koffee
Member
Here's what I came up with so far. I would appreciate any feedback or tips.
The first chamber (on the left) is where the overflow spills into the sump through a sock. It is also the feed/return for the skimmer. A small power head is also in this chamber, plumbed to feed the fuge at the other end.
Baffles come next. I forgot to include a media tray in the drawing. It would go between and over and then under. Is the first over baffle needed? Right now, water goes over, under, over, and under. Is under, over, under enough?
The center of the sump hold the return pump. I may tee it with a valve back to the intake to control flow.
Finally, the fuge is on the right end. It is fed from a power head in the first (intake) chamber. Instead of spilling over the baffle, it drains via PVC, capped with a strainer inside the fuge. I hope this will reduce bubbles entering the return chamber. A light would sit over the fuge side, of course.
Some designs have the flow from the tank go through a tee, which leads directly to the sump, and also a valve to feed the fuge. Would this be better than the small PH in the intake chamber? My theory was that the fuge could flow even when the main pump is off.
Note that this supports a 38G (3 foot long) tank with PCs for light, so a heater would sit inside the sump somewhere. Is the return a good spot, or would the intake be better?
The main problem I face with this design is that I'm not about to attempt to drill a bulkhead in the fuge glass baffle. I am willing to attempt to cut the glass baffles in nice straight lines. So, I would either have to use acrylic, or have that piece done by pros.
The first chamber (on the left) is where the overflow spills into the sump through a sock. It is also the feed/return for the skimmer. A small power head is also in this chamber, plumbed to feed the fuge at the other end.
Baffles come next. I forgot to include a media tray in the drawing. It would go between and over and then under. Is the first over baffle needed? Right now, water goes over, under, over, and under. Is under, over, under enough?
The center of the sump hold the return pump. I may tee it with a valve back to the intake to control flow.
Finally, the fuge is on the right end. It is fed from a power head in the first (intake) chamber. Instead of spilling over the baffle, it drains via PVC, capped with a strainer inside the fuge. I hope this will reduce bubbles entering the return chamber. A light would sit over the fuge side, of course.
Some designs have the flow from the tank go through a tee, which leads directly to the sump, and also a valve to feed the fuge. Would this be better than the small PH in the intake chamber? My theory was that the fuge could flow even when the main pump is off.
Note that this supports a 38G (3 foot long) tank with PCs for light, so a heater would sit inside the sump somewhere. Is the return a good spot, or would the intake be better?
The main problem I face with this design is that I'm not about to attempt to drill a bulkhead in the fuge glass baffle. I am willing to attempt to cut the glass baffles in nice straight lines. So, I would either have to use acrylic, or have that piece done by pros.