I built a sump / refugium from a 29 gallon fish tank and would like your imput. It is divided into three sections. First one for the skimmer, middle one for the display return pump, and the third for the refugium. I plan to use 1 inch pvc pipe from the display down to the sump. I will have a tee in it and also a gate valve to regulate flow to both the skimmer section and the refugium section. The retun will be 3/4 inch back up to display tank. Do i need to drill a couple of hole in the return line just under the water level to prevent a flood when the power goes out. Also i plan to place live rock and crushed coral in the refugium with maybe marco. Is it a good setup this way or should I change the middle and third section around . Looking for ideas. Hopefully want to setup tomorrow. thanks for any help
Requesting your ideas on this sump
- Thread starter clownman
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jrgilles
Well-known member
Sounds like a good setup to me. I would leave the sections as they are with the split feeds (for skimmer and refugium section.)
You WILL want to drill a hole on the retun inside the tank as a syphon break incase of a power outage. It should be placed so that when you shut off the return and the water flows into the sump, it doesn't overfill it.
How are you doing bubble walls? For that setup I'd maybe do 2 or 3 baffles between the skimmer and return section, then a single baffle with some 'teeth' for the fuge section to keep the algae in.
When I tried to get all three sections in my sump, I realized there wasn't enough room and moved the fuge to a separate tank. Hopefully it works out for you though. Baffles take up a bit of space, depending on thickness and spacing of them.
While you are plumbing it, here is an idea for the return line.
I put a 4 way splitter in the return line. From that splitter:
DOWN: connects to return pump
UP: Goes to tank
LEFT: goes to a ball valve and a 3/4" hose barb. I use this valve to do water changes using the return pump (very fast and way easier than syphoning)
RIGHT: ball valve-short 3/4"pipe-90-3/4" pipe that goes back to the return section. This lets me throttle down the return volume without putting head pressure on the pump (circular flow in and out of the return section)
Not sure if the RIGHT part was needed, I do use it to raise the volume in my sump though for water changes
The LEFT which leads to a drain line is awesome though. You could put that in with just a TEE if you didn't want the RIGHT circular flow option.
Anyway, as long as you can fit everything in there and are happy with the size of the chambers (and have enough room for your skimmer), your plan sounds great
You WILL want to drill a hole on the retun inside the tank as a syphon break incase of a power outage. It should be placed so that when you shut off the return and the water flows into the sump, it doesn't overfill it.
How are you doing bubble walls? For that setup I'd maybe do 2 or 3 baffles between the skimmer and return section, then a single baffle with some 'teeth' for the fuge section to keep the algae in.
When I tried to get all three sections in my sump, I realized there wasn't enough room and moved the fuge to a separate tank. Hopefully it works out for you though. Baffles take up a bit of space, depending on thickness and spacing of them.
While you are plumbing it, here is an idea for the return line.
I put a 4 way splitter in the return line. From that splitter:
DOWN: connects to return pump
UP: Goes to tank
LEFT: goes to a ball valve and a 3/4" hose barb. I use this valve to do water changes using the return pump (very fast and way easier than syphoning)
RIGHT: ball valve-short 3/4"pipe-90-3/4" pipe that goes back to the return section. This lets me throttle down the return volume without putting head pressure on the pump (circular flow in and out of the return section)
Not sure if the RIGHT part was needed, I do use it to raise the volume in my sump though for water changes
The LEFT which leads to a drain line is awesome though. You could put that in with just a TEE if you didn't want the RIGHT circular flow option.
Anyway, as long as you can fit everything in there and are happy with the size of the chambers (and have enough room for your skimmer), your plan sounds great
jrgilles
Well-known member
Oh, and when you do your plumbing, don't be shy on putting in unions incase you want to change out parts of it.
Might want to research a 'herbie' drain also. It takes 2 drains on the display tank, but you can run it completely silent without having to try to add in stand pipes, etc. Many people on here highly recommend this style drain. To do it, you just put a gate valve (or ball, but gate is better) on the main drain line (which you already have in your plan). You dial the drain down until you are running a full syphon with no air in it. Totally silent. If something gets into the drain line or there is any blockage, doing this can overflow your system. That is why you have to have a second drain as a 'safety.' It only activates if there is a problem with the main drain, or you can keep it running with a very small volume if you want it for skimming action. Anyway, worth some thought while you are setting up plumbing.
Can also go single drain and put on a durso or stockman standpipe to deal with the flushing and water sounds if it is a problem. No experience with these though.
Might want to research a 'herbie' drain also. It takes 2 drains on the display tank, but you can run it completely silent without having to try to add in stand pipes, etc. Many people on here highly recommend this style drain. To do it, you just put a gate valve (or ball, but gate is better) on the main drain line (which you already have in your plan). You dial the drain down until you are running a full syphon with no air in it. Totally silent. If something gets into the drain line or there is any blockage, doing this can overflow your system. That is why you have to have a second drain as a 'safety.' It only activates if there is a problem with the main drain, or you can keep it running with a very small volume if you want it for skimming action. Anyway, worth some thought while you are setting up plumbing.
Can also go single drain and put on a durso or stockman standpipe to deal with the flushing and water sounds if it is a problem. No experience with these though.
jrgilles
Well-known member
welcome to RF 
Thanks for the imput and I will use it all. Hopefully by the end of the weekend I will have everything up and running. I do have a bubble baffle between the skimmer and return section with spacing 1 inch apart and have tested each section with no leaks. First thing in the morning i will be reading all of this again and going to buy the fittings and items needed.
I really enjoy asking people for imput and I hope this site is friendly in that way because some forums expect you to be an expert and I am not. I feel we all have thing to learn and the more questions asked the more knowledge gained. thanks
Krish
RF STAFF
Welcome to RF!! :welcome: I agree with what was already suggested in leaving the sump layout as is. For me, I'd probably skip the liverock and crushed corals in the fuge section and just use a macro algae, but that is just a personal preference of mine to avoid the extra maintenance the sump may need from waste getting trapped in the crushed corals. Nonetheless, many people do use sand and rock in their sumps with success so you should be fine. Good luck with it and post up some pictures!!.
Krish
RF STAFF
No worreis man...Just ask your questions away here. You will find out that this is probably the nicest group of people you will meet on any forum who genuinely love to help others out.
Krish
RF STAFF
Oh, almost forgot. Similar thread to yours started earlier this week you might like to browse through. Some good info in there.
http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/f14/best-sump-layout-59524/
http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/f14/best-sump-layout-59524/
jrgilles
Well-known member
good luck with your plumbing! Let us know if you have any questions along the way
