Just made a sump

[dmbfreek]

Just finished this thing and I must say I'm looking forward to adding it to my tank. Any suggestions? I'm adding a overflow with a 1'' bulkhead. does this mean I need a return pump with atleast 600 gph at 4' of head? The tank that I'm adding it to is a 29g, is this too much flow for a 29g? Thanks!

 

[Krish]

Very cool! Which side in the pic is the input side? As for the pump...Yeah I think 600gph would be a good and safe bet and it is definately not too much for that tank. Infact, you may want/need more than that in the form of powerheads or a small closed loop. I know people think I'm insane, but I have a 38 gal with close to 4,000 gph of flow and everything is fine in there

 

[ronj]

you are insane Krish...anyway, is the return is on the left side..the right side looks way too small....or is the return in the middle???.what is the eggcrate for????

 

[dmbfreek]

The pump will sit on the eggcrate.

 

[ronj]

what is the purpose?????

 

[dmbfreek]

Just didn't know it the pump would suck up anything that might settle to the bottom. Should I just remove it? This is my first sump so I'm not 100% sure on what I'm doing.

 

[ronj]

i was worrying about the same thing about mine.. i don't know if it will help or not...i was not criticizing it .....i was wondering if you knew something i didn't

 

[Krish]

Yeah...You don't need the egg crate. Nothing will be in the return chamber other than water so you don't have to worry about it sucking up anything and if you are still worried, just use the strainer that comes with the pump to prevent it.

The only thing I see that "may" be a problem is microbubbles in the return chamber. Most sumps have 3 baffles together before the return chamber (called a bubble trap) to prevent this, but that doesn't mean you will have any with just 2. I had just two on one of my old sumps and I had a few microbubbles, but what I did to prevent them from being returned to the tank was put an elbow on the suction of the return pump and have it suck lihe 1/2 ich off of the bottom of the sump. Bubbles will rise and you will be sucking from low, but no need to really worry about it now. When you give it your test run, you'll see what has to be done if anything.

 

[dmbfreek]

I do have some extra glass, should I add one more baffle?

 

[Krish]

If you have extra, then just keep it handy incase you need it. You may not need it at all. People also use songes to catch the bubbles coming into the return so I wouldn't worry too much yet. You may need the extra inch or two for your return pump anyways so I wouldn't glue anything just yet

 

[ronj]

where will all the waste gather up????it has to go somewhere..i worry about something getting sucked in there also

 

[dmbfreek]

Thanks for the help!

 

[Krish]

where will all the waste gather up????it has to go somewhere..i worry about something getting sucked in there also

Hardly any makes it to the return chamber and if any, it's only fine detritus that looks like powder. The majority of waste will settle in the first chamber.

Thanks for the help!

No prob! I'll keep an eye out for this thread incase you run into micro-bubble trouble so we can sort it out. Many easy fixes for it

Here's a picture of my new sump to show you how the 3 baffles look together. This sump is only 20 inches long and no micro-bubbles at all!

 

[ronj]

i may use the prefilter w/ mine just in case

 

[Krish]

LOL...Look at my return and see...There's no dirt and never been cleaned See the elbow I was talking about on the pump as well? That is there incase the water level drops too much in the return chamber it will still operate in an inch of water. The elbow in this case isn't there for microbubbles even though it will help prevent it

 

[ronj]

that elbow does look like a good idea..i may do that on mine

 

[BJTenn]

Hey Krish,

How do you get away with no sand at all. I thought you would have some in your sump??? I'm getting ready to go bb just because I'm sick of fighting nitrates, but I thought I had to have the allmighty dsb somewhere!??

 

[ronj]

you don't have to have a sandbed at all..they are just a choice....you will have plenty of bacteria and critters with LR

 

[dmbfreek]

So I should just add some live rock and macro?

 

[ronj]

do you have live rock in your tank??? it won't hurt to add some rubble to your sump...also, chaeto is a good nitrate absorber to put in your sump..you will need a light for it.. you can run it opposite the lights on your tank..it will help stabilize your ph