Sump/Refugium flow

[Kshack]

Need help designing flow in sump. Tank basics are:
250 gal with Calfo linear overflow in one end. (36 inch)
Approx 2,000 GPH through sump (Sequence Barracuda from basement)
Sump total size is 90 gal, but will have approx 50 gal of water. (48X24X17)
Fuge portion is 24X6X17 deep, but will have about 10 inches of actual water.
I can divert some of the sump water to flow around the refugium portion, but what should I be looking for optimum flow?
Sump is divided lengthwise to make a "U" shaped flow pattern
Flow goes something like this: Water enters left side, goes through two baffles and down back side, turns corner after two more baffles on right side and back right to left to return pump on left. Fuge is on far right section. I can drill the divider to direct some of the flow back to the left without going through the fuge section on the far right, but need to know how much water to bypass.

Also, what are your thoughts on filter socks. I will have two 1.5 inch drains with one split to feed a H&S A250X21260 protein skimmer.

Thanks,
Ken

 

[Anthony Calfo]

Cheers, Ken

Let me first say that I rarely recommend sump-integrated refugiums. They take up needed sump (buffer) space, they are usually too small to be effective... and they complicate plumbing a bit.

That said, working with what you have, I would not recommend diverting flow away from this refugium... most refugiums become cess pools for following the "recommended" slow flows touted for too long.

Instead... please see the refugium thread(s) in my sticky atop this forum ("Fav links...") where we discuss installing a small thin plate inside the top of the refugium just under the water surface to dump all incoming water onto to create a massive rolling pattern (allowing your macroalgae to tumble). This affords great diffused flow.

As for filter socks... only if you can swap them out every other day or nearly so. Else they are a dreadful contribution to escalting DO levels over time.

 

[DonW]

Anthony my sump has no baffles. Please let me know if this would work. I was concidering adding macro in a sort of basket. Having it be rotated sort of like a biowheel 14" x 14". Would it work and is this enough to do any thing for a 110g tank with 50g of sump water.

Thanks
Don

 

[Anthony Calfo]

can you post a pic here? I'm wondering where the skimmer is.... how the fuge is fed... overflows, etc.

 

[DonW]

can you post a pic here? I'm wondering where the skimmer is.... how the fuge is fed... overflows, etc.

Nothing to see. A 4ft tank, flows right to left. No baffles no dividers drain at one end return at the other. Skimmer can go anywhere in between. I was concidering making a basket with paddles driven by flow or even another pump. Rotating like a paddle wheel or biowheel.

Don

 

[Anthony Calfo]

open sumps are a severe handicap to skimmate production. Please see the skimmer production" and skimmer 101" threads in the sticky atop this forums called "Fav links..." (scroll down to the post for discussions with the alphabetical list... go to skimmers of course, and see these older/2005 threads by these names).

At bare minimum you will need to place your skimmer (or at least its feed pump) in a small bucket or vessel thgat stands taller than the running sump level. YTou can tap it with a bulkhead or simply let the sides overflow... and it must be small - not much bigger than the footprint of the sitting skimmer or feed pump. Then... ALL raw water from the overflow above must go into this skimmer first stage vessel. There cannot be any filter socks, bioballs or sponges between the overflow above and the skimmer feed below - only raw water.

As for the macros in a basket in the open sump... it's likely going to take a toll on the pump over time from fragments that slip/stray. It may even cause a clog or disaster when you are away (asleep, at work, vacation, et cetera).