travisc's ultimate new-to-the-hobby newbie build. Dig it!

[travisc]

Skimmer....sump...ugh!! Thanks for the extra grey hairs!! Lol

[Myka]

Originally Posted by travisc

Skimmer....sump...ugh!! Thanks for the extra grey hairs!! Lol

You should have come here first!

Sorry, this always happens on someone's first build, it's just that your first build is huge so your mistakes will be huge.

[travisc]

I texted Matt at concept to see if the sump is large enough to hold a second skimmer. Physically there is room in the compartment for another ATI 250. Cost wise it would be another $800 ish to purchase another one. Then there would be no haste of returning or trying to sell equipment. The 2 skimmers then should be more then enough? Then really the only concern would be keeping a good eye on the socks ?

I really appreciate everyone's help, advice and praise on the tank. It may be a bit discouraging now but benificial in the long run. I may need a week on the beach to distress before I finish the set up though! Lol

[Myka]

Originally Posted by travisc

I texted Matt at concept to see if the sump is large enough to hold a second skimmer. Physically there is room in the compartment for another ATI 250. Cost wise it would be another $800 ish to purchase another one. Then there would be no haste of returning or trying to sell equipment. The 2 skimmers then should be more then enough? Then really the only concern would be keeping a good eye on the socks ?

I really appreciate everyone's help, advice and praise on the tank. It may be a bit discouraging now but benificial in the long run. I may need a week on the beach to distress before I finish the set up though! Lol

Travis, the concern with the sump size is when there is a power out or the return and skimmer is shut off there will be back flow into the sump. The operating water level of the tank will be higher than the non-operating water level of the tank. All that volume, plus the volume in the pipes will back flow into the sump. Your sump size compared to the size of the display tank is very small, so there is a concern that you do not have enough empty volume in the sump to hold the back flow without the sump overflowing. Some people use check valves to prevent back flow, but they need to be cleaned regularly or they will leak, so a long power outage would mean a wet floor. The best option is to have a sump large enough to hold the full volume of back flow.

As far as the 2nd skimmer goes, you would want to run the skimmers in parallel rather than putting them both in the same chamber. If you put them both in that same chamber then they will be re-skimming water that the other has already skimmed and will thus be less efficient. The footprint of the skimmer is just over 16 x 10"? So if the sump is say 22" wide then you could put the skimmers beside eachother with a divider running between them and the water would flow through each section separately and prevent them re-skimming.

If you can forgive my prehistoric 2 min drawing...this is what I mean (use your imagination for the baffles between the skimmers and the return pump haha).

[sphelps]

Originally Posted by Myka

As far as the 2nd skimmer goes, you would want to run the skimmers in parallel rather than putting them both in the same chamber. If you put them both in that same chamber then they will be re-skimming water that the other has already skimmed and will thus be less efficient. The footprint of the skimmer is just over 16 x 10"? So if the sump is say 22" wide then you could put the skimmers beside eachother with a divider running between them and the water would flow through each section separately and prevent them re-skimming.

Nah, that's a bit silly IMO. Yes theoretically makes some sense but with intakes put at one end and outputs put at the other and water flowing through the sump there's really no way of re-skimming water. And even so, so what? The water is constantly circulating through the sump, it'll get skimmed eventually.

[travisc]

I shut off all power to the pumps last night and the sump held all the water until the main tank level got below the overflow box. So that is good.

The sump slot is large enough for 2 skimmers but not wide enough to run them parallel as in the drawing. They would only be able to sit side by side

[sphelps]

Originally Posted by travisc

I shut off all power to the pumps last night and the sump held all the water until the main tank level got below the overflow box. So that is good.

The sump slot is large enough for 2 skimmers but not wide enough to run them parallel as in the drawing. They would only be able to sit side by side

Cool, just keep an eye on it as things change over time, like I mentioned algae on the overflow guard, check valves not sealing properly and additional equipment like skimmers and reactors all add up. If you increase your return flow that will also increase the blow back.

I'd say running the skimmers side by side is perfectly fine, if Mindy is correct you'll notice the first skimmer is obviously doing a better job than the second but I'd bet you wouldn't notice any consistent difference between the two to suggest that is the case.

[Myka]

Originally Posted by sphelps

Nah, that's a bit silly IMO. Yes theoretically makes some sense but with intakes put at one end and outputs put at the other and water flowing through the sump there's really no way of re-skimming water. And even so, so what? The water is constantly circulating through the sump, it'll get skimmed eventually.

What's wrong with efficiency? The sump he has now would not fit them side by side, they'd be one after the other, they would definitely be re-skimming. I wouldn't buy a new sump just for this mod though.

Originally Posted by travisc

I shut off all power to the pumps last night and the sump held all the water until the main tank level got below the overflow box. So that is good.

The sump slot is large enough for 2 skimmers but not wide enough to run them parallel as in the drawing. They would only be able to sit side by side

It all fits? That's good! How much extra space do you have? The skimmers will have volume in them as well, so they will add a bit to the sump when it's turned off too. As I said, I wouldn't go buy a new sump just for the parallel mod, but it would be ideal if you had to buy a bigger sump anyway.

As far as the socks go, you could put some egg crate on top of the sock holder and put some flat filter media in there instead if the socks clog up too fast or you get tired of washing them all the time.

[travisc]

I turned off everything, pump, skimmer and there was still a fair amount of room left in the sump before it would overflow. [IMG][/IMG]

[sphelps]

Originally Posted by Myka

What's wrong with efficiency? The sump he has now would not fit them side by side, they'd be one after the other, they would definitely be re-skimming. I wouldn't buy a new sump just for this mod though.

To be fair you suggested putting them side by side with a divider between, I was suggesting that divider is silly and really accomplishes nothing. Plus even in the same chamber one after the other doesn't guarantee output from one skimmer will enter the other, and even if this was a concern it would be rather simple to position the skimmers to make it less likely. If your concerns relate to efficiency your efforts would be much better spent elsewhere.