D2mini's Sump/Refugium Design

d2mini

d2mini

Reef enthusiast
So I want to build a new sump/refugium. I'm not happy with my current one. The return section is only 2.8 gallons empty and I try to keep it about half filled with water. That's not much at all. It also would need modification to get rid of microbubbles. Plus I want to add a refugium to the system. So i figured I might as well just build a whole new one. The main problem is I am severely limited with cabinet space. The biggest i can go is 28" x 9".

After studying some DIY threads and Melev'sReef.com I drew up the design pictured below and would like to get your opinions on it. It has a skimmer section, return section and a suspended refugium. This design seemed to give me the most amount of space for the return which ends up being quite a bit more than my current return... about 4.5 gallons of water.
One thing in particular that I'm questioning is the bubble trap baffles. I was reading on reefcentral that some people think they don't do anything to get rid of micro bubbles. The water is flowing too fast through the baffles and it just takes the bubbles with it into the return section. If this is really the case I could just have one wall with cutouts along the base to let water pass under and into the return section, hoping some bubbles rise to the top. This would give me more space in the skimmer/return sections.

What do you think? And remember, this is the first time I've attempted this kind of thing so go easy. I may have totally scewed it up. Haha.

RefugiumSump.jpg
 
Not exactly. You need to turn the T so it's upsidedown so when the water reaches it, it will go both ways. With your setup, it will flow str8 down and past the T. There is nothing to force the water to go to the right.
Also, if water is cascading down out of that fuge, the pump will be sucking up alot of microbubbles and throwing them into the tank.
 
Ok, cool... here's try #3.
Do I also need to make the same change to line that goes from the return back to the skimmer? This is in case I want to adjust the output of the pump without putting undo stress on the pump.

For the fuge drain, i was hoping to have low flow to the fuge so the water draining over the edge would be pretty calm, not creating micro bubbles. That was the idea anyway.

RefugiumSump-3.jpg
 
I dont see anything wrong with the last drawing.As long as you can keep the flow slow enough to prevent the bubbles.
Gives me a couple of ideas on mine.If I ever get time to start on it.
 
That looks pretty good. Should work fine. You can always play with the flow into the fuge to fine tune it if you have microbubble problems.
Or...lol. I'm assuming your building the sump yourself. Drop the height of the fuge so the highest part is only a few inches above the water line in the pump section. If it doesn't have a far drop it won't create the bubbles like a longer drop.

btw....what software are you using for that drawing?
 
Last edited:
ccCapt said:
Or...lol. I'm assuming your building the sump yourself. Drop the height of the fuge so the highest part is only a few inches above the water line in the pump section. If it doesn't have a far drop it won't create the bubbles like a longer drop.

btw....what software are you using for that drawing?
Click to expand...

Wellllll.... the whole point of suspending the fuge like that is to give me space for the return since I'm dealing with such a small space. I don't *have* to let the water trickle out like that. I could just install a bulkhead and then feed the water out and down into the return area exiting under the water line. But I was trying to simplify the amount of plumbing. I guess I'll think about that for a while.

I'm a graphic designer so I was just using Adobe Illustrator. It's the easiest thing for me. Everything is drawn from scratch though.
 
You'll probably still get a few bubbles,using the bulkhead and piping it down.The water level will still let air into the pipe as it drains back down.
 
Ambitious project Mini.I still don't like the way the water is force downwards going to the refugium.How about a spray bar on the right side of the fuge so water is flowing through the macro algae and across the top of the sand/rocks.I know space is tight,any way to make a sump with the skimmer(left),return pump(center) and refugium(right).
 
reeffreak said:
Ambitious project Mini.I still don't like the way the water is force downwards going to the refugium.How about a spray bar on the right side of the fuge so water is flowing through the macro algae and across the top of the sand/rocks.I know space is tight,any way to make a sump with the skimmer(left),return pump(center) and refugium(right).
Click to expand...

So are you saying to have the spray bar spray the water from right to left or front to back? I was originally thinking of about 20-25% of the water coming into the fuge and the rest going into the skimmer section.

As far as the layout goes, imagine dropping the fuge straight down. Then you would have the layout you are talking about. That leaves me with a TINY return. Then I would have to take space from the fuge and skimmer areas. Neither of which would really work unless I want to use an out-of-the-sump skimmer, but I don't have the room in my stand.
 
You know, if the water is flowing slow enough, having a raised fuge like that isn't going to cause any microbubbles (the water will just sorta dribble out). And you can adjust the flow to be very slow, and still have a healthy, functioning fuge. So I don't really think that's an issue.
 
Yes,a spray bar opposite side of where the water drains through the teeth.In the picture it would be on the right side.It doesn't even need to be a spray bar,even turning the feed pipe sideways instead of facing straight down could be another option.
 
Biff, that's exactly what i had in mind. Thanks for the clarification!

reeffreak, thanks for the explanation!
 
How big is the fuge area going to be? I hate to see you sacrifice fuge capacity for return space. Do you have any more space in the stand for another tank? I ran into a similar space problem and even more so when I found that you cannot get a 30 long where I live so I used two tanks, a 20 and a 10. Not sure if this is an option for you but try to give yourself as much space in your fuge as you can.
 
Actually I've decided to go with a more traditional design that gives me a fuge that's 12L x 9W x 18H. But my topoff gets smaller. I'll probably end up setting up an auto top-off container in the next room and run a thin water line through the sheetrock.
 
I'm just learning about this subject so this design doesn't make any sense to me. The water comes from the tank, gets split some going to the refugium and some to the protein skimmer? Doesn't it make sense that you want your water to go to the skimmer first because it will pre-clean and then you let your refugium take care of the rest? Ok, so some of the water goes to the skimmer where it gets dumped into the big area and then goes back to the main tank. The other water that went strait to the refugium goes to the big area and then to the skimmer and then back into the big area again and to the main tank? Are there any good books about this subject?

Dennis, your Illustrator work is really awesome. That would have taken me forever! Nicely done.

Catherine
 

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