How do I plan my sump?

[crew]

Hi Guys,

I'm in the middle of setting up a 120 and I have no idea how to approach a sump for a "large" tank (120g). My previous tank (54 corner) used a 20 tall as the sump. I have much more space under this tank and I want to get as much extra volume as possible. I also want to have an auto top off system, so I will need some sort of fresh reservoir underneath the tank. Is this something that should be incorporated in the sump itself, or maybe I just have them next to each other?

I basically have ~48"x~24" to play with in terms of how large the stand is. Everything I've seen online is in the $400+ range. Is this what I should expect to pay? Should I buy a smaller tank and add chambers? Should I build the whole thing out of acrylic? What do you large tank guys all do?

I have a decent understanding of sumps in general, but my previous sumps didn't really have room to have anything other than a skimmer, heater, and the return. I want to really utilize this space.

Teach me.

 

[jdw]

IMO, Get the largest tank you can fit under the stand. I have a 40b under my stand. My sump is cut up into 3 compartments.

1st compartment is just wide enough for my skimmer.

2nd compartment has my heater, return pump, and my reactors.

3rd compartment is my 6g fresh water reservoir. I knew my tank width and height, so I used a volume calculator to figure out my depth.

The water lvl in the 2nd compartment should be a little higher than the return pump. You can adjust that by the height of the 2nd baffle.

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[paul692]

if money is not a factor get an mrc sump american made and right here in georgia.have many different models to choose from and they custom make also. my next one is going to be from them when i buy a new one this fall.

 

[paul692]

it sure beats the ones made in china. i am so tired of the made in China label i could scream. reef octopus is one . being a steel worker i try to by american if i can and that means cars also

 

[porpoiseaquatics]

look on melevsreef.com. He did have an entire section dedicated to sump and sump set ups. That's where I found my configuration.

 

[maelstrom79]

I have a 120 and did a set up similar to jdw's with a 40b but my third chamber is a fuge

 

[enderg60]

how much height do you have?

If it were me Id get a 75g or 90g used on craigslist for cheap, glue a baffle in it about 1/3 the way down(lengthwise).

Then you have a 25+ gallon sump for evaporation and a 50+g fuge/skimmer section.

I did that with a 200g tank for my current fuge/sump.

 

[crew]

Thanks for the tips guys!

I'm not sure the exact dimensions on the stand off the top of my head, but if I remember correctly, the inner dimensions are 48x24x30 wide x deep x tall

I'd love something awesome from MRC, and while I can afford a sump like that, I can't quite justify the price in my head. It just doesn't make sense to pay $500 for something when very similar options are available for less than half.

I will be sure to check out melev's reef. Thanks again.

 

[crew]

Also - any pictures of sumps that you guys want to post would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[rdnelson]

porpoiseaquatics;984737 wrote: look on melevsreef.com. He did have an entire section dedicated to sump and sump set ups. That's where I found my configuration.

+1 copied him when building my first. About to build my second. May go with two tanks coupled together. Either way, the make up water will be separate and either a HD 5 gallon bucket or a tank I have.

 

[rdnelson]

JDW;984602 wrote: IMO, Get the largest tank you can fit under the stand. I have a 40b under my stand. My sump is cut up into 3 compartments.

1st compartment is just wide enough for my skimmer.

2nd compartment has my heater, return pump, and my reactors.

3rd compartment is my 6g fresh water reservoir. I knew my tank width and height, so I used a volume calculator to figure out my depth.

The water lvl in the 2nd compartment should be a little higher than the return pump. You can adjust that by the height of the 2nd baffle.

>

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I would have two concerns with that setup. 1. Heaters in the return compartment means the water could drop enough that they are in free air which could cause them damage. 2. If the seal between the fresh water and salt water were to fail the salinity would take a fast drop. A slow drop is not good but a fast one could wipe out the tank.

 

[jdavid]

Crew;984751 wrote: I'd love something awesome from MRC, and while I can afford a sump like that, I can't quite justify the price in my head. It just doesn't make sense to pay $500 for something when very similar options are available for less than half.

I will be sure to check out melev's reef. Thanks again.

Crew;984752 wrote: Also - any pictures of sumps that you guys want to post would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

While my sump is designed for a cube aquarium and yours can be rectangle shaped, all the same features could be implemented even through DIY.

Just a little background- over a LONG time I have been patiently planning my build, and I have sat back and slowly collected used items at great prices. The only things I can really think of that are not used in my entire build is the dosing pump I just bought,some powerheads, and the custom stand I had built.

There's other ways to do it on a budget, unless you have money to blow and then yeah go all out and buy MRC EVERYTHING!!! Haha but for some of us that is not an option and I probably would have ended up doing a DIY sump had I not snagged this one that was custom built for someone else (who had the same size tank as me)

I had a nice sump that wouldn't fit in my stand, an eshopps RS-200. It really was a nice sump but doesn't come close to this one.

This sump is 21x21x18. It holds three socks, has an extra large equipment chamber (for the size skimmer I will be using for a 60 cube I have a lot of room left over for heaters, a recast or or two, etc), and then baffles which I will likely stuff filter floss in between to eliminate any solids or micro bubbles before returning to the tank, a return pump section, and lastly, a RODI water top off reservoir. This sump is designed to most efficiently utilize the small space inside the cabinet of a cube tank. Because the sump is tall I am able to max out my TWV. Luckily the stand I had built is very tall so I still have room to mount the dosing pump, and just below it two containers for two part. Space is tight in a stand for a 24x24" tank so you have to work with vertical space too!

An important thing to note is the basin that the drain water spills into before going through the socks (vs the drain simply pointed into the socks). This is great because if one clogs and overflows it spills over into another sock instead of back into the sump, and I am able to use three socks with only one drain.

So that's the spill! Hope it gives you some ideas.

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[jdw]

rdnelson99;984776 wrote: I would have two concerns with that setup. 1. Heaters in the return compartment means the water could drop enough that they are in free air which could cause them damage. 2. If the seal between the fresh water and salt water were to fail the salinity would take a fast drop. A slow drop is not good but a fast one could wipe out the tank.

Both valid concerns, Rich. I think if my water level drops to below my heater then I have a bigger issue at hand. My heater is fully submerged and laying on the ground.

The reservoir is heavily siliconed and was leak tested for many days before it was put into operation. I am not saying that it won't leak or the silicone won't mess up, but there's a lot that would have to. I also used glass baffles instead of plexiglass, so the silicone bonded good to both the aquarium and the baffle.

I feel pretty comfortable with it, but if anything happens I will definitely let you know. Probably start a "Rich told me so..." thread.

 

[wannabeeareefkeeper]

rdnelson99;984776 wrote: I would have two concerns with that setup. 1. Heaters in the return compartment means the water could drop enough that they are in free air which could cause them damage. 2. If the seal between the fresh water and salt water were to fail the salinity would take a fast drop. A slow drop is not good but a fast one could wipe out the tank.

Not tryin' to hijack a thread, but I am interested in what type of setup would be the best on a budget, Rich. How many sections would you have? What functions would each section do?


Wannabee

 

[morganatlanta]

Sump design really depends on how much you want to spend. Having a custom one made might be a good option if you are happy to be in for $400 or so. It doesn't have to be a super pretty MRC. If you want to use an off the shelf aquarium and just add baffles, figure on $1/gallon for the tank used and $10/baffle, plus $15 for a tube of silicon (GE Momentive).

The sump for my 125 is a converted 75 gallon I got off Craig's List then cut down to 16" high. That was a huge PITA, and I wouldn't recommend it. I don't use filter socks, so I just put the skimmer in the first chamber behind a 9" baffle. I had a second chamber, then a return chamber, but after a I used it for a while, I pulled the second baffles out because they weren't in the right place. Now I just have the skimmer chamber (roughly 14" x 18") and then an open chamber. I use a plastic crate sort of in the middle that holds culerpa and some rock as a refugium, and then at the end, my return, probes, etc. and my BRS reactor with carbon and sometimes GFO. It's really simple, does the job and I can change it around if I want. Top off is in a dog food bin that fits neatly in the space in my stand not taken up by the sump. Since the dog food bin is taller than the sump, I can hold more fresh water than if I had just sectioned off part of the sump. Also, because the bin is plastic and not glass, it was easy to fit a float valve on so that I can fill it right from my RO/DI-- I've got a 1/4" line running under the floor from RO/DI to the bin.

 

[rdnelson]

WannabeeaReefKeeper;984781 wrote: Not tryin' to hijack a thread, but I am interested in what type of setup would be the best on a budget, Rich. How many sections would you have? What functions would each section do?


Wannabee

Last one was three compartment. Right side was filter socks and skimmer, left side was refugium, middle was return. This time I haven't totally decided. I have concentrated on getting the stand built but now that it's done I will start planning the sump. I have three tanks to work with but may only use two to leave room for other things.

 

[acroholic]

Whatever sump you get, make sure your skimmer of choice will fit into and be removable from it. Many people buy their skimmer first, then their sump, and have problems. Take care of the sump choice first, then the skimmer. You would regret not being able to pull and clean the skimmer body/pump once in a while.

Also, not a fan of in-sump refugiums. Had one in a sump once, and after I decided to not have a refugium in any of my systems, it became wasted space. Better to have a separate one if possible, but that is just personal preference on my part. That way you can remove the 'fuge if needed and not lose a good chunk of the usable space in the sump.