210g purchased used and have sump questions

[markrj]

New to the saltwater realm and my buddy just purchased a 210gal setup that came with a sump that we are trying to understand.

I attached some images.

The bottom of the sump is completely open between the sections.

Photo1 Sections 1 & 2 are obviously the feed lines from the tank and Section 3 is the return line at the bottom to the pump.

All the sumps I have seen have the partitions going all the way to the bottom so the water has to fill one area and spill over into the next. This sump doesn't seem to work that way.

Photo 2 has sections 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 which are isolated from the bottom and we are guessing get filled when the water level reaches their inlet height.

There are a couple grates that go into Sections 1 & 2 as well.

What do we put where in this arrangement?

Photo 3 is obviously the protein skimmer. lol. This thing is huge!

Thanks for any insight.

 

[active]

what is the make of the unit - i see a name but the number covers it up -

 

[markrj]

Living Reef Systems, Inc. I called the company and they will not accept photos of the unit through email. Some lame excuse about viruses and such. They don't even have a website.

They do custom builds in the Chicago area.

Said we would have to bring it to Chicago or at least some photos.

No help at all from them.

 

[active]

1 and 2 are wet dry areas that hold bio balls - 3 is a return section - now the 4,5,6,7,8, have me confused but i think i have an answer on a system i saw once there was a t on the return line from the pump that ran over chambers via a spray bar - what these chambers were for are i am not certin but i could take a guess and say 1 may be a carbon area or 1 could be used for filtering solids that the bio balls didnt catch - other then that i dont have any other answers - if i see that picture again i'll post a link but i think the system is very old maybe 20 or so years - not shure but i think - i would call the company again and speak to someone else - its b/s that they cant open an e-mail with a picture my email is scanned and it tells me if its safe to open so i think someone didnt want to help you

 

[little_fish]

Also instead of using bioballs you should make those areas a refgium, it will be way more beneficial for your tank.

 

[markrj]

Thank you for the suggestions. It doesn't look like we can put substrate into the unit due to the bottom being open all the way across from inlet to drain.

Live rock could be used but sand will just clog the outlet.

I told him to scrap it and build a new sump but he wants to use it.

Maybe one section of bio balls and one section of live rock and algae?

 

[markrj]

We could also modify it to have a holding area for substrate.

 

[little_fish]

You dont need sand in a fuge, rubble rock and a macro algae are all you need. I also caution you against the bioballs because they end up being crap traps, which just release nitrates back into the water column. Its not very useful in saltwater setups.

 

[markrj]

I think we will be going with live rock and macro algae.

 

[Bifferwine]

It's open along the bottom to prevent air bubbles from traveling between the compartments. Since air rises, the water will flow through, but the bubbles will be trapped behind each baffle.

 

[active]

it looks like a nice unit and can be a nice fuge easily - it was a good score none the less maybe a little work needed but a good score

 

[puffy]

It’s quite difficult to explain the whole mechanism since I can’t clearly see the photos and without the model make. However, based on your explanation whereby there’s one part in which the bottom of the sump is completely open between the sections, that is to allow floating debris/particles to collect floating on the top of the water instead of moving along with the flow. Second, this is to avoid air bubbles getting sucked into the pump and cause cavitation, in order to protect the shelf-life and integrity of the equipment. I hope you get what I mean here. Each compartment is designed with their own functions to clean the water. A good idea is to call up the manufacturer and have them explained more detailed

 

[markrj]

Thanks for the info everyone! The sump is operating and we have no leaks. Salt is being added over the next couple of days and then the live sand and rock will be next.

I will post some photos of the tank and sump soon.