Sump plan - help

[abdv]

I want to build a 20 gallon sump/refugium for my 55 gallon aquarium. I have some questions...
1. Vinyl tubing or PVC for return line and line from overflow box? What does everyone use/prefer?
2. How do you know how large to make the compartments? I'm going to have 3 : (from left to right) water from tank > refugium > return pump... My tank is a 20 gallon long (30 x 12 x 12). My baffles will be 8" high.
3. How do you run filter media (like carbon) in your sump? or do you use some other method... I've seen some sump designs with a box of some sort in the first section. Anyone do this?

Thanks.

 

[SeaBee]

I have bothe pvc and the tubing, working just fine. I use the tubing so I can see in there and plus it's easy to work with and you can still move things for cleaning. If you want to run carbon I think you can place it in a bag in there, but you can also build a box that will hold it and have the water spill over it.

 

[Bifferwine]

I prefer PVC. It's easier to work with and SO MUCH CHEAPER!! Plus, vinyl tubing will grow algae on the inside if it's clear.

If you are using an in-sump skimmer, you will have to make the equipment section large enough to accommodate the skimmer's footprint. All of the water lost to evaporation will go missing from the return pump section, so you want to make that section the smallest of the three, but large enough so that the pump won't run dry in a day.

I'd say the first and second section should be about the same size as each other.

For filter media or carbon, the best thing to do is buy a cheap phosphate reactor (they run around $40). You can run any kind of filter media in it, and it's very effective. If you don't want to do that, pick up a really cheap HOB filter from the petstore (I think the one I use is an AquaClear and cost around $10).

 

[Rcpilot]

I just made a sump out of a 20L. Same dimensions as yours.

I made the first baffle in the skimmer section 10" from the end and it's 8" tall. Thats gives me a 10x12 space for my skimmer and the water is going to be 8" deep.

The next baffle starts at the top and goes all the way down - stops about 1" from the bottom. It's about 1" away from the first baffle. Last baffle controls the height of the water in my sump. This baffle must be lower than the first baffle, so I made mine 7.5" tall.

I can tell you from experience that you do NOT want your return section to be the smallest section in the whole sump - as Biff said - hope that was just a brain fart Biff. :Cheers: You want the return section as BIG as you can get it to minimize the effects of the evaporation. Think about it - you got a 2g sump with 1/2g evaporation per day -- or you got an 8g sump with 1/2g per day evaporation. Which one is going to fluctuate less? Which one will be easier to leave alone for 2 or 3 days? You got a 2g sump that evaporates 1/2g per day and you get to top it off every day or it'll suck air in the pump. Now you think about that same 1/2g of water evaporating out of an 8g sump.....

You want the return section as big as you can get it.

Have you looked at other peoples sumps? Does anybody have a skimmer compartment 3x as big as it needs to be? Nope. Everybody makes the skimmer section just big enough for the footprint of the skimmer. Squeeze that sucker in the tightest space you can get. Why? Saves room in your return section -- where you want all the water......

 

[dcantucson]

I have found this to be the best tubing to use:

Kink-Free Corrugated Reinforced Black Tubing / ft

 

[abdv]

Thank you everyone for all the help. I don't have an in-sump skimmer, so my first section can be very small, or do I even need it? How about 4 inches for section 1, then 13 and 13? Or should I make the return section even larger ? I definitely want to be able to leave my tank for a few days without worrying about the water level.