Sump Build

J

Jordan8008

New Member
ok so after doing this sump build I learned a few things...1. working with silicone and plexi glass is not that hard 2. that one tube of silicone is more then enough for a 10g....why did I buy 3...and 3. getting a professional bead of silicone is next to impossible when it's your first time LOL....Ok so now that the sump has been built the next thing I need to think about is the return pump, most sumps I see people use a mag drive pump, which is fine but I have no idea what size Id need...which is to say that I don't know what kinda GPH Id be looking for. Any ideas on this one??

Ok so let me try to explain my madness here, my sump design is based on having a slow water flow through the fuge, but at the same time having a faster water flow through the skimmer and other filter media. So on the right side of the tank is the fuge and on the left is a chamber for a skimmer and whatever else I can use as media.. each chamber drains via baffels into the center of the tank where the return pump will be...the two boxes that you see on either side of the tank, are inlet housings where I plan on running the intake over sponges and some milk crate as a bubble trap. The return pipe is going to be branched off using a T and a ballvalve into the fuge (the right side)....the balvalve only open just a touch, which will give me the slow flow I am looking for in the fuge. and ovecourse the bulk of the main line will be run into the left side with the other media...thus having a quicker waterflow......here are a few pics....





Sorry about the pic quality but it's kinda hard to get a descriptive pic of something that is completely clear LOL....Well let me know what you think

thanks

Jordan


PS: one more thing...I see professional sumps..such as the one made by All Glass use Bio Balls in one chamber....just wondering what the pros think on this one...I have heard that they can be little Nitrate bombs but I wisent to sure because if there not I wouldn't mind using them in me left chamber
 
TimSchmidt

TimSchmidt

New Member
Use LR rubble instead. JMO. Bio balls are indeed Nitrate bombs. Nice looking sump. I will be building a sump out of a 10g in a couple of weeks myself. I will be using a RIO1300 for my return pump. With 3 foot of vertical pvc and one 90degree turn I should be about 230 GPH. I will have a T intersection about 4 inches above the top of the sump with one section going diretcly up to my tank and the other going back to the refuge area. Ball valves will be on both lines so I can dial down the GPH without stressing the RIO. I hope my idea will help you choose a pump. I say if in doubt go for a bit stronger and plan a design similiar to mine so you don't stress the pump. HTH.

Tim
 
J

Jordan8008

New Member
Ok sounds good becuase i guess either way i can dial down the GPH in the in the fuge via the ball valve and as long as my skimmer can keep up a bigger pump will do no harm.....thanks Tim

Jordan
 
R

reefman23

New Member
Looks good but two things:

1: Be careful about having too Little flow through the fuge...think about what kinda algaes grow at low flow (i.e. cyano or red slime).

2: That is a TINY return area... make sure you have an automatic top-off to keep the pump from running dry and burning up.

A tip that i could give is to have your return line.... the line coming from the pump in the fuge to the tank...be twice the diameter of the outlet on the pump. for example, if the pump has a 1/2" outlet, use 1" PVC for your return... this will decrease head loss and give you better flow from the pump.

Looks good though.

Jesse

p.s. Here is a good head loss calculator... http://www.reefcentral.com/calc/hlc2.php
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top