# Sump design advice simple the beter



## bigdannydiesel (Jan 19, 2011)

30 gal tank up top 20 gal tank at bottom. 

30 gal top tank has 2" hole cut on back panel glass centre of the tank 3 centre down from plastic brim of the top of the tank.

already have bulkhead with thread on back going out. (working on geting a over flow box before water start flowing) So my over flow is coming down the centre of the tank in 2" pipe.

So my 20 gal (sump) do i let the input of water come and turn to to either right or left side doesnt matter really or should i split it with a "T" so i have to inflow of water on both sides of sump and return in centre or pick a side for inflow and opposite side return.

tank is 24" length 12" wide 14.5" height more or less these measurements.

im thinking 4 dividers just dont know the hieght transitions from the first big one to the second and so on. 

so i know first chamber is live rock/bioballs etc second is refugium/skimmer or can be return and third is skimmer/return 3rd most likely if i go with standard be divded by 3 acrylic peices for bubble trap


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## UnderTheSea (Jun 2, 2008)

Marc has some good information on his site for DIY work.

Have a Look Here.


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## aeri (Sep 9, 2007)

i'd say have the outlet go to one side rather than split and have the pump in the middle.

4 dividers in a 24" tank isn't going to give you much room in each chamber. and bioballs work better in a wetdry usage rather than submerged so it wouldn't make sense to put it in the first chamber.


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## bigdannydiesel (Jan 19, 2011)

well its a 30 gal tank be silly to have a bigger sump than the display how bout the skimmer left chamber say the inflow starts int he frist chamber the right return in middle skimmer left chamber?


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## UnderTheSea (Jun 2, 2008)

bigdannydiesel said:


> be silly to have a bigger sump than the display


 Our Display is 180g, Sump and Refugium combined are 290g


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## bigdannydiesel (Jan 19, 2011)

point being your display is bigger than sump and refug


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## Will (Jul 24, 2008)

bigdannydiesel said:


> be silly to have a bigger sump than the display


No, that would be ideal.

Think of a Zoo's Aquarium or Public Aquarium. The water you see in the displays are usually just a small fraction of the total volume of the system, the rest being in large vat reservoirs. This allows you to have a good view of the fish, plants and livestock in a smaller space, without the fish hiding or swimming out of view. It also makes lighting & maitenance much easier. But the most crucial part is increasing the overall gallonage of your system, not of the display.

In your first post you make a comment about keeping it really easy and simple, but then immediately you start complicating it. A simple sump is a plain tank with a return pump in one corner, and a overflow drain in the far corner with a filter sock. No baffles or anything. Add your media and some macro algae if desired.

Everything else is just bells and whisltes.


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## aeri (Sep 9, 2007)

wasn't really suggesting to get a bigger tank, just that 4 dividers in a 24" tank means that there are 5 chambers of approx 4.5" each. i think it'd be more effective to use less dividers


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## bigdannydiesel (Jan 19, 2011)

thks for the advice just need to know where the skimmer goes in all this or have 1 whole big chamber i was watchn meleev's reef he has 1 divider on right side then on the right 3 dividers for bubble trap. id love bigger tanks but when u live on 3rd floor of a apartment building built in the early 1900's u wanna watch the weight before tenant down below gets somthing crashing down on them for apartments 500lbs in one spot consistantly is keep tolerances for the floor joists im a contractor if i had it my way id have them on 12" centres


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## gucci17 (Oct 11, 2007)

Here's a basic 3 sectioned sump.

Fuge > Return < Skimmer










You can add some liverock in the skimmer/drain section if you have room. The picture if very basic/crude. Let me know if you need me to elaborate on the drawing.


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## bigdannydiesel (Jan 19, 2011)

this is my sump empty of course but heres the baffles im thinking with green tape lines


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## bigdannydiesel (Jan 19, 2011)

or

http://gtaaquaria.com/forum/picture.php?pictureid=500&albumid=58&dl=1296075829&thumb=1


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## bigdannydiesel (Jan 19, 2011)

rest of pics are in my album


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## gucci17 (Oct 11, 2007)

The way you have it designed gives you little to no control over the flow for the fuge. Which is why it is generally tee'd off of the return line with a valve to control the flow.

Depending on your overflow setup, you can eliminate baffles.


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## bigdannydiesel (Jan 19, 2011)

gucci i like ur diagram i have only one 2" hole in display its centred i guess i split the piping for the fuge and inflow half way down the tank.

my sump tank is 14.5" high so how high should the right and left baffle be in ur estimate should they be different hieghts?


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## gucci17 (Oct 11, 2007)

bigdannydiesel said:


> gucci i like ur diagram i have only one 2" hole in display its centred i guess i split the piping for the fuge and inflow half way down the tank.
> 
> my sump tank is 14.5" high so how high should the right and left baffle be in ur estimate should they be different hieghts?


Seeing how you only have that 2" hole, it makes it limits your overflow design. Unless you were to drill more holes to accomodate a full syphon 'Herbie" style overflow, I think you may have to work on ways to reduce microbubbles. If anything, you can make baffles for just the right side where the water enters your sump (skimmer section).

You want to set the right (skimmer side) baffle to the water level your skimmer requires to operate on. 8" 10" is safe and you can just raise the skimmer if needed with eggcrate or a pvc platform. Just make sure you have enough height under your stand to accomodate the extra height for access to remove the skimmer cup for cleaning when necessary.

The height of the fuge is up to you. Depends if you're going with a deep sand bed. The flow should be slow in your fuge so you shouldn't really experience any microbubbles when it trickles into the return pump area.

I don't think you have to have the same height for both sides but I think it's better to keep things consistent when you can.


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## bigdannydiesel (Jan 19, 2011)

awsome ya i wanna do a fuge i have the cheato marco in the display right now . drilling a second hole is out of question my fault tank is cycled live rock a clown fish a firegoby and the knight goby siting in there just using hang on equipment to keep them alive like phosbane reactor and hydor pumps . ya sump i invision i want a refug and with egg crate at the top of fuge so i can place mangroves get there roots in the fuge. i got 5" from top of sump to the frame holding the display


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## aeri (Sep 9, 2007)

those two baffles in the green tape picture that extend from the top of the tank, shouldn't be that high. in the case the water flow is faster than the baffles allow, excess water will pour out of the tank and onto the floor


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