Sump Design feedback & plumbing question?

[Richard Kagen]

Doing a 125 with dual megaflows to a 55 gallon sump.

1 1/4 drains with 3/4 returns

I am planning:
- 5 gallon bioball chamber with a pad draw/drip tray
- 2 - 4" x 17" socks
- 1 - 4" x 17" sock in a PVC pipe to hold 2 units of ChemiPure
- 12" x 16" x 12" Refugium with live sand and macro algae
- Bubble Magus BM100 skimmer in 13" of water (already bought it new $179 shipped, look great quality, we will see how it runs)

Looking for any feedback on the sump design ???

Thoughts on Flex PVC vrs braided Hose???

 

[Richard Kagen]

easier to read drawing

just noticed how hard it is to read online with the grid lines

 

[Jennifer]

I cant get the PDF to open right now on my laptop.

With out seeing the design:

If this is going to be a reef tank then you will want to nix the bio-balls, use live rock instead. Bioballs are fine for a Fish only setup .

Flex pvc is the way to go.

 

[Richard Kagen]

This is a FOWLR

Fish only with live rock with high output T5 lamps: 10,000K daylight and 460nm Actinic. 78 watts of each. Using 2 36" Nova Extreme HO Light Fixture.

JPEG drawing attached

 

[maurod]

My two bits of feed back are -
1. Your skimmer section will be susceptible to surging from your drains and may not work consistently. It helps to design a skimmer section that will have consistent levels of water, right after the section you planned on.

2. What are the bio balls for? You dont need them in modern reef setups. edit - never mind you are doing FO.

 

[Richard Kagen]

Thanks - I am confused - Skimmer section

My plan is that the skimmer area will be a constant 13" as there is a divider there. I am making it 13" so I can always lift the skimmer if i find it is too deep for optimal performance.

 

[maurod]

In your diagram tehre's no divider between the skimmer and the drain water. That will lead to up/down fluctuations.

 

[Jennifer]

It looks like there is a divider to me.

Mauro the water looks like it is flowing from right to left, the return section is next to the bio-balls.

I think the design looks ok.

edit :
Is there a divider between the bioballs and the return pumps?
If not this may leed to a micro bubble problem in the display tank.

 

[Bobbofin]

Water is a little high for the skimmer. Usually it's about 8" for most skimmers. Also a 100gallon skimmer is a little small for a 125 gallon tank. I have a 110 gallon on my 60.

 

[Richard Kagen]

skimmer water depth

Their web site says, "For optimum performance BM100 should be sitting in 8”-13” of water depth" so I was planning on setting up for 13" (eventhough it seems pretty deep when looking at the skimmer) and building up the skimmer to get to the right depth. Seem like a plan?

Assuming the flex PVC pipe is the way to go, and local sources?