Sump planning

[WarDog]

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

[target]

Originally Posted by WarDog

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?

[smokinreefer]

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.

[Ryan]

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.

[target]

Originally Posted by smokinreefer

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'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.

Originally Posted by Ryan

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.

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

[cvrle1]

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.

[titus]

Hello

Originally Posted by target

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.

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

[target]

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.

[Ryan]

Originally Posted by target

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

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.

[target]

Originally Posted by Ryan

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.