what to put in sump? sump configuration?

[blackwater]

im getting a little ahead of my self cause im not ready to do this yet, but thought id learn about it now anyways. want to build a sump out of a 29g tank. 30" long x 12" deep x 18" tall. heard i should use glass dividers when using a glass tank. first section could be the skimmer and filter socks, second could be some live rock, third could be a fuge? then the return area with the heater? would i have enough room in a tank this size to do all that? is this the way u supposed to set up a sump? suggestions a welcome, can use all the help i can get.

 

[ddelozier]

glass dividers are not needed. Acrylic sheet, 3/8" is available at most hardware stores, and is easer to cut if you have any kind of saw. Aquarium sylicone or the Sylicone#1 will work and is reef safe. It will stick to both glass and acrylic. I have a 20g glass tank with acrylic dividers syliconed in. Just make sure to get the thicker acrylic. dont get the 1/4. 3/8" or even 1/2 is better, especially for a 18" tall tank. YOu Wont want your Baffles all the way to the top, but they still should be 12" up from bottom on the first section for skimmer, heater, intake from DT. Middle section is your refugium, sand+Micro Algae. 13" Baffel bottom up, with 1" Teeth, spaced every 1/2 inch, 3/4inch gap, 14 inch baffel top down, 1 more 13" Baffel with 1" Teeth, and leave yourself 5-6 inches for return pump and plumbing, and you are Done. If the tank is more tall than wide, u can put a HOB Skimmer(i have this) in the sump and leave the heater/intake section narrower. Just get a Sponge cover for the intake on the skimmer(many come with it), and put the skimmer in the middle section with your Algae.

Acrylic sheet is much easier to handle, and put teeth in than glass.

Im good at custome designed refugiums. If you need detailed plans, let me know.

 

[Built347]

Heres a basic sump that I built.. hope it helps alittle.. any questions let us know..

http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/showthread.php?t=75723

Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

 

[StirCrayzy]

Heres mine, still in process, If you want a look.
Im a big fan of slow flow fuge, mine will be fed off the main drain with separate valve and through ATS (will be above fuge).
Glass on glass except fuge top. Return in center.
[video=youtube;68VgR1uQi8U]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68VgR1uQi8U&feature=youtube_gdata_player[/video]

 

[Doogle]

^ ya Stircrayzy that's what's up! Darn fine job!

 

[blackwater]

thanx for the help. the vid really helped a lot. whats the bulk head in the DT for ? is that needed. i was gonna drill holes at opposite ends of the tank, near the top.

 

[Built347]

R u referring to my tank?

 

[blackwater]

I see bulk heads in peopls tanks or over flows if thats the same thing?
i need to know if i need to do that in my dt too. Not sure y it is needed if the tsnk is drilled.

.....wet floors make me angry

 

[ddelozier]

Overflow - built in or box divice that allows water to flow over, but keeps the tank at a specific set level.
bulkhead. PVC or other type fitting that connects to a drilled hole to both seal the hole and allow connection to pipe/tubing. non drilled tanks dont have bulkheads

if you tank is drilled in the bottom, u need an overflow. The bulkeads surve 2 purposes. A they allow water to exit the system while keeping a watertight seal, the water goes to a sump/fuge. B the 2nd bulkhead(there are usually at least 2) allows water coming from the return pump to come back up into the tank. The overflow both controls the water level and conceals the pipes for the water entering and leaving the DT. Another added bonus. Overflows have constant water mixing, so they are an ideal place to add water for manual top off, or tank treatments, such as Dkh, Calcium, Trace elements, etc. The overflow usually has Teeth, allowing water and floating food/debris to travel to the sump - visa vi surface skimmer. Some holes are drilled in the Back SIDE of a tank, and are designed to both allow water to travel to the sump without an overflow, and to regulate water level, as well as skim surface floating material off the DT. these tanks also have side drilled inputs from the return pump. the side drilled tank holes are almost universally near the top. This prevents the water level from dropping too low in the event of a power outage/pump malfunction.

 

[lilj104]

I'd saw glass baffles, acrylic doesn't stick to glass well with sealant, and take a lot of sealant to make it stay. But for some acrylic works. You can do it that way, but y not stick with a 3 chamber sump that way you can have a bigger refugium. I would put a large sand bed, a layer of live rock then chaeto. Then leave the last chamber for the sump. But what ever you do, just make sure you are measuring, last thing you want is a miscalculation and everything is off.

Also check out my forum on this http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/diy/81252-sump-refugium-diy-question.html. It may help answer some of your questions

 

[Brooksy]

From somebody who just built a sump out of a 29g tank my only word of advice would be to make sure and give your self enough room in your first chamber with your skimmer and sock in it. I based mine on the footprint size of my skimmer plus a couple of inches and its pretty tight! And make sure you have enough room in your sump to deal with power outages, mine is only about 2/3 full.

 

[blackwater]

the glass dividers in the sump....do they go "under,over,under" or the other way?

 

[Mayja]

StirCrayzy - I love that you used a gravel cleaner as part of your plumbing. I think I have the same one! Lol!

 

[StirCrayzy]

the glass dividers in the sump....do they go "under,over,under" or the other way?

Baffles have been done every which way but sideways.
As long as you break the flow from one chamber to the other, the bubbles wont travel between them.
IMO higher flow should use the third baffle , but low flow only requires 2.

 

[blackwater]

now u gone and done it. have more questions now. do i go high flow or low flow? will be basic sump...filter sock, skimmer, area for live rock? heater, bubble trap, return pump. sump tank is 30 inches long...19 inches tall...and 12.5 inches deep. will need to figure out inside measurements so i can get some glass cut for the dividers. i have no idea how tall they need to be or how close together. also how thick should they be? there are other questions i have but i don't want to scare people off by asking too many at once.

 

[blackwater]

ok. just did some google..ing? and found some sump lay outs. here is one. u will need to ignore the tank measurements because the tank in the diagram is larger than mine. also as for what goes in each chamber im not sure if thats the way i should do it or not feed back very welcome.
i would also add a filter sock before the skimmer.

not my own design, i found this in a blog.