Sump planning
 

Hi All,

I am getting ready to start a new tank, a 180g, and wanted to get thoughts on my sump design. For the sump I bought a 48x18x20 tank. The chambers from left to right are the drain/skimmer (9.6g), return (9.75g), fuge (13.25g), and ATO reservoir (10g). Total used: 32.6, not counting the ATO. Total available in the sump, not counting ATO would be 53.8g, leaving me with 21.2g of overflow space in the event of a shut down. I've not had a tank this big before. Does that seem like enough room? or would it be better to get a seperate tank for the ATO and use the additional 10g in the sump?

You can easily calculate the volume you need to accommodate in case of power failure by calculating the volume of water above your return nozzle, the volume in all overflow boxes, etc. Err on the side of caution, ie. allow more volume than you think you need. Nobody likes water on the floor...

If the drawing is to scale, then i would personally make the return section smaller and increase the size of the fuge.

It is to scale. If I make the fuge bigger, I would lose emergency overflow space unless I made the fuge not as deep. Why a bigger fuge?

i agree. bigger fuge, smaller return.

not sure what the purpose for your fuge is; either to grow algaes or pods, but either way bigger fuge means grow more algae and pods.

personally id remove the ATO section from the sump and have a seperate ATO container. unless you are doing that because you have no other space for it.

I like a larger return section simply for the dead space for emergency overflow if the power goes out.

IMO a fuge is a waste of space. You can achieve better results using a reactor. About the best thing it does is house pods but not sure how many would make it through a return pump.

I'd have room to add a separate 10g tank in the stand. Would take up about half the remaining room in my stand but I don't know what else I'd need down there.

That was my thinking as well. What kind of reactor would you recommend? I've never used any reactors before.

I should have my return pump by Monday so want to finalize the sump plans so . Lol

As others have mentioned take out ATO and do it as a separate container. Once you see how much evaporation you will have, you may find that 10G is an overkill. Personally I am not a fan of putting skimmer in same section as drain without any baffles, but thats just me. I also dont like having fuge after the return, as it harder to get water there, since return is pumping it back into the DT before it gets to fuge. Also, depending on skimmer that you use, make sure you have enough room in the skimmer section, as well as pump if it is external of skimmer. Finally, make sure that you will be able to adjust water level in the skimmer section, as some skimmers have different min/max water levels that they need. These are all the things I was thinking about when i was planning on going with 40g breeder as sump.

+ 1 on that idea; you can never have too much emergency space.



I have and have run both. Reactors are good while the tank is new, to bring down phosphates, nitrates, etc. And while I agree that a fuge takes more room, it is more beneficial in the long run. It adds biodiversity; it creates an ecosystem of sorts, and it lowers nitrates and phosphates, without GFO and other media. I haven't run GFO in years. The pods are just an added bonus...

Removed the ATO section. Skimmer area is now 11g, return is 12g, and fuge is 16.5g. Leaves me with 26.5g for backflow room. If I put the return nozzle 3" below the underside of the plastic trim I'd have 21g of overflow assuming the water level was right up to the trim, which the sump could handle. But the water level will probably be closer to only 2" of backflow, which would be only 14g of backflow, leaving me a good safety cushion.

Hello

I used to use a Rubbermaid garbage can as ATO. It was probably 30G. Depending on how long you want to let the tank run on its own you may want more or less.

I do agree for the removal of the ATO because that allows you to have a larger sump volume. The original 32.6G sump space for a 180G to me is a bit small for my liking.

Fudge before or after return section is preference. If you have fudge is before return and a wider baffle space after skimmer it helps to reduce bubbles getting into display.

Do plan for room for reactor and filters. I like the idea of having a filter there just in case there is an issue and the need to run carbon or whatever media you need for a week.

Titus

For the fuge I plan to tee of the return and keep the flow fairly low so bubbles shouldn't be a concern. My pump is pretty small so I should have room in the return section for some gear if needed. I also made the skimmer section bigger than it needs to be, even though I ended up buying a monster skimmer. I could put the fuge on the other side, then have it flow back into the skimmer section, then to the return.

A cheato reactor will lower your phosphates just as effective as go for a fraction of the cost.

Depends how much money you want to spend. I had a large vertex reactor laying around so I ordered some flexible LED off Amazon and made my own. However if you are more of the plug and play then there are some great prefab cheato reactors.

I'm very much a DIY guy. Chaeto reactors look interesting. Will have to do a bit more research. I am leaning towards leaving the room for a fuge in the sump so I can decide later exactly what I want to do with it.

Hello

For the pipe work it'd be cool also if you use coloured PVC pipes. :mrgreen:

Titus

That would be cool. But I got most of the plumbing included when I bought the tank.

If you're bored of the white colour of the pipe and you have some spare time like a week. Use krylon fusion spray paint. It's as simple as cleaning the pipes then giving them a light sand and then doing a couple light coats and I highly recommend giving them a good 48 hours to one week to fully cure. Apparently krylon fusion is safe for aquarium use.

I would have done that but I'm not patient

Moved the fuge to the other side. Compartments from left to right are the return, skimmer, and fuge. The fuge will be fed by teeing off the return line. I think this will be the final revision. LOL

Yeah simple sumps are the best way to go. I know a lot of people really like having many chambers and many options in a sump but when it comes to the long-term care and maintenance and adaptability sump really needs to be simple

My thinking too. My last one only had 2 baffles and worked great. Now just need the glass and I can get it set up.

interesting...
might be the way to repurpose an old kalk reactor...

why not just have the fuge fed by the drain?

With a bean animal system I've heard teeing off the drain isn't the best idea.

Hello

Wouldn't teeing off the drain means you have less flow into the fudge to keep the turn over low so not to disturb whatever is in it? This is assuming your drain is going to the middle chamber.

Titus

My plan was to tee off the return and use a ball valve to control the flow to the fuge.

Hello

Okay that works too.

Titus

Got the baffles installed and the sump leak tested. All good to go. Now to get in the stand and get my tank plumbed. Can't upload pics from my phone for some reason.