55g sump design need advice...

[MikeP]

If this works you should see a sump I came up with on google sketch it. It's a 55g tank, I don't know the dimensions of the tank cause I have not picked it up yet. It should be 48" long though and 18" high I think. I figured I would divide the tank into three equal parts. Water enters from the overflow into the far left of the sump goes over a baffle and into the fuge in the center. Then through the other three baffles (thats a bubble trap right?) and into the chamber on the right out the bulkhead to the pump and back to the tank. Does this sound right? I need to know how big the baffles should be and how far apart to space them for the bubble trap. I think the skimmer should go in the last chamber on the right? And as far as the first chamber just some bio balls? Don't leave out any details in your input/criticism I have never done this before so all info is helpful.

Tanks a lot

[Flusher]

Looks good. Here's my input:

Make the first, second, and fourth baffles lower (from the left; the baffles coming up from the bottom). Sumps usually run only at about half full. The sump would have to be almost full for the water to make it over the baffles.

Make the first and last chambers smaller so you can have a bigger refugium. Put the skimmer in the first compartment.

The baffles are to reduce bubbles from the skimmer moreso than the incoming water, IME, so there's no sense putting the skimmer after all the baffles. If you put the skimmer in the left-most compartment, put three baffles like those dividing the middle and right compartments.

The baffles should be fairly close together, maybe 1/2" to 1". (I could be wrong. Get a second opinion. :mrgreen: )

Forget the bioballs. Most people, from what I've gathered, consider them to be a nitrate trap in a reef tank.

HTH
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[MikeP]

Ok so I almost had the right idea. It sounds like I drew it backwards. It should go skimmer, bubble trap, fuge, then return right? So should I make the first chamber just big enough for the skimmer? Then the fuge will be bigger, but how big should the return section be? Does anything go in the return section? I read that the baffles should be about 10 inches in height is that right? And just to put the middle one of the bubble trap one inch up? I also need to keep the skimmer (CSS 220) sitting on the bottom of the sump as I have no room to put it up any higher, will that be a problem?

Thanks

[Joe Reefer]

You can also have your pump in the middle with the skimmer and overflow on one side and fuge on the other. Then you can feed the fuge with a recirculating feed from the return pump. Check this (http://www.melevsreef.com/allmysumps.html) site out, it has lots of great ideas.

[kari]

Ideas for some extra goodies (maybe just not sketched in yet);

-multiple heater holders just to keep things orginized and best use of space
-probe holders
-eggcrate to support media bags like carbon
-maybe a drain valve depending on the sump location for water changes
-add an extra bulkhead fitting(capped) for future use only

[Dave C]

The distance between the baffles is determined by how fast the flow through the sump is. The faster the flow the further apart the baffles should be. I have made mine about 1" apart. The middle one is 1" off the tank bottom.

And while nothing goes in the return section but the pump and heaters, I wouldn't skimp on it as it is the section that runs dry as water evaporates. I also use that section for water changes... turn off the pump, reroute the pump to my drain and empty the return section of the sump, fill it up, turn it back to normal and you're done.

Here's the sump I'm having built. It has the refugium on one side, the skimmer section on the other (skimmer is external) and the return in the middle.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v601/dclubine/225g%20Tank/sump.jpg

[MikeP]

Nice work on sketch up Dave! That sump I designed is the first time I used it. I'm sure it would have turned out better if I would have read the instructions, I just started clicking on stuff. To reply to kari, yes some of that stuff I thought of some of it I didn't so thanks. How do I determine my 'flow' the return and the overflow have bulkheads that measure 1.25 inches and the pump is a sequence snapper external which is rated for 2500 gph. Does this sound alright? If I space the baffles 1" apart will that be ok? It sounds like the chamber with the skimmer should be the smallest and I should split the rest of the space between fuge and return?

Thanks for everything so far

[Dale]

Here are some thoughts.
Either use a detritus sock or build a small chamber with a sponge or matting to act as mechanical filtration. This will keep big chunks of detritus and food out of the system.
Put the bubble trap after the skimmer and fuge (or at least after the skimmer return line (as it will create microbubbles).
I initially created a larger fuge than skimmer compartment but I could not get my macro to tumble properly. After switching the fuge to a smaller compartment the tumble effect works well. It may have something to do with the fact that the current fuge is square and the former was rectangular.
Having a larger skimmer chamber also allows for extra L.R. and/or pod habitat.
Also, when setting the baffles determine how much water will drain back from the display if there is a power failure. You should allow enough distance between the top of the baffles and the top of the tank to absorb this backflow.
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