plans for my sump refugium

[wpitrof]

i have a 75 gallon acrylic tank i plan to turn in to a sump. the tank is 48x18x22
this is the plan i want to use.

first will this work?
how deep should the water be?
whats the best way to transition from the refugium to the return?
is threre any other issues i need to solve?

thanks wayne

 

[wpitrof]

this is going to suport my 125g reef

 

[wpitrof]

is this a sound plan. will it work?

 

[BrianB]

That will work fine. I would lose the ball valve for flow control into the fuge and just route out a large oval or drill several large holes and use a piece of scrap acrylic to slide up and down for flow control. Drill and tap a hole for a 1/4 nylon screw below the holes and your in business. As far as returning water from the fuge to the sump, I would drill a hole for 1 1/2 or 1 1/4 conduit male and femal fittings and drop the water back into the skimmer section to keep bubbles out of the pump return. Another consideration is the baffle height in the skimmer area. The taller they are the less back flood space you have.

 

[wpitrof]

how tall should the baffles be? what do you mean by back flood space?

 

[BrianB]

Back flooding is simply the amount of water that drains down from the tank should it be shut down (power outage). It is important to know aprox how much water will fill the sump without the return pump running to avoid flooding.

As far as the baffles go, the taller you make them, the more water (higher water level) you will have to run in the sump to keep the return from sucking air. I like to make the baffles 5 - 7" max on the floor of the sump and the divider wall between the baffles 2" up and 12" tall.

 

[wpitrof]

got it thanks im looking to start this weekend

 

[The R/C Man]

It may be to late but why make the refugium on the side? For less water flow? If you where to use the center area you will almost double the fuge space. (more plants = more nutrient export)