Help Me With My Sump Design...

[ikon]

here is the initial sketch of the sump i will build. i have a couple quick questions..

- do you think it is partitioned correctly?
- how many inches should i leave between the three glass panes that will make up the first baffle wall?
- how many inches of clearance should i leave between the bottom of the middle glass in the baffle and the bottom of the tank?
- can the divider between the refuge and return pump partition be a simple piece of glass or does it need a bubble wall/baffle? or can i just put a piece of acrylic there with large drilled holes in it?

 

[SkiFletch]

How big is the display tank?

more importantly will you employ an auto topoff?

 

[ikon]

no auto top off..the display will be the 200g cube

but since i posted that, i have change my mind..

instead i will use a 30g tank and 20g tank below the display.

the 30g is 30" long, and i will divide it in two, one half for the drains, skimmers, filter, and uv, the second half will be the refugium..i will drill a hole in the fuge side which will overflow into the 20g, which sits 5" shorter than the 30g. the 20g will be soley dedicated to the return pump, however its not as effective as it could be because it is a 20g long, 30" long and short, but it has to do. what do you think? will i have to add water to the return pump tank on a daily basis?

 

[ikon]

here's a sketch..are 1" gaps all the way around the way to go?

 

[SkiFletch]

Yeah, a 1" gap 16" wide will be more than enough . Are you gonna use a filter sock on the line that enters the 20g?

 

[ikon]

never used one before, and dont know how to apply one, let alone what it is (unless its ACTUALLY a cotton sock)..

i assume it would exist to catch debris before they have a chance to get sucked into the pump? an explanation and a pic would be helpful

 

[boshank23]

its like a media bag that ties onto the downpipe outlet. best way i can explain

 

[SkiFletch]

Yeah they're typically 6" or larger in diameter cotton socks with a tie on them. Water spills in, sock catches bubbles . Socks are washed every month or so in bleach only in your regular washing machine.

 

[ikon]

ski, what if i only put a double wall for the baffle? reason being is that if the water is let out at the top of the baffle wall, all of that water will head directly to the overflow instead of traveling through the chaeto. if i make it so the water lets out at the bottom of the baffle, the cheato will sit right in the water's path. i might be sacrificing bubble depletion for water movement but i figured id let the filter sock handle that. do you think it would work as drawn out below?

 

[SkiFletch]

Sure, you can have bubbles in your refugium, no big. My refugium is full of bubbles If you have a filter sock to protect the pump you'll be all set

 

[Miss Wiggle]

ski, what if i only put a double wall for the baffle? reason being is that if the water is let out at the top of the baffle wall, all of that water will head directly to the overflow instead of traveling through the chaeto. if i make it so the water lets out at the bottom of the baffle, the cheato will sit right in the water's path. i might be sacrificing bubble depletion for water movement but i figured id let the filter sock handle that. do you think it would work as drawn out below?

good call, might plagarise that idea for our sump!! we're having baffles apparently

 

[ikon]

just realized there will be a deep sand bed in the refugium! so that wont work, but i could make the 3rd baffle wall 2" higher then the sand, but still short enough to get some good water flow over the goods.