Any obvious flaws/recommendations/suggestions to this 55g sump plan?

[Choff]

Nice redesign.

I don't like to have my baffle height drop more than an inch or two tops from section to section. If you have a large drop then you have a lot more pressure on one side of the baffle and over time this may end causing you a failure.


That said, how much water is going to back siphon into your sump when all the power is off? Did you set your baffle Heights to handle all of that extra water?

Use that last chamber to balance that out.

...stupid auto correct

 

[Lee]

First off, I'm sorry for the late info

That last piece really only needs to be a couple of inches higher then the top of your pump. You can still set your water level where ever you like with your ATO. It just gives you a little more wiggle room if the pump fails or a power outage and the tank siphons back into the sump.

With it being as high as you have it now, you'll need to maintain your water level to at least that height at all times.

Again, sorry for my delay, I realize you probably have it siliconed in already but I just wanted to give you a heads up just in case

Hmmm... I see what you're saying, but I don't think its right. When the water evaporates from the tank, the water level of the far right chamber will drop, but the other chambers will always stay at maximum. Water will always keep flowing over that far-right baffle even as the water level in the far-right chamber drops.

If the return pump shuts off, about 3-5 gallons of water will drain down into the tank, and when the sump is filled right to the height of that final baffle, the sump will be able to hold another ~15 gallons. It won't siphon because my return lines have a small hole drilled above water which acts like a vacuum breaker when the pump shuts off so it doesn't allow a siphon to start.

 

[Lee]

Nice redesign.

I don't like to have my baffle height drop more than an inch or two tops from section to section. If you have a large drop then you have a lot more pressure on one side of the baffle and over time this may end causing you a failure.


That said, how much water is going to back siphon into your sump when all the power is off? Did you set your baffle Heights to handle all of that extra water?

Use that last chamber to balance that out.

...stupid auto correct

The 4 baffles on the floor are 16", so that's what the water height will be. That height came from my skimmer's required water level. So the water level will always be at 16", except for the return section, which will vary based on evaporation. The tank itself is 21" tall, so that's about 15 gallons of extra capacity leftover, assuming the return section is at 16". My drain lines and overflows hold a few gallons that continue to drain when the pump shuts off, and as I mentioned above, my return lines are siphon proof

 

[desertranger]

here is my set up. I have a small line tapped of the main return line into the refugium. the refugium then overflows into the sump. I haven't had any problems with this set up.

 

[reefer gladness]

Here's a revised drawing taking some of the suggestions into account:


Drain, mechanical filter tray, skimmer, fuge, bubble trap, return

Hey Lee, is the final design you're working with? Just looking at the height of the water in the skimmer compartment - it looks to be very high near the bottom of the collection cup. Not sure what skimmer you are using but most I see have water level much lower.

Might wanna double-check the height your skimmer works best and have the baffle immediately to the right at the same height. Or if you really wanted the water level that high you may need a platform to elevate the skimmer.

Also FWIW, I'd like to have the skimmer pump on the left side where the tank water is coming in and the output on the right side going toward the return pump.

 

[Lee]

Hey Lee, is the final design you're working with? Just looking at the height of the water in the skimmer compartment - it looks to be very high near the bottom of the collection cup. Not sure what skimmer you are using but most I see have water level much lower.

Might wanna double-check the height your skimmer works best and have the baffle immediately to the right at the same height. Or if you really wanted the water level that high you may need a platform to elevate the skimmer.

Also FWIW, I'd like to have the skimmer pump on the left side where the tank water is coming in and the output on the right side going toward the return pump.

That's not my skimmer; its just a 3D model that I downloaded from Google's 3D warehouse. My skimmer operates between like 14-18" of water depth, and my baffles are set at 16" so the skimmer will just sit flat on the bottom of the tank

 

[Akshay]

My sump has a very similar layout, will post some pics shortly.
Also I don't think the water level in the outflow chamber is gonna worry you and you don't need to maintain it to the top level of the last baffle.
And with the high water column in the last chamber, the ATO could be optional too.

Anyways am really curious about your skimmer which actually works in 16" water?
Had been looking for a long time for skimmers that work in high water columns. More info pls..

 

[Lee]

My sump has a very similar layout, will post some pics shortly.
Also I don't think the water level in the outflow chamber is gonna worry you and you don't need to maintain it to the top level of the last baffle.
And with the high water column in the last chamber, the ATO could be optional too.

Anyways am really curious about your skimmer which actually works in 16" water?
Had been looking for a long time for skimmers that work in high water columns. More info pls..

I have the Reef Octopus Diablo XS 160 and it has lines drawn on it showing minumum and maximum water height, and 16" is right in the middle

My current sump has a 16" water height in the Skimmer chamber and it has worked great for almost 2 years.

 

[Lee]

Wondering your collective opinions on the refugium section.

Can I get some pros and cons, and votes on the following options?

1) Deep sand bed with LR and Cheato/cualerpa

2) no sand, packed full of Cheato/Cualerpa and maybe some LR

What will I be losing and/or gaining by skipping the DSB? Also keep in mind that my DT does NOT have a DSB. I only have like 1" of sand.

Another question; what are your suggestions for DT substrate? More sand? Keep it at 1"? Some other substrate entirely? Again, looking for pros and cons.

Thanks again! You guys are awesome

 

[Choff]

You will get a ton of opinions on dsb. I have recently done a lot of research because I want to convert my Dt to a DSB. Not because I think it's better or worse than a SSB, but because I want leopard wrasse and they require DSB.

What I have read is that people like remote DSB like yours because if trouble arises you can take it offline and separate it from your DT, the counter to that is that is in most cases a DSB in a Fuge is to small in comparison to the Dt to get the expected benefits from a DSB.

If it was me, I would keep the Dt as is and I would go BB in the fuge and stock it with Chaeto.

No rock, it will just collect detrious and be a nitrate trap. If you are looking for additional biological filtration look into running seachem matrix in a reactor.

...stupid auto correct

 

[DaveK]

Wondering your collective opinions on the refugium section.

Can I get some pros and cons, and votes on the following options?

1) Deep sand bed with LR and Cheato/cualerpa

2) no sand, packed full of Cheato/Cualerpa and maybe some LR

What will I be losing and/or gaining by skipping the DSB? Also keep in mind that my DT does NOT have a DSB. I only have like 1" of sand.

Another question; what are your suggestions for DT substrate? More sand? Keep it at 1"? Some other substrate entirely? Again, looking for pros and cons.

Thanks again! You guys are awesome

This is the sort of thing where there is no hard, fast right or wrong answer. It's going to come down to what you want out of your refugium. If you are going to go with a DSB you want it at least 4 inches deep. That does displace a lot of water.

With a DSB usually you go with finer sand if your want denitrification and courser sand if you want pod production. Keep the LR minimal in a refugium. You don't want a dirt trap.

Personally, I'd opt for shallow sandbed about 1/2" of coarse sand, for pods and the like, and macro algae, but I wouldn't call any other arrangement wrong.

 

[Bearjohnson]

The 4 baffles on the floor are 16", so that's what the water height will be. That height came from my skimmer's required water level. So the water level will always be at 16", except for the return section, which will vary based on evaporation. The tank itself is 21" tall, so that's about 15 gallons of extra capacity leftover, assuming the return section is at 16". My drain lines and overflows hold a few gallons that continue to drain when the pump shuts off, and as I mentioned above, my return lines are siphon proof

If your last baffle is high and you allow the water to drop lower in that pump section, then when the water cascades over the top it will create air bubbles that will get sucked into the DT. If you leave that baffle lower then it never has a chance to create any bubbles and you can keep your water level at whatever height that you want in the return section.

Just me $.02 worth and I should have explained it a little clearer

 

[Lee]

You will get a ton of opinions on dsb. I have recently done a lot of research because I want to convert my Dt to a DSB. Not because I think it's better or worse than a SSB, but because I want leopard wrasse and they require DSB.

What I have read is that people like remote DSB like yours because if trouble arises you can take it offline and separate it from your DT, the counter to that is that is in most cases a DSB in a Fuge is to small in comparison to the Dt to get the expected benefits from a DSB.

If it was me, I would keep the Dt as is and I would go BB in the fuge and stock it with Chaeto.

No rock, it will just collect detrious and be a nitrate trap. If you are looking for additional biological filtration look into running seachem matrix in a reactor.

...stupid auto correct

I've got TONS of live rock in the DT so I wouldn't think I'd need more biological filtration. I am strongly considering a bare-bottom fuge with cheato only

 

[Lee]

If your last baffle is high and you allow the water to drop lower in that pump section, then when the water cascades over the top it will create air bubbles that will get sucked into the DT. If you leave that baffle lower then it never has a chance to create any bubbles and you can keep your water level at whatever height that you want in the return section.

Just me $.02 worth and I should have explained it a little clearer

that's what I have now, and I've never had problems with bubbles in the DT.

Although I do plan to have an ATO system, so eventually, that final chamber should keep an even water level, thus eliminating any potential bubble issues

 

[Lee]

This is the sort of thing where there is no hard, fast right or wrong answer. It's going to come down to what you want out of your refugium. If you are going to go with a DSB you want it at least 4 inches deep. That does displace a lot of water.

With a DSB usually you go with finer sand if your want denitrification and courser sand if you want pod production. Keep the LR minimal in a refugium. You don't want a dirt trap.

Personally, I'd opt for shallow sandbed about 1/2" of coarse sand, for pods and the like, and macro algae, but I wouldn't call any other arrangement wrong.

I don't really know what I want out of a refugium; I just want clean, algae free water.

I suppose I would like to get a Mardarin at some point, so having pods will probably be required.

 

[Akshay]

6" med rubble dsb for DT (no burrowing wrasses then) alternatively you could dose pods.