Starting to build my fuge

[degibson84]

i have a 45g and im thinking about a 20g long for my sump/fuge.

just wondering if anyone had any ideas on how to set it up.

i was thinking that i should use tank dividers and divide into 3 section one for the overflow to go into the middle for the actual fuge and the last section for the return pump. im not going to have the 20g filled all the way since i am using an overflow box just in case i lose power i wont flood the fuge. also looking to mount the return pump higher up in the tank incase i lose suction on the overflow box it wont pump too much water into the DT and flood that

does this sound good???

 

[degibson84]

any opinions???

also need opinions on a return pump size. the overflow box that my father in law gave me has a bulkhead diameter of 1 inch and the tube coming off of that is 1 1/4 inch. just wondering what flow rate pump i should get

 

[jgking21]

i've got a thread going in the Equipment section, "DIY sump build", don't know how to link the thread. anyways, built it over the weekend and posted pictures. someone suggested glass instead of acrylic with the glass tank, i probably would do that if i did it again. also, when working with the silicone, get latex glooves. smooth out the bead of silicone for a better seal. make sure your baffles are low enough for the extra water if the pump stops. as for a pump size, i'm still working on that as well.

 

[degibson84]

i was actually thinking about using breeder dividers in my tank so the water can still flow through all the sections of the sump/fuge

 

[degibson84]

after doing some measuring im only going to be able to fit a 10g under my tank in the stand.

any ideas on how to make a fuge out of a 10g.

i dont want to have to do any cutting of my stand to fit a bigger tank in it. im afraid of destroying the rigidity of the stand if i do that

 

[degibson84]

here is a sketch of what im thinking.

since this is a 10g it will be about 8in. on the fuge side and 4 on the return pump side.

also thinking that i should keep around 6g in it in case of a power outage i wont have a flood.

 

[Jeremy0322]

Here is the new 20 long that I just set up for the 90 gallon..

The center is the fuge, the far left is the intake, and the far right is the return section. The baffles are Lexan, and are glued in with aquarium silicone.

 

[tex5620]

I believe on youtube there is a guy who shows u how to make a sump from a 10g. I don't remember the name but just search diy sump.

 

[degibson84]

i saw that video.

jeremy i cant fit a 20g long under my tank so i had to go with the 10

 

[Jeremy0322]

i saw that video.

jeremy i cant fit a 20g long under my tank so i had to go with the 10

You can use the same design, that is a pretty basic design for most sumps, that was the only reason i posted it up

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

Well, it really depends. If you don't have a skimmer, I dare say you don't really need to have any dividers at all. Kind of like the drawing you posted, but without the separate pump chamber. Is the tank going to be drilled or are you just going to put the pump in the tank?

 

[degibson84]

the reason i plan on using a divider is so that the chaeto dosen't get sucked into the return pump

 

[degibson84]

im wondering what size return pump i should be using

the bulkhead diameter is 1 inch but the tube diameter is 1 1/4 inch

im thinking one of these

Rio 1100 382GPH
Rio 1400 420GPH
Via Aqua 1300 370GPH very cheap
Mag Drive 3 350GPH

any opinions or ideas???

 

[Jeremy0322]

You want to go with the inside diameter of the tube, for a 1 inch bulkhead(inside diameter) you will get 600 gph from it IF your overflow can do that, I dont know what size overflow you are using but if you are using one with 9 inches of surface area you can get 600gph from it. With that being said you will want something much stronger than what you are listing to keep up with it, something just under the 600gph mark to make sure you dont pump water from the sump faster than you are draining it from the tank. If you wanted to use a smaller pump that will work, you just wont be taking full advantage of the sump by cutting the flow rate through it in half, you will only get as much flow as your return pump will handle.

With that being said you then have to take into account the headloss of the pump because it will pump slower depending on how high the water has to travel.

So, here are the important questions...
-What size/type of overflow?
-What is the inner diameter of the PVC pipes, slip bulkheads will be larger because the pvc pipe slips into it.
-How high will water have to be pushed up to return to the tank?
-How much flow do you want going through the sump?

 

[degibson84]

You want to go with the inside diameter of the tube, for a 1 inch bulkhead(inside diameter) you will get 600 gph from it IF your overflow can do that, I dont know what size overflow you are using but if you are using one with 9 inches of surface area you can get 600gph from it. With that being said you will want something much stronger than what you are listing to keep up with it, something just under the 600gph mark to make sure you dont pump water from the sump faster than you are draining it from the tank. If you wanted to use a smaller pump that will work, you just wont be taking full advantage of the sump by cutting the flow rate through it in half, you will only get as much flow as your return pump will handle.

With that being said you then have to take into account the headloss of the pump because it will pump slower depending on how high the water has to travel.

So, here are the important questions...
-What size/type of overflow?
-What is the inner diameter of the PVC pipes, slip bulkheads will be larger because the pvc pipe slips into it.
-How high will water have to be pushed up to return to the tank?
-How much flow do you want going through the sump?

i was told to stay under 500gph with this size bulkhead

not sure what surface area is or how to calculate this

not sure what size or type of overflow it is. my father in law had one that he wasn't using so he just gave this one to me.

the pipe coming out of the bottom of the overflow has a 1 inch diameter.

the pump will be pumping about 3 1/2 feet up to the tank

 

[degibson84]

would a quiet one 581GPH work???

 

[Jeremy0322]

i was told to stay under 500gph with this size bulkhead

That is a good amount i suppose. A 1 inch bulkhead can drain 600 gallons per hour if the overflow can handle it....

not sure what surface area is or how to calculate this

This one is really easy. If its an overflow box you just measure the part that has teeth with a tape measure, then once you have that you can figure out how much water will go into it per hour.

not sure what size or type of overflow it is. my father in law had one that he wasn't using so he just gave this one to me.

Some tanks have built in overflows, some use Hang on Back Overflow Boxes, and others just have a bulkhead with a little grate on the end.

the pipe coming out of the bottom of the overflow has a 1 inch diameter.

Then your pipe will handle 600 gallons per hour, meaning the box can probably do the same. Measure the box and let us know how much surface area it has. From the sounds of it you have a 600gph box, so the pump you listed the last time (581) would work fine, but know that you wont be getting that much flow after the headloss.

 

[degibson84]

the part of the overflow box with the teeth is only 4 and 3/4 inch x 2 and 3/4

 

[degibson84]

also the box has two u-tubes going from the skim box to the actual overflow

 

[Jeremy0322]

also the box has two u-tubes going from the skim box to the actual overflow

alright, so you will have the front with the 4.75 inches and then the two sides at 2.75 inches, for a total area of 10.25 inches, more than is needed, meaning the box can handle that. So, the return pump will determine the amount of flow going through the sump/fuge, unless you go over 600, then the box wont keep up and drain the sump into the DT.