Refugium / Sump Design Questions!!

[J McCauley]

I am in the process of converting a 55 gallon aquarium into a sump/refugium for a 125 gallon mixed reef tank. In it I expect to put (unless told otherwise) a EV180 AquaC skimmer run with a Mag 7 pump and (2) 250 Pro-Heat titanium heaters. There are (2) 1.5" over flows into the sump passing through a media compartment in the sump. The return pump will be a Iwaki MD70RLT. The water level in the sump is to be 8". I will baffle the water coming from the aquarium drains as well as the water coming out of the skimmer return. The baffles will be 3/4" apart and 12" in length (not sure if this is enough or to much?) The area I have for the water infont of the return pump will be 8" x 8" x 12" or roughly 3.5 gallons (will this be big enough?). The refugium will be 10 gallons in size and have the usual live items in it. Any and all comments will be helpful!!!

 

[NaH2O]

J - the one thing I have a comment on is the distance between baffles. On my sump I made sure that the distance between them was wide enough for my hand to get in, just in case something got stuck between them. It has already paid off. I've had my hands inbetween there several times. Also, I stick a siphon hose inbetween them to suck out detritus that collects, and have even used a powerhead.

 

[mojoreef]

Hi J. I got to agree with Nikki on the baffles, when you make them that close together you are going to create alot of speed with the water. When you do this you are going to have a hard time getting rid of the micro bubbles created by the skimmer and the drain water. I would look to make them at least 2 inches apart. I also think the pump is way to big for a sump of that size, again it will pull water to fast and give you problems with bubbles and with cavitation in that last compartment. For a sump of that size I would go with a something like a mag 9. Use the iwalkie to make a closed loop for flow instead.


Mike

 

[J McCauley]

THANKS for the quick responce...I would like to stay with external pump on the return, so would you then suggest I use a Iwaki MD55RLT or the 30MDRLXT? How many baffles do I need in order to do the job, three, four, five?

Should the skimmer return go straight into the area for return to the tank or go into the are of the baffles?

I will incorporate the change in distance between baffles and use the larger Iwaki for closed loop system useing (5) .75" returns.

Again THANKS

 

[NaH2O]

J - I wasn't sure if you have checked out these threads. If not, I hope they help you with your design:

Show Me Your Sump

Help with Sump/Refug Ideas

 

[mojoreef]

J and external pump is fine. To be honest you could run the mag external also, might save you a few dollars. If your plumbing doesnt have a bunch of bends going back into the tank the 30 should be fine. DO you have other flow options in the tank itself beyond the return??
On the baffles, in your case I would go with the following, starting from the water entry point: first baffle an under, then an over, then nothing until the last one and make it an over. So 3 in total.
On the skimmer you want to pull water from the first chamber and return it back to inbetween the 1st and second baffle

Oh just saw the plan for the closed loop so disregard the other flow question. Make sure you use double the inputs for the intake of the pump, it will reduce the suction worry and give you a back up incase one gets clogged.

Good luck


Mike