Overflow And Sump Design

[AK77]

Hi guys,

Looking to pick your brains here (*cough* Ski *cough*). I'm considering adding an overflow box and sump/refugium to my Juwel Rio 180. The design I've come up with is based on two sumps connected through the upright of the stand. This will mean I can keep the support underneath the tank in place.

The left hand sump, will house the refugium and return. That section will measure 375mm x 300mm x 300mm. The right hand section, which I intend in the future to house an internal protein skimmer, will be 200mm x 300mm x 400mm. If my math is correct this gives me an overall capacity of just under 59 Litres. The heater will also be moved to this section. As the tank is 180 litres, I'm looking to cycle about 900 LPH (5 times tank volume). The return pump in the sump will need to push the water 1150 mm to be able to pour back into the tank. The Eheim filter will then be used as a reaction chamber for any materials like active charcoal, phosphate removal etc etc.

What size pump do I need to be looking at in order to achieve this? The weir I have in mind has a 1200 LPH flow rate.

Are there any elements of the design I need to change? Like the positioning and size of the bulkheads for the bubble trap?

Many thanks,

AK

 

[SkiFletch]

You're getting very ambitious there as far as cramming a lot of sump into a tight space. If you're sure it all fits, the only suggestion I have is to have the middle of the three bubble walls on the right side of the left tank start from the top of the sump and go to an inch or two from the bottom. Creates a more effective bubble trap that way. Then, the last bubble wall on the left should be shorter. It really doesnt stop many bubbles, but keeps the pump compartment free of debris. The bubble-stopping is done at the triplet, any stragglers should be gobbled up by the Cheato of the refugiumif its thik enough. As for a pump, look for one that does 1000LPH at 1-1.5 meter of head pressure. To get that the pump will prolly have to have 1500-2000LPH at 0 head pressure.

 

[AK77]

You're getting very ambitious there as far as cramming a lot of sump into a tight space. If you're sure it all fits, the only suggestion I have is to have the middle of the three bubble walls on the right side of the left tank start from the top of the sump and go to an inch or two from the bottom. Creates a more effective bubble trap that way. Then, the last bubble wall on the left should be shorter. It really doesnt stop many bubbles, but keeps the pump compartment free of debris. The bubble-stopping is done at the triplet, any stragglers should be gobbled up by the Cheato of the refugiumif its thik enough. As for a pump, look for one that does 1000LPH at 1-1.5 meter of head pressure. To get that the pump will prolly have to have 1500-2000LPH at 0 head pressure.

Hi Ski,

I measured it all up last night, so provided I construct it correctly, it should all fit snuggly into the cabinet. Failing that... I'll make it fit - that's what hammers are for . Its just a simple adaptation of this design. I was looking at the bulkheads myself last night and was contemplating making them bigger so am glad you confirmed this. I've seen two submersible pumps which have the following stats :

HX-6520
- POWER: 35W
- VOLTAGE: 110/220V
- FREQUENCY: 50/60Hz
- FLOW: 1000L/H
- MAX JET: 1.6m
- CALIBRE: di 14.5mm
- WEIGHT: 1.0kg
- SIZE(mm): 132×98×150

HX-6530
- POWER: 50W
- VOLTAGE: 110/220V
- FREQUENCY: 50/60Hz
- FLOW: 1750L/H
- MAX JET: 2.3m
- CALIBRE: di 17.5mm
- WEIGHT: 1.7kg
- SIZE(mm): 154×120×170

I was thinking that the HX-6530 would fit the bill nicely. If its pumping too hard, could I split the return and have one blowing straight back into the sump with a valve to control the pressure?

Many thanks,

AK

 

[SkiFletch]

Yeah, the HX-6530 looks about right for the job. If it does pump too much for your drain here's what you do. On the outlet side of the pump you first install a union (to shutoff the pump and service it if ever necesary). Next you place a T in the line where flow is able to continue straight up, or be diverted sideways. One part of the T goes up to the display tank, and the other goes back to the sump and you install ball valves on either side. Then, if you want 100% flow going up to the display tank you close off the ball valve that re-circulates into the sump. If that happens to be too much flow you can slightly close off the valve up to the display tank, and open the re-circ valve till you achieve the flowrate you want. Make sense?

 

[superman]

Why not ditch the eheim filter since you have plenty of area in your sump to place any filter media needed. Instead just put a skimmer where the eheim filter was going to go. A protein skimmer would be much more valuable than your eheim filter idea.

 

[AK77]

Hi,

I've been toying with different ideas and designs. I'm planning on using the Eheim as nothing more than a reaction chamber and so would prefer to keep it in the cabinet. I am most likely going to go with the following design after removing the middle support and replacing it with a wooden brace.

AK

 

[leecara]

when you mess around with the cabinet just make sure it can handle the wieght from the water ,rock etc.. otherwise it could be disaster

 

[AK77]

Hi Lee,

I'll be draining the tank down as much as possible before removing the central support column. I have 2 x 25 Litre water containers and 4 of the huge Kent Marine Salt tubs. Each one of them can hold about 20 litres each. Even with the central support column removed, the tank is still supported by the sides and the rear panel too.

The sump will then be inserted and once in place I will add a couple of upright braces . The tank will the be refilled and all will be well.... hopefully lol.

 

[leecara]

lol
jsut make sure the tank dont fall inwards( do u know what i meen? )
anyways hope it works good luck

 

[SkiFletch]

And beware evaporation rate with a pump section that small... Remember, in an operating sump, evap displays itself in the final chamber with the pump in it. If that chamber is too small, evaporation becomes an annoyance.