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]

http://img233.imageshack.us/my.php?image=sumpcl1.jpgSo 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]

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.)

 

[want2findnemo]

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.

Ok so its 1.5lbs-2lbs per gallon for LR, But if I go for the option of buying some Base Rock / Live Rock mix, before the Base Rock gets live I would have to have the wet/dry until all my rock is live right?

 

[cmor1701d]

The wet/dry also produces nitrate as it's end result. That's the reason for doing away with it if possible.

The microbubbles will go under the baffle, most will break when they go over, the remainder wil then go under. That's why you want the up/down/up arrangement. The bubbles need to go over one baffle and most will break, some will remain in the middle compartment, but those that do go under should break on the 3rd baffle. It greatly reduces the number of bubbles that get to your return pump.

 

[dskidmore]

Ok so its 1.5lbs-2lbs per gallon for LR, But if I go for the option of buying some Base Rock / Live Rock mix, before the Base Rock gets live I would have to have the wet/dry until all my rock is live right?

New Wet/Dry filter material will be just as biologically inactive as new base rock. You'll be fine as long as you stock slowly. You only need the bacteria layer, not all the pretty stuff for the base rock to be biologically useful.

 

[want2findnemo]

Thanks for the replies, very informative

Since i have my refug in the middle, and the water will be flowing through my refug to get to my pump, do i have to worry about too much flow going through my refug?

I think im going to redesign my sump so that it is

Skimmer-->Return<---Refug

 

[cmor1701d]

Mine is the middle and it's full of chaeto and PODS (and worms and snails, etc.)

 

[want2findnemo]

would this be better?

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If its this way I can make the refug a bit higher in water level and control the water going into hit with a valve?

So i got this design and my other design... ImageShack - Hosting :: sumpcl1.jpg

Please advise

Thanks!

 

[dskidmore]

I do like that better. Although if you really are submerging those drains (to reduce noise) then put an anti-siphon hole on the higher of the two drains.

You may have to put the valve on the left drain instead of the right one. There's no back pressure in a straight pipe to encourage much flow around the T.

 

[Ziggy953]

Do you have a single drain Overflow? I have a similar setup as you have pictured above (mine is in 3 different tanks rather then one unit). I have a dual drain on my overflow box. 1200gph 600gph each. I have one side plumbed to my fuge and the other to my skimmer and they all flow into the same sump with my return pumps. You probably aren't going to get much flow over to the fuge the way you have it drawn. Water follows the path of least resistance. You could always put a small feeder pump in the sump next to your return to pump water up into your fuge.

 

[want2findnemo]

Ya, My tank has a 1.5" hole about 2" from the top of the tank on the left side. Right now I plan on just putting a strainer on there, but perhaps i will T it with two strainers.




I altered the sump and i got this...



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[want2findnemo]

Although if you really are submerging those drains (to reduce noise) then put an anti-siphon hole on the higher of the two drains.

Can i solve that problem by making both sides of the drains equal level?

You may have to put the valve on the left drain instead of the right one. There's no back pressure in a straight pipe to encourage much flow around the T.

Will my update on the new design solve this?