Sump/fuge plans....will this work?

[Meche]

I'm not sure how you plan to accomplish what you have in mind from the picture you drew us. Not to say it won't work, I just can't figure it out.

Another way to do it would be to section off an area in the sump and have the overflow of the fuge drain into the inlet side of the sump. The fuge would be fed by a tee with ball valve from your return pump.

I just made a picture, but I can't post it at work

 

[ilektrik22]

yeah i'm not really sure about it either but i'm stubborn so I'm going to have to figure it out this weekend.


Another way to do it would be to section off an area in the sump and have the overflow of the fuge drain into the inlet side of the sump. The fuge would be fed by a tee with ball valve from your return pump.
I like that idea, i can't completely picture it so i'll wait till you post it.
thanks again Meche you've been a big help.

I've never built anything before but I know what I want and now it's just a matter of trying to figure out how to get it

 

[Meche]

Lets try this.

 

[Haole]

Or...

I think the second picture in this link looks similar to what you want to do.
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-04/gt/index.php

Only I’d suggest not making the partitions go all the way to the top.
Make the refugium partitions an inch or so higher that border the equipment and incoming water sections, but have it lower where it can spill over into the section where your return pump will be. Then do like Meche suggested. Tee off your return pump with a valve to feed water to the refugium section.

Why do you have to figure this out by the weekend? Do you already have the tank and stand? Take your time if you can, don’t rush into anything only to figure out later that you wished you did it differently.

 

[ilektrik22]

I've got the tank and stand and have been "planning" it for a few weeks now, and I'm impatient!!!!! i'm trying to be patient but its SO hard!!!!!!!

yeah that is pretty much what I was invisioning!

Meche The only thing is that it's suppose to be a display "fuge" so I really don't want to be looking at the sump, and I just got a Aqua C hand on skimmer for chrismas so I want that at the back,

Haole_ that's how i think i will do it

 

[Meche]

it's suppose to be a display "fuge"

OOO LALA a hybrid. I missed that.

Well you can rearange the boxes anyway you want, and make them any shape you want (ie stuff them along the back wall). Keep in mind all of the equiptment you have now and want to get later though. You will need room for it all.

 

[Haole]

Well... patience seems to be one of the hardest parts of our obsession/hobby.
Good luck to you and show us some pictures if you can!

 

[Meche]

Howabout this one?



The feature in the pink circle will keep the level of the display high and will allow you to run a lower level for your equipment (and room for flooding).

The feature in the green circle will allow the fuge to drain only into the return box. Actually, now that I think about it, this could (should?) be moved to the inlet side.

 

[Haole]

Just one little plea from years of experience with having one...
Is there any way to persuade you to get your tank drilled for bulkheads instead of using a siphon overflow? If I were you and knowing what I know now, I’d spend the money towards getting the tank drilled rather than spending it on a siphon overflow. One less thing to worry about all the time.

 

[ilektrik22]

Haole_

if only someone had told me all this BEFORE i got my tank I would prefer to drill it aswell, but then there's all the inhabitants...the display has been up and running for a few months and to dismantal it, and keep my fish/shrimps/ everything else alive scares me!
I found a used overflow for a decent price...and my new years resolution is to work on my boyfriend to allow me to get a 65 gallon ( need a bigger house first so it will fit...it's a bit of a step process ...and then I will get a drilled tank!

Meche_
that's IT!!!

-I'm going to keep the pink circle a few inches from the top of the tank (roughly 3g of "head space" as a just incase, really want ALL the water to remain in the tanks)

one question though,
-why should the green circle be on the into sump section, rather then the "back into the tank section"/return as in the picture? to me it makes more sence to go to the return section so some of the pods etc make it back up to the display.

I've been running sump/skimmerless for 4 months now and so far so good, so i don't want to over skimmer( can you over skim a tank? probably not)

going to look into those splitty ball thingys

thanks guys
you've both been a great help

 

[ilektrik22]

Haole
I just read a post you posted on another thread

how about just putting a hole and bulkhead in the new refugium tank near the top. Then have that tank propped up slightly higher than the main tank so it spills over into it. Then use a power head in the main tank to feed water to the refugium tank. Less holes to be drilled. I think a 1 inch bulkhead would be good enough. Just be sure to buy the bulkhead first so you know exactly what size hole needs to be drilled. You can put an elbow fitting and some length of pvc pipe on the inside part of the bulkhead in the refugium tank, so there’s a better chance of sucking up some of those pods to feed the main tank. You can put another couple of elbow fittings on the other side of the refugium bulkhead to redirect the spilling downward and across the water surface of the main tank so there’s less splashing. Just be sure it isn’t completely under the surface to create a siphon effect in the event of a power loss. You’re going to have to keep an eye on the water level in the main tank to be sure it isn’t too high so in the event of a power loss the water spilling in from the refugium tank doesn’t overflow the main tank also.

awsome idea, I'm going to see if there is anyway i can lift the "fuge/sump" higher then my main ( doubt it though since display is a 30g tall)

 

[angelfish]

hi ilektrik,
here's how i got mine worked out, and it's great. i don't ever have to worry about siphon break or sump overflow problem.
a surface skimmer connected to a pump will also do the job if you don't like the compartment

 

[Meche]

why should the green circle be on the into sump section, rather then the "back into the tank section"/return as in the picture? to me it makes more sence to go to the return section so some of the pods etc make it back up to the display.

I was just thinking about how close the inlet and overflow for the fuge were to each other. You make a valid point. I don't think it matters too much.

going to look into those splitty ball thingys

you don't mean bio-balls do you? I wouldn't use em. Unless you are talking about a ETSS (turbo type?) skimmer that uses them to make bubbles.

 

[ilektrik22]

lol, no, I really need to work on my descriptions, I was refering to the float valve( not what it's called) to redirect some of the inflow into the fuge rather then straight to the equipment section.

I don't think I'll be able to set up the gravity fed display, my display is way to tall and my sump/stand are a good 2 feet to short...hate the shorties

 

[Haole]

here's how i got mine worked out, and it's great. i don't ever have to worry about siphon break or sump overflow problem.
a surface skimmer connected to a pump will also do the job if you don't like the compartment

That’s a good setup angelfish, and it’s funny that you mention it because I was thinking about the skimmer box idea when I was writing up that description for that other thread but I didn’t want to complicate my description any more than it already was. If that person liked the idea, I was planning to suggest that as well.

I don't think I'll be able to set up the gravity fed display, my display is way to tall and my sump/stand are a good 2 feet to short...hate the shorties

Yeah, that’s kinda hard to pull off with stand alone tanks that are like furniture in our homes. When you go shopping for that valve, look for a “gate valve”. They are easier to adjust than ball valves so you can get the right amount of flow that you want going into that refugium. I’m glad to hear that you plan to get a drilled tank in the future... So will I. I’m also planning to do a sump/refugium too with a 20gal tank, but not as styling as yours is going to be.

This is how mine is laid out... (left to right)
Incoming water from display and protein skimmer compartment. Refugium section, and then return section.

 

[Meche]

Gate valve vs Ball valve

-Gate valves are very inefficient but are good at throttling or making fine adjustments.

-Ball valves are much more efficient but adjustment making is rather crude.

Have you figured which pump you are going to use? Just keep in mind that if you use a gate valve it will "eat" some flow.

 

[Haole]

I think she’s going to use a mag 3...

so I just got a remora hangon skimmer for christmas ( what a good boyfriend I have). I'm waiting on a 35 gallon tank and stand along with a cpr50 overflow( going to check it out tomorrow) and have ordered a mag3 pump(the pump will have to lift 1.5' up to display tank) and still need to pick up an aqualift ( was told that it has something to do with the suction, no idea why i need it though).

ilektrik, are you planning to use something like this on your return going back into the main display tank?
http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idproduct=FT0001

Correct me if I’m wrong anyone, but doesn’t a 90 degree bend create roughly 1ft of head pressure? So if there’s already roughly 2 ft of height from the sump to the top of the display tank (I bet it’s more) and then add in an additional 2-3/90 degree turns, that’s roughly 4-5 ft of head. According to the flow chart lower on this "Page" that’s about 210- 270 gph for a mag 3. This is still not including what’s going to be bled off into the refugium section. It might be worth getting a mag 5 for the return and using the mag 3 on the AquaC Remora skimmer. I’ve heard of people getting better performance out of these skimmers when they upgraded to a bigger pump, and that pump happens to be a mag 3.

 

[Meche]

Yeah, thats why I asked. I'm thinking she'll get about 200gph.

You may want to consider the Mag 7. If you use the mag3 for the skimmer you should match the flow of the skimmer to that of the sump. The mag3 on the skimmer will do about 350gph. The Mag 7 will give you about 450gph, 100gph which could go to the fuge and the rest back to the tank (therefore matching the 350gph of the skimmer).

 

[Haole]

She’ll also probably need a gate valve for the mag 3 on the skimmer to fine tune it.
Oh my, how this wish list is growing! :lol:

 

[Meche]

She’ll also probably need a gate valve for the mag 3 on the skimmer to fine tune it.
Oh my, how this wish list is growing!

Is that the only way to adjust thoes aqua c's?