Want Feedback on Sump Design

[ghbrewer]

Hello All,

I am a SW newbie and will be setting up my first SW tank soon. I have a 58 gallon oceanic DT that I am trying to design a sump for. I picked up a Std 20-gallon that had a few baffles and dividers in it. I was able to remove/salvage the baffles by using some 30# fishing line, but will be adding more. I was hoping that you all could take a look at the pic below and give me any feedback that you may have. I have sized it so that it can handle overflow from DT and a 6-gallon Refugium area. It is going to be tight and was wondering if I should make the intake/skimmer area bigger by shrinking the return area or leave it be. Thanks in advance, you guys are awesome!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/95373909@N02/8697035997/" alt="" />

Edit: [IMG]http://www.flickr.com/photos/95373909@N02/8697035997/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/95373909@N02/8697035997/</a>

Edit: [IMG]http://www.flickr.com/photos/95373909@N02/8697035997/">[IMG]http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8406/8697035997_4a5d607ff8_b.jpg alt="" /></a>
http://www.flickr.com/photos/95373909@N02/8697035997/">Sump-Layout1</a> by [IMG]http://www.flickr.com/people/95373909@N02/">gbrewer84</a>, on Flickr

Edit: FYI: The inner front to back dimension is 12"

 

[jbadd99]

A few things to keep in mind:

If you shrink the return area, you'll need to make sure you have a good top off system as that will be the first area to show water loss due to evaporation and could cause the pump to run dry.

Tight skimmer areas don't make for easy cleaning, especially under a stand. I know from experience. Also, if you're planning on running a filter sock, you'll need area for it as well.

Overall, your design looks almost identical to the one I run on a 40B. It works relatively well, with the exceptions of what I noted above.

 

[ghbrewer]

Thanks for the advice. I was already considering purchasing an ATO from autotopoff.com, probably one of the dual sensor setups with a dosing pump.

In regards to the intake/skimmer area, how often do you clean your sump out?

Also, I have been going back and forth on whether or not to get the filter sock. It seems like a lot of people have ditched them due to the up keep and clogging, while others say they prefer them b/c of the improvements to water clarity. What's your thoughts?

 

[cbj25]

I made a sump very similar to this. The only thing I might suggest is to remove the bubble trap on the right side, the water will just run down the piece of glass that separates the fuge and the return chambers, this will allow you to add some extra water volume in your fuge area

Regarding a filter sock - I would say that you should make that decision based on yourself. If you are the type of person that will religiously clean them they will be a great benefit, but if you do not want to do that every-other day then i would not use them.

 

[ghbrewer]

Which one? The 10" tall one or the 14.5" tall one? In doing that, wouldn't I be increasing the risk of pushing bubbles into my return?

Edit: I could see possibly getting rid of the 10" fuge baffle and moving the other two baffles over. It would increase my volume quite a bit and be one less piece to deal with.

 

[cbj25]

I was suggesting removing both baffles on the right side and basically just having a 14.5" dividing wall. Check out my build thread in my sig, a pic of what I am talking about is in the first post.

 

[ghbrewer]

Gotcha, so no bubble issues? I would much rather prefer to remove the baffles if I do not need them. Thanks for the advice!

P.S. Nice looking setup.

 

[cbj25]

Thanks, i never had any microbubbles in the display BUT that sump was a 55 gallon and yours is a 20... so I had some extra wiggle room in my return chamber, so results might very. You could ensure no bubbles by adding some sponges in the return chamber against the wall of the fuge to absorb the impact of the water falling from the fuge

 

[butch]

Do you have the BM skimmer already? If so, dry fit is and see how well it fits. Looking at the measurements above, you will have ~ 3/4" of an inch to play with. IME, that's not much room if you are trying to seat the skimmer pump. You might want to take the 1.5" gained from removing the baffels and add it to the skimmer section. Hope that helps.

 

[jmaneyapanda]

That static water level is pretty high. If the return turns off (purposefully or unintentionally), its likely possible to flood.

 

[ghbrewer]

Thanks for the responses from everyone. I took all suggestions into consideration and modified my layout a bit. Swapped the refugium to the other side due to where my intake pipe will be located and some further plumbing considerations. Removed un-needed baffles and split the difference between the return area and skimmer area. Checked the volumes and have concluded that there will be more than enough volume to handle a power outage or other scenario where the tank will drain to lowest overflow elevation. will also drill hole in pipes for siphon break just to make sure. Thanks again everyone. Will post some pics shortly.

 

[ghbrewer]

Here are a few picks. One of the sump with the new baffler configuration and the other a 3d model of what it should look like installed and plaumbed. Let me know if you see anything that could cause any problems. Thanks, Grant.

alt="" /></a>
http://www.flickr.com/photos/95373909@N02/8705634605/">Sump</a> by [IMG]http://www.flickr.com/people/95373909@N02/">gbrewer84</a>, on Flickr

[IMG]http://www.flickr.com/photos/95373909@N02/8706756734/">[IMG]http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8552/8706756734_593f32722e_b.jpg alt="" /></a>
http://www.flickr.com/photos/95373909@N02/8706756734/">SumpConfiguration</a> by [IMG]http://www.flickr.com/people/95373909@N02/">gbrewer84</a>, on Flickr

Edit: [IMG]http://www.flickr.com/photos/95373909@N02/8705645321/">[IMG]http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8280/8705645321_a9cd160990_b.jpg alt="" /></a>

 

[cbj25]

Looks good to me

 

[ghbrewer]

Thanks