docta09
Reefing newb
what kinds of pumps do i need?
and wat do ppl do to avoid floods
and wat do ppl do to avoid floods
what is everything i need for a sump
- Thread starter docta09
- Start date
Zissou
What about my dynamite?
You will need.
Baffles x 4, all the same height and width. If your sump is glass, get them cut at a glass shop. Measure the inside of your sump tank, and reduce the measurement by 1/4". Transfer measurement to cardboard panel, make sure the cardboard panel fits. If it doesn't, cut more. Once it can fit with about 1/8th of an inch on each side, take the measurement to the shop and have glass ones made. Height should be 10" to 12". This will give you room to adjust the standing height of your skimmer's water level. Oh, and when you make your bubble trap, set the middle baffle about 2" higher than the other baffles, as illustrated below. You can set the height, and width of the baffle chambers with cd cases, dvd cases, or an old book. I used an iphone 4 box.
Silicone sealant for baffles. Make sure you get the kind that's safe for aquariums. You want 100% silicone sealant with absolutely NO mold additives. The sealant you want is translucent. If it's white, you got the wrong stuff. You can find it at a hardware store, but you can also find it at petco; they'll make you pay extra because it's 'for aquariums'. But at least you'll be 100% sure it's safe.
Hang-off back, (HOB), Overflow. Depending on the size of your tank, a single pipe, 300gph would be fine for a small to medium tank. A dual pipe, 800gph for larger. Get braided, clear hose from the hardware store, (and the appropriate PVC connections and hose barb), and test for leaks.
1/4" clear or 'airline' tubing. Pick up several feet of this. You will use it to start your overflow, acclimate fish, start other siphons, etc.
A return pump. Get a pump that's slightly under your overflow rating. This will insure that your display tank doesn't overflow; a stronger pump would pump more water into your display faster than the overflow can take out. However, you might have to get a larger pump than your overflow, IF, your return pipe is too long, or you've split part of the return to go back into the sump. Eheim's are great pumps but expensive; Tunze pumps are getting great reviews and are more affordable. If you're on a budget, danner mag drive pumps are super reliable and cheap. They're a bit louder, and transfer more heat into the water, but this won't affect anything assuming your heater is set correct.
A protein skimmer. This will go in the first chamber of your sump. This insures it gets the worst stuff, and that anything living in your refugium or other chambers will not get killed before being pumped back into your display. (pods.)
This is what I prefer; the refugium gets lower flow this way and is a more peaceful area for pods. Not shown: the intake pipe going into the skimmer area:
This is more common, but water flows through the refugium area as fast as the return pump is pumping out. This may cause some turbulence Not shown: skimmer in first chamber.
VERY IMPORTANT:
On your RETURN pipe, where it dumps into your Display Tank, just under the water level, make two or three holes in the pipe, as a siphon break. You see, when you have a power outage, or when you shut off your return pump, the weight of the water in the return pump will be pulled down by gravity, causing a REVERSE SIPHON; water will now empty out of your display tank through the return pipe, potentially overflowing your sump. Having these holes drilled in the pipe, will insure that air will break the siphon, causing the reverse siphon to stop. ALWAYS check these holes and make sure they're clean every week. You want at least two holes, just in case a snail or other animal happens to be covering one when the power goes out. The overflow, on the other hand, does not need a siphon break, as it will be kept in stasis. When the power comes back on to the return pump, the overflow will restart it's siphon, once the water level of the display tank rises above the overflow teeth in the tank.
There are other types of overflows, but this is usually the most common beginner setup. If you're not afraid of drilling glass, you can look into a bean style overflow, or glass-holes overflow.
Easiest yet, buy a reef ready tank with built in overflows.
It's a lot easier than it sounds.
Baffles x 4, all the same height and width. If your sump is glass, get them cut at a glass shop. Measure the inside of your sump tank, and reduce the measurement by 1/4". Transfer measurement to cardboard panel, make sure the cardboard panel fits. If it doesn't, cut more. Once it can fit with about 1/8th of an inch on each side, take the measurement to the shop and have glass ones made. Height should be 10" to 12". This will give you room to adjust the standing height of your skimmer's water level. Oh, and when you make your bubble trap, set the middle baffle about 2" higher than the other baffles, as illustrated below. You can set the height, and width of the baffle chambers with cd cases, dvd cases, or an old book. I used an iphone 4 box.
Silicone sealant for baffles. Make sure you get the kind that's safe for aquariums. You want 100% silicone sealant with absolutely NO mold additives. The sealant you want is translucent. If it's white, you got the wrong stuff. You can find it at a hardware store, but you can also find it at petco; they'll make you pay extra because it's 'for aquariums'. But at least you'll be 100% sure it's safe.
Hang-off back, (HOB), Overflow. Depending on the size of your tank, a single pipe, 300gph would be fine for a small to medium tank. A dual pipe, 800gph for larger. Get braided, clear hose from the hardware store, (and the appropriate PVC connections and hose barb), and test for leaks.
1/4" clear or 'airline' tubing. Pick up several feet of this. You will use it to start your overflow, acclimate fish, start other siphons, etc.
A return pump. Get a pump that's slightly under your overflow rating. This will insure that your display tank doesn't overflow; a stronger pump would pump more water into your display faster than the overflow can take out. However, you might have to get a larger pump than your overflow, IF, your return pipe is too long, or you've split part of the return to go back into the sump. Eheim's are great pumps but expensive; Tunze pumps are getting great reviews and are more affordable. If you're on a budget, danner mag drive pumps are super reliable and cheap. They're a bit louder, and transfer more heat into the water, but this won't affect anything assuming your heater is set correct.
A protein skimmer. This will go in the first chamber of your sump. This insures it gets the worst stuff, and that anything living in your refugium or other chambers will not get killed before being pumped back into your display. (pods.)
This is what I prefer; the refugium gets lower flow this way and is a more peaceful area for pods. Not shown: the intake pipe going into the skimmer area:
This is more common, but water flows through the refugium area as fast as the return pump is pumping out. This may cause some turbulence Not shown: skimmer in first chamber.
VERY IMPORTANT:
On your RETURN pipe, where it dumps into your Display Tank, just under the water level, make two or three holes in the pipe, as a siphon break. You see, when you have a power outage, or when you shut off your return pump, the weight of the water in the return pump will be pulled down by gravity, causing a REVERSE SIPHON; water will now empty out of your display tank through the return pipe, potentially overflowing your sump. Having these holes drilled in the pipe, will insure that air will break the siphon, causing the reverse siphon to stop. ALWAYS check these holes and make sure they're clean every week. You want at least two holes, just in case a snail or other animal happens to be covering one when the power goes out. The overflow, on the other hand, does not need a siphon break, as it will be kept in stasis. When the power comes back on to the return pump, the overflow will restart it's siphon, once the water level of the display tank rises above the overflow teeth in the tank.
There are other types of overflows, but this is usually the most common beginner setup. If you're not afraid of drilling glass, you can look into a bean style overflow, or glass-holes overflow.
Easiest yet, buy a reef ready tank with built in overflows.
It's a lot easier than it sounds.
Last edited:
Zissou
What about my dynamite?
Some other things:
When you have a sump, your display tank will ALWAYS appear full due to constant pressure; there is no need to worry about the water level dropping in the tank and looking ugly.
Instead, the water level will drop in the return chamber in the sump. This is what you will have to top off with freshwater (not saltwater!), every day. You will lose anywhere from 1 to several gallons a day in this chamber. When making your sump, make sure the return chamber is not too small. If you make a tiny return chamber, 1 gallon of evaporation can cause your pump to suck air and get damaged. Make sure your return chamber has enough room to hold 2 to 3 gallons worth of evaporation before the water level reaches the pump, just in case you forget. Also, this means you won't have to top off every few hours. It's best to keep it topped off as much as possible, (for water stability purposes), but it's nice knowing you have some insurance. Your next upgrade will be an Auto Top Off system, that will do this for you; then you can have a reserve tub, bucket, or tank of water with as much gallons as you please, giving you plenty of time to enjoy your tank without having to think about adding water all the time.
Having a sump also allows you to setup media reactors for coral supplementation. But that's another topic altogether.
When you have a sump, your display tank will ALWAYS appear full due to constant pressure; there is no need to worry about the water level dropping in the tank and looking ugly.
Instead, the water level will drop in the return chamber in the sump. This is what you will have to top off with freshwater (not saltwater!), every day. You will lose anywhere from 1 to several gallons a day in this chamber. When making your sump, make sure the return chamber is not too small. If you make a tiny return chamber, 1 gallon of evaporation can cause your pump to suck air and get damaged. Make sure your return chamber has enough room to hold 2 to 3 gallons worth of evaporation before the water level reaches the pump, just in case you forget. Also, this means you won't have to top off every few hours. It's best to keep it topped off as much as possible, (for water stability purposes), but it's nice knowing you have some insurance. Your next upgrade will be an Auto Top Off system, that will do this for you; then you can have a reserve tub, bucket, or tank of water with as much gallons as you please, giving you plenty of time to enjoy your tank without having to think about adding water all the time.
Having a sump also allows you to setup media reactors for coral supplementation. But that's another topic altogether.
marcah
Reef enthusiast
+1 Zissou
I agree.. I like the first setup also
The slower the flow through the refugium the more benneficial it will be to the tank...
I agree.. I like the first setup also
The slower the flow through the refugium the more benneficial it will be to the tank...
little_fish
Moderator
+1 Zissou
Would you mind turning those two posts into a User Created Article? This question comes up so often, it would be very handy to have a great write up like this.
Would you mind turning those two posts into a User Created Article? This question comes up so often, it would be very handy to have a great write up like this.
Bifferwine
I am a girl
Great job Zissou!
docta09
Reefing newb
lots of info thanks but i had a question about this
"Instead, the water level will drop in the return chamber in the sump. This is what you will have to top off with freshwater (not saltwater!), every day."
wouldnt this drop my salinity too much
"Instead, the water level will drop in the return chamber in the sump. This is what you will have to top off with freshwater (not saltwater!), every day."
wouldnt this drop my salinity too much
little_fish
Moderator
No because the salt doesnt evaporate with the water
Zissou
What about my dynamite?
Yeah was thinking of making an article and some videos. This has been asked dozens of times at least. ^^
Zissou
What about my dynamite?
Like little fish said, salt doesn't evaporate with the water. If you set your salinity to 1.24, it's very possible that as the water evaporates, the salinity will climb to 1.25, 1.26, etc. and higher, depending on how much is lost. To keep the water parameters as stable as possible; keeping it topped off insures that the salinity doesn't swing too much.
It's not a huge issue, but it's more insurance for your corals, when you want the most stable environment as possible.
Oh and I should mention, the baffle for the refugium part of the sump can be taller than the other three. The 3 bubble traps are all the same size, but the 4th one doesn't have to be. At the very least, it should be even with the last baffle, but you can make it as tall as your sump allows, as long as there's a bit of space for water to flow back into the return chamber.
docta09
Reefing newb
I bought this sump off some guy and it looks like this.
Why are there two holes to the right side and what goes in the middle where the red thing is
Why are there two holes to the right side and what goes in the middle where the red thing is
