Reef Discussion

[newbiereef]

looking at upgrading my sump currently 2.5 foot looking at 3 to 3.5 foot has any one got some easy designs . i made the last one from scratch and it dosent leak (bonus)
also would you go glass or acrylic.
plan is 3 sections 1st live rock etc 2nd weed 3rd return to tank skimmer

 

[NiCd]

you are best off going skimmer first so you can remove the waste before it has a chance to break down, then fuge, then return. acrylic is very pricey in australia, for a sump you are best off getting it done out of glass as its 1/10th of the cost

 

[newbiereef]

so skim then lve rock rubble then fuge then return? hmm now i am gonna need some designs help people. i have a berlin red sea skimmer diablo 3000 lph pump and my return pump is a laguna 6500 lph

;)

 

[NiCd]

you can have the LR rubble and the fuge (macro) in the same section as LR ruble without predators is a fuge.

 

[newbiereef]

mmm can any one post a pic ofthere sumps for me to have a sticky at thaks

 

[192k]

http://www.melevsreef.com/allmysumps.html

I think this is one of the best sites with sump construction and ideas.

He shows many designs on the left hand side :)

My current sump is very simple , a 3ft tank divided in two. Just one baffle :)

 

[NiCd]

Melevs reef has some awesome designs, most are in acrylic but with a few changes they work in glass.

Ive only got a simple two compartment sump as well and my design is more about making the most of the tiny space but have a look and see if it gives you any ideas

http://www.thereefuge.com/threads/nicds-starphire-cube.1501/#post-17733

the Red sea berlin skimmer range from an airlift one which is like 2" round up to big boys that take up over a foot, if you can give us more information we can work out some dimesions for you, but quiet frankly unless your skimmer is wider id suggest going three equal sections of 30cm divided by baffels. This will allow for most skimmer, most return pumps and give you a decent sized fuge.

 

[MTG]

my sump has only two chambers to. skimmer. carbon reactor then to the return pump. keeping things simple has always worked to best for me

 

[Joshwaaaa]

This is my basic 3ft, 3 section sump I put together, still haven't had it running yet but should do the job just fine.

I designed it to just fit my return pump on the right and just fit my skimmer, heaters and siphon pipes on the left, to give me the largest DSB/fuge as possible

 

[newbiereef]

looks like what i was planing 3 sections 1st section coral rubble sand and fuge 2nd section more fuge 3rd skim and return still playing with design

 

[192k]

There are many schools of thought when it comes to sumps.

Here is how I would do a simple 3 section sump.

Most of the time, it is good to have the skimmer in the first section of the sump. It processes the majority of the water that enters the sump.

The second chamber is used to for sand or macro or anything you choose. If the fuge is used for nutrient export with the use of macro algaes, it needs to be at least 10% of the total system volume.

If the skimmer is placed after the fuge, the number of pods that could make their way into the display is significantly reduced. They would essentially be, skimmed out.

I understand that the pods will come into contact with the return pump also, but this is less harmful to them.

Also take into consideration the amount of water that will flow down into the sump with a power outage.

:)

 

[MagicJ]

looks like what i was planing 3 sections 1st section coral rubble sand and fuge 2nd section more fuge 3rd skim and return still playing with design

As mentioned above, you don't want your skimmer and return pump in the same section (third partition) for two reasons:

• greater liklihood of getting micro bubbles from the skimmer outlet ending up in the display tank.
• you want to get the water into the skimmer as soon as possible before the waste products have a chance to break down

So

First Section - inlet from weir + skimmer​

Second Section - Whatever you like, fuge, heaters etc​

Third Section - return pump​

 

[Jarryd]

When setting up a 3 part sump, are you better off having the water from your first section (with the skimmer) flow over into the second section (refuge) then have the water flow to the bottom corner over the rock then back up and over into your third section? Or just flow straight over the top of your refuge?

 

[Jarryd]

Thought i'd quickly sketch this up so you know what i meant

 

[192k]

Jarryd,

For simplicity sake, just picture the flow going from 3 to 2 to 1.

The bubble trap on the right can be substituted for a single piece of glass. The two outside pieces aren't required. This middle piece would be around 1cm less than the ideal running height of your protein skimmer.

The second chamber would be your fuge/DSB/whatever.

Then a bubble trap is placed at the end of the second chamber before the return.

Most microbubbles will be absorbed by the fuge, the remaining will be trapped :)

 

[Jarryd]

Roger that.

My reasoning behind the flow question was that we talk about dead spots in the display tank, would it not be the same for the fuge? Or will the flow from the return be enough because its over a small space that it will be fine?

Does it matter if the surface is covered in macroalgae and hardly any light gets to the live rock/rubble underneath it?

 

[newbiereef]

Thought i'd quickly sketch this up so you know what i meant
View attachment 1781

this was what i had planed with the same 3 piece flow, setup my reasoning was to "slow the flow down through the sump" more time incontact with filter stuff (fuge etc)

 

[192k]

Generally there will be dead spots in your sump. Normally detritus collects in these areas and is syphoned out during water changes. In general we push 3-5 times the display volume through the sump.

If you are using macro purely for nutrient export and it is growing enough to fully occupy the space, it is doing its job. As long as the overall flow isn't impeded, it should be fine.
It should be harvested regularly also.

There are a few types of macro available, some floating types entirely .

There are also many schools of thought about combining live rock rubble and the likes in the macro section. I always believe in simplicity though, and it has worked for me :)