Sump Plumbing

[mseepman]

I've finally finished putting together my sump/fuge and now I have to start the daunting task of plumbing it in.

Please take a look at what I've attached and see if you think it will work. I'm not a plumber and this is a first for me. I've got about 5' of head for the return pump. I haven't drawn it in, but I'll be using a filter sock on the overflow output.

I plan on cutting back the flow to the fuge to only about 1/2 or less of what the main output will be doing. Will 1" pipe be sufficient or too much for my overflow (that's what size bulkhead it came with). Will 5/8" return be enough or should it match the overflow?

Thanks for your help.

[steve fedyk]

It looks great. 1" pipe for the return is prefect size and 5/8 is good for your pump.You could loss two of the valves, the first one off the down spout and the second off the refegium and just use one where the skimmer is. Keep the one valve by the skimmer, like you have on your drawning. I plumbed mine the same way, but I put in unions after the valve on the over flow to be able to move the aqaurium or add one trick extras. Make sure to clean the pipes first and use lost of primer and glue. Rember to let the glue dry for a day or two. Good plumbing :biggrin:

[Zylumn]

Like a good skimmer the longer your sump/ref has contact time with the water the more junk it will extract from the water. With your design I would put a single baffle next to your refugium line so when water comes into your sump it would then flow even over the baffle along the length of the tank into the refugium. Place your line coming down to the skimmer as close to the skimmer intake as you can with preferably the skimmer intake between the 1" sump line and the return pump baffles.
Good Luck it looks like your on the right track.
Kevin

[mseepman]

Thanks for the input from everyone.

Steve, I appreciate you reminding me to use primer as well as glue...newbie and didn't even think about it.

Kevin,
I understand your suggestion, one thing I was worried about was that Tunze requests that you keep your skimmer in "calm water" and if I put the output too close to the skimmer's input, I may find myself playing with the settings constantly to get a good skimmate. What are your thoughts?

[mr_alberta]

I would change the baffles in your skimmer compartment. The water should flow over-under-over the baffles instead of what you have now (under-over). This will help dissipate the bubbles from your return much more.

Also, as Kevin mentioned, I would put another baffle in the fuge area so that the drain enters that compartment first, then overflows over the refugium. Otherwise you're going to have sand everywhere when the water hits it.

[mseepman]

I plan on a bare bottom with a little LR rubble and a ball of cheato, so no sand.

This sump is too small and I don't have the room to put the DSB that I was originally planning.

Does that change your thoughts on the end baffle?

[mr_alberta]

If its just a ball of Chaeto in there, that should be fine.

[Dale]

Hi Mark,

Some thoughts regarding your design:

Placing a union close to your return pump will allow you to switch it out easier if it fails.

It is good to consider pipe diameters vs flow rates but the most important thing is placing a valve in your return pump line to allow you to regulate the return flow and prevent overwhelming your external overflow box and drain lines.

You only need one valve in your drain line. This should be on the line feeding the refugium. The other two valves are overkill and shouldn't be used as they pose a risk of restricting the drain line so that it can't keep up with the return pump.

While your sump layout may work fine, it is a little complicated. Having the overflow drain and skimmer so close to the return pump adds to the problem of micro bubbles drawn up into the display. It also means splitting the drain line in two to feed the refugium. A more trouble free set up would be (from one side to the other):
Single overflow drain line into sump
skimmer compartment
Set of baffles
refugium compartment
Single baffle
Return pump compartment

Those are just my thoughts. The fun thing about this hobby is that there are many ways to express ones creativity. Have fun!