diy sump

[Todd]

What type of skimmer do you have? I recently designed and made my own sump, and that was the major thing to think about.

I designed one section to house my in sump skimmer with a water height that works for my skimmer. Then designed the baffles around the skimmer and then looked at the remaining area and decided how much I should put to a refugium, and how much should go to my return section.

I basically put my drain in one side, followed by a baffle at 15" (thus making the water level 15"), next is the refugium @ water level of 14", Baffles, then skimmer section with water level at 9", bubble trap, return section at 9". My sump is 32" long x 18"w x 18" high.

Another thing you will want to consider is how much extra water your sump will need to hold if your return pump is turned off. That will also dictate how high your water levels can be.