DIY Sump design input

[wbrodeur]

Hey,

So I am trying to turn in an old aqua clear wet/dry sump into a sump w/ refugium. I have a Tunze 9010 skimmer and an Eheim 1262 return pump to go in there. There is one baffle (colored pink in diagram) that is already glued in the sump. The rest of the baffles, I have to glue on. My question is, is there is enough room for the PS and pump, or is it too tight of a fit? Everything is to scale in this diagram. I'm just trying to fit everything in their spot w/ the secured baffle and adding more baffles.

Any advice would be great, this is my first sump and I"d like to do it right.

Thanks!

 

[s_kelley]

Looking at your diagram it looks like everything will fit with a bit of room to spare.

 

[FOXYB]

Where will the drain be? Is it the circle over the fuge? Only reason I ask is if the return is between the drain and protein skimmer, the ps won't be able to do it's job effectively.

 

[jayman10134]

+1 on where is the drain? if you drain it into your fuge the water will never make it to the protein skimmer, and if you drain it into your skimmer section it will never make it to the fuge, and if you drain it to the pump section, well, it won't go anywhere.

 

[wbrodeur]

that is a whole other question I was going to ask. I have no idea how the plumbing is supposed to go. So the water goes in the skimmer and the fuge maybe? then it flows into the return pump. Should the baffles be drilled into the tank, or can I have them go over the tank, so no drilling holes? IDK. Any suggestions? I have a lot of reading to do!

 

[JohnK]

I assume you meant bulkheads and not baffles, corrrect?

If you are going to use an external pump then it is definately preferable to drill the sump, but it is also possible to use an upsidown U tube though this way it can be tricky to get the pump primed in the first place.

As for the water going into the sump, no need to drill anything, just run to pipes to where you want them and let gravity do it's thing

 

[aweeks95]

I haven't been on the site in a LONG time....I saw your thread asking for some ideas.
This is an old thread of mine. Only a 10g. tank, but easy enough to make the same thing larger if you wnated to. I thought that you might get some ideas. If you have any specific questions about something you like, just send me a message. I hope you find something helpful!

http://www.bostonreefers.org/forums/showthread.php?t=12041&highlight=DIY+sump

ANDY

 

[wbrodeur]

Thanks for all your input! I started cutting the acrylic for the baffles and realized I don't know how tall I should make them. The water level for the skimmer needs to stay at 11". Do I make the first baffle right below the 11", maybe 10"?? The second baffle is 1" above the bottom, so I believe the height doesn't matter and the third baffle (away from skimmer) should be same height as first, correct? Finally the baffle for the fuge doesn't matter w/ height?

Last question for tonight...I was planning on having the overflow drain to my skimmer section, but I'm concerned if that may be too many bubbles and commotion for my skimmer. How do I avoid such bubbles/movement for my skimmer section?

Thanks!

 

[wbrodeur]

I read something from Melevsreef about making a bubble tower w/ rock rubble in the skimmer section. Is this advisable?

 

[wbrodeur]

Anyone? How high should baffles be and should I do a bubble tower? Thanks!

 

[s_kelley]

I followed his instructions too but decided to ditch the bubbel tower and installed a clamp on filter sock mount instead. I didnt like all the stuff that I had to vaccume out of my first sump section all the time.