help with sump and protien skimmer

[Nano]

Hi guys any of you following or helping me in my threads will know I have a 20g reef with a 20g sump and no skimmer. So here's my problem.. I got my sump used and its been running for almost 3 months it doesn't work well cause it was not made properly, and lastnight it began to leak. So I have a 20 gallon I have had tucked away for emergencies, luckily and I would like to make it into a sump and fit a small protein skimmer into it.. only thing is I don't have a clue what to do. I know I can make obvs overflows that don't require drilling, that's not problem, I just don't know how to set up a sump.

[Doug]

I will move this to the reefing forum for you. Should be better there for help. Have you checked the reference library for anything that may help.

[reefwars]

a sump isnt a hard thing to set up basically its where we hide our equipment,increase water volume, and increase pod production while using a fuge as nutrient export.

basicall most sumps are designed into three sections:

the first is where your water will drain into normally people put their skimmer and reactors there i also keep my heaters there .

the second is your refuge, you can keep liverock and macro algae in there or even home unwanted critters and fish;)

the third is your return which is where you will keep your pump that will bring water back up into your display nothing else should go in here and this area should be kept clean.


all sumps are set up different but mine for an example goes like this


1rst chamber: skimmer,reactors,heaters,temp,grounding probe

bubble traps: 1rst to set the height for my water level
2nd is an inch off the bottom
3rd is same as first(with 1 inch spacing between all three)

2nd chamber: refuge with macro algae(cheato,halimeda) lots of porus live rock,dsb,mangroves(ran with a desk lamp)

bubble traps again exact layout same as first bubble traps


3rd chamber: return pump,temp guage


theres lots of different ways to go but this is mine and it works just fine:):)

[nozwal]

From what I have learn the basics is that u will need piping from your display tank either from the bottom or the back of the overflow box / chamber running down to your sump and you will need a return pump from the sump running the water back up to display and in your sump chambers you can install the right size of skimmer you want that fits in your sump. skimmer is basically plug and play. submerge the skimmer to the recommend water level and set up the air valve to instructions.

[reefwars]

you can also go with a hang on back over flow box so you dont need to drill look at the cpr overflow boxes they are probably the best but i would never reccomend one even though lots say they use them with no problems i never got a good nights sleep ever while i ran one id rather do a tank without but if you need to have a sump and "cant" drill then this is the other option.

as for the skimmer spend the money for a good one and it will be one of your best investments, be sure to get one rated for much more than your aquariums volume and they take a bit of tuning to get either a wet or dry skim, once you do some tuning it could take several minutes for the effect to take place.all skimmers are a bit different so just ask away when you get a particular model:)

and yes water falls down into your sump and gets pumped back up to the display using a water pump.

[George]

Go to melevsreef, http://www.melevsreef.com/allmysumps.html, everything you need to know about sump and how to build one is there. From simple one to some very creative one, and anything in between.

[Nano]

Thanks I know the basic idea. But some in depth details were required this is a great site much appreciated

[reefme]

Look like a wery well done.

a sump isnt a hard thing to set up basically its where we hide our equipment,increase water volume, and increase pod production while using a fuge as nutrient export.

basicall most sumps are designed into three sections:

the first is where your water will drain into normally people put their skimmer and reactors there i also keep my heaters there .

the second is your refuge, you can keep liverock and macro algae in there or even home unwanted critters and fish;)

the third is your return which is where you will keep your pump that will bring water back up into your display nothing else should go in here and this area should be kept clean.


all sumps are set up different but mine for an example goes like this


1rst chamber: skimmer,reactors,heaters,temp,grounding probe

bubble traps: 1rst to set the height for my water level
2nd is an inch off the bottom
3rd is same as first(with 1 inch spacing between all three)

2nd chamber: refuge with macro algae(cheato,halimeda) lots of porus live rock,dsb,mangroves(ran with a desk lamp)

bubble traps again exact layout same as first bubble traps


3rd chamber: return pump,temp guage


theres lots of different ways to go but this is mine and it works just fine:):)