Sump Build

[crazymman]

Okay im going to use a 20 gallon tall for my sump. I need to know hoe many peices of glass i need to have cut? Any ideas?

 

[Hiker4twenty]

Are you making a sump or a fuge? If you are making a fuge then you'll need 4 baffles cut. Three will allow you to make the section for the skimmer and bubble trap and 1 wall of the LR/chaeto section. The other piece will allow you to separate the LR/chaeto section from the return pump section. Here's a pic of mine for example.

 

[crazymman]

Okay i think im gonna use this design for my sump thanks to hiker4twenty. So if im understanding this picture right, the overflow is going in the right side being drawn by a pump i guess? Then the skimmer is there skimming. Then its flowing through the fuge and being drawn out my a mag 7 back into the tank?

 

[BL1]

I can't too well from the pic but, the overflow is dumping into the section on the right. Then, I believe that pump is pulling water out into the skimmer, then dumping it back in. Everything else was correct thoguh

 

[crazymman]

Hahaha i posted this before i saw youre post Hiker.:D Thats excatly what im going for. It looks simple enough. My measurments for the cut glass are 13.5 inches tall and 11nd 7/8ths for the width. The tank is about 12 inches wide and 16 inches tall. Does this sound good? And 4 peices of glass right?

 

[Hiker4twenty]

I'd say you'll be ok with the height of the baffles(unless your doing an in-sump skimmer that requires a specific water depth to work properly). If they're too tall then you risk an overflow with a power outtage or loss of suction by the overflow. That pic of the empty fuge on the table is my new 29g fuge. The one with stuff in it is a 10g fuge I currently using. On the 10g the water comes in from the overflow on the right side with the skimmer. Then it flows through the bubble trap and into the LR/algae suction and then into the return pump section. I use a Rio Plus 1400 return pump.

They're really easy to build. Don't worry if the baffle aren't completly level as they're just used to separate sections of water. Make sure to use plenty of aquarium grade silicone to seal the baffles in place. A tip to get them to hold in place is to use a little bit of super glue in the corners and then silicone them in place. If you have a couple small leaks it's also ok as it's not going to make a big difference because it's not a high flow setup.

Feel free to ask me any questions on the build. I'd be more than happy to help you out.

 

[crazymman]

Its a hang on back skimmer. Coralife 125. how tall should they be so it doesent overflow if there is a power outtage? Or is there a way to stop an overflow?

 

[crazymman]

So the overflow box is just a syphon going into the fuge? them the rio is pulling it back to the dt?

 

[BL1]

You kinda need to figure out how much water the overflow and tubing will dump into your tank in the event of a power outage, then make your baffles low enough to accommodate all that extra water. It's going to be different for every system

 

[Hiker4twenty]

+1 BL1. An easy to test how much water will flow out is to get a 5g bucket and let the water in your DT empty into the bucket until it stops flowing. Then either fill up 1g bottles and see how much or estimate how much water flows in.

Fill up your empty 20g tank to 13.5" high of water(the height of your baffles). Add that bucket of water into the tank and see if it overflows. If you still have some room left then you're in good shape. If it's really close to the top or overflows then you'll need to cut down the height of your baffles. Keep in mind that the tank will be empty so you'll to tank into consideration the water displacement for sand, lr, chaeto and pumps. I like to make sure I have at least 1" of room left when it's all said on done. That way it can handle a little more water if you should overfill with a top off or water change.

Also, depending on your overflow you can adjust the depth it sits in the water which will control how much it can let totally flow out of the DT.

 

[crazymman]

i had them cut at 12 inches just to be safe.

 

[crazymman]

ill silicone them tomorrow and post pics! Thanks for the help.

 

[Ulta]

Good Post! I'm going to be doing the same thing over the next few days, good info thanks guys!

 

[Hiker4twenty]

Can't wait to see the pics. Good luck!

 

[crazymman]

So any ideas on what pump I should use for my return. Also wondering if I replace the pump on my coralife protein skimmer will it work better?

 

[crazymman]

I cAn't get it to skim very well. I don't think it's getting enough air bubbles.

 

[Hiker4twenty]

So any ideas on what pump I should use for my return. Also wondering if I replace the pump on my coralife protein skimmer will it work better?

I cAn't get it to skim very well. I don't think it's getting enough air bubbles.

I too have a corallife 125 skimmer and no longer use it. It was way too hard to get skimming and when it did skim it was very light and like water instead of being dark and thick. I constantly overflowed for me as well because their adjustments are so touchy. I eventually gave up on it and went skimmerless for the past 2 months without any issues. I did buy a new Reef Octo 160 extreme for when I upgrade to my larger tank. Also, make sure your pump can handle more GPH than you overflow so you never run into any issues with your fuge flooding due to not being able to get the water out of it fast enought. It's ok to restrict the flow from the return pump to the DT, but never choke the water supply to the return pump.

As far as a return pump there are many choices for you. I went with the rio submersible pump because it was cheap and did the right gph for me. What size is your tank? You'll want a pump that can do at least 5x the water volume of your whole system per hour at around 3'-4' of head.

 

[crazymman]

This may be a dumb question but I'm guessing that head is the length it has to travel in the PVC pipe back to the tank? And how do I calculate that into the size pump I need? Also would that reef octo fit in a 20 gallon tall? My tank is 55 gal by the way.

 

[Hiker4twenty]

I think it might fit into the 20tall, not sure how wide the tank is. Look at the reef octo's to get a size of their footprint. I know that have to be in 8"-10" of water to work properly.

Yes, head is the length the water will have to travel back up to the DT. Each pump will tell you what it can pump at specific head measurements. You'd be safe getting a pump in the 400gph-500gph range.

 

[crazymman]

Thanks Hiker