 critical flaw in the design. If your return pump fails (power outage) you have very little volume before your sump overflows. I would raise the whole sump system so the top of the sump is at or very slightly above your DT waterline. Under normal operation you sump water level would still be below the tank level for a normal syphon.

Good luck

 

[Chris86]

I am doing it so narrow do to it sitting behind the tank. Here is a picture of the stand it will be on and some pictures of a cardboard mockup. There is a 20x7x4 space for the water to rise in case of power outage. Which i think is 2.4243 gallons of overflow space.

 

[Chris86]

If I have the overflow 1 inch in the tank and everything shuts down there is there will be 434 cubic inches which would be 1.87 gallons draining into the sump.

 

[mr_X]

How did you come to that conclusion?

 

[Chris86]

This is a scaled down drawing of the top of the main tank. With the over flow boxes teeth lowest point 1 inch under water that mean no more then 1 inch of water can come out. Then figure how many cubic inches the tank is in layers or as a flat image and you come up with this drawing. Which with my tank being a bow front its a little more figuring but with a 1inch grid it can be done pretty easy. Count the squares and that will give you the cubic inches of on layer which for mine its 425 cubic inches then divide that by 231 which is how many cubic inches are in a gallon of water which in my case is 1.839 gallons

My tank is 21inchs high so if you take 425 times 21 it gives you 8925 that’s how many cubic inches are in my tank. Then is you divide 8925 by 231 that equals 38.6363 which my tank is only 36 gallons so it will be a little less then the 1.839. Its a little over do to I measured the top plastic ring not the inside of the tank

 

[Ingy]

Your return hose cannot be more than 1" under the water as well. Otherwise once the pump shuts off it will back syphon into the return as well.

 

[Chris86]

I was going put a check valve on the return. So the water cant run back into the sump.

 

[Ingy]

Don't rely on a check cable to stop a flood. Algae can build up in them and cause them to leak. If the level I'd critical even a slow leak can cause a disaster

 

[mr_X]

...and that's what I was going to say next. You will need a siphon break just under the water line. I usually drill a small hole in the return just under the water line.