New to salt

[Beej1254]

Yes that will work but of course make sure you'll have the room for your equipment inside of it. You said your making your own sump right?

I found this image on google but this is exactly how mine is setup and is a VERY simple design.

Water comes down from my tank on the right side into a filter sock. The first chamber stays full of water even if the pumps are off. In the first chamber I have my skimmer. Water then flows over the first baffle and down through my biological media. Then water travels under the second baffle and up past my heater. This way water has to pass my heater and is constantly regulated. The second camber is the refugium where I have more bio media and some Chaeto. Again this chamber is always full of water even if the pump is off. Finally it overflows the last baffle to the return pump. The water in this chamber fluctuates depending on the pumps being on or off. In this last section you can add extra baffles to avoid micro bubbles. Doing a sump yourself is great because it's fully customizable to what you want. This has worked for me very well. It's important to note that you leave space above the tallest baffle and the top of the tank. That way if something clogs or stops working you have extra room for overflow. You'll also need to make sure your overflow from your tank is set at a height which if something stops working that your sump can hold all the extra water being dumped into it but not returning to the tank. I have my sump marked for different levels to where I know the water level is ok if a problem happens I know it won't flood my living room.


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[Ff_emt2008]

I was thinking kinda the same it would come down in the right side where the live rocks would be the over under over to get rid of bubbles then to the skimmer then to the last chamber where it is pumped back up to the tank. What do you think?

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[Beej1254]

I don't see why that wouldn't work. That's kind of the beauty of it is that you can make it however you want. You don't want a refugium?

Edit: I guess that first part with the rocks would be one never mind.

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[Ff_emt2008]

Yea thats what i was thinking. All we are using is rocks and protein skimmer for filter

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[Beej1254]

One thing I'd be concerned about is having a skimmer past the refugium though. I feel like you'd lose a lot of the beneficial organisms in a refugium to the skimmer. Things like copepods and Amphipods will go into the skimmer and not come back out. At least I don't see how they would


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[Beej1254]

Hey check out this video on YouTube from marine depot. They just posted it and what do you know it's about refugiums haha.

http://youtu.be/7jf8_hrom9s


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[Ff_emt2008]

That was a good video. How do i know what size pipe to use?

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[Ff_emt2008]

So here is the protein skimmer im getting. What i get my pump my tank is 29 gal and my slump will be maybe 15 gal so where i should have the water move 10 x a hr is that based of 29 gal or 44 gal?

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[Beej1254]

You'll have to figure out how many times you want your tank to turn over. So judge your pipe size based on the gph it's capable off and figure how many times an hour that will turn your tank over. Then you'll want to get a pump that is capable of handling that GPH plus more. You'll always want an overpowered return pump. Things to take into consideration are bends in the piping and the distance and height water has to travel to return to the DT. Then when installing the return pump you'll want to include a ball valve in the return line to dial the pump to match the overflow.

In the most basic way of putting it lol. I'll see if I can find you an article.


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[Ff_emt2008]

But do i only think of the water volume in the dt or both tanks?

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[Beej1254]

I would make your best estimate of total water volume in the entire system


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[Ff_emt2008]

Ok that's what i thought

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[Ff_emt2008]

Ok so im getting a pump rated for almost 800gpm. Im doing a 1 inch drain and 3/4 inch return

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[Ff_emt2008]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00CML...otein+skimmer# this is the skimmer sorry thought i posted it

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[Ff_emt2008]

So this is what has shown up so far it is the skimmer, 1 inch bulkhead, locline 3/4 inch connecter, and the locline sprayer just waiting for yhe rest of the locline and the 3/4 inch bulkhead and the return pump. Plan on starting the desk and maybe the cabinet to hold the tank.

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[Darbell43]

You really don't need all of the expensive equipment if your money is funny, All you need is a power head for good current, a hang on the back filter, and a protein skimmer and you're good to go. I've read on different forums that these people go and buy all of this fancy equipment and end up spending 700 to a 1000 dollars, for what? I have a 55 gal saltwater aquarium all I use are 2 penguin bio filters, one is made for 75 gal.the other is for 150 gallons, a protein skimmer, and a powerhead.I also use water conditioners and supplements with no problems.

[Ff_emt2008]

In the end it didnt cost any where close to what i thought. We are not even $200 into it yet

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[Darbell43]

That's a reasonable price range, I've had my HOB filters for a while now, I think 2 years.My other ones were given to me ,they were old and the things I bought to start up with 3 weeks ago cost about 250 ish.