corrosionjerry Posted February 1, 2011 Report Share Posted February 1, 2011 (edited) Ok / I posted this on the Canreef forum however i have not recieved any decent answers.... so I thought I would try over here the tank i am going to use for the sump in 48x20x14 about 60G the tank above is a 75G 48X18x20 How should I divide up the sump? I plan on having three sections maybe four if I include a bubble trap.. I plan on having a protein skimmer in the drain line section ,a refugium in the centre / then a buble trap if nessesary and then the clean water return section... how big should these be and the height of each section? Also what size of return pump should I be using for a 4ft return / on the other forum someone said if I used the 800GPH pump that I would be moving to much water in the sump creating a tsunami in the refugium... and that I should use something smaller and creat the extra flow needed for corals via the use of PH's... What do you guys think? Edited February 2, 2011 by corrosionjerry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted February 1, 2011 Report Share Posted February 1, 2011 The first section only needs to be big enough to hold your mechanical filtration. Since nitrates are not wanted at all in SW, I'd go with filter socks. A 6" section should be fine. I'd just use one piece of glass (let the water run over it into the fuge) The section with the pump is where your evaporation is realized, so it's a good idea to have that section as large as possible... unless you're running an Auto Top Off. If your RO unit will be close to your tank, you could have an ATO, and not worry about evaporation. Then I'd just make that section big enough for your pump and skimmer. If you're not running an ATO, I'd probably make the refugium 18-20", following by 4" of over-under-over partitions (I find that 2" between partitions is enough for flow - it's tight getting the silicon in, but it's doable), then your pump section. If you have a big pump, you could use it for a closed loop. That's basically just having water leave the tank, go thru the pump, then back to the tank - no filtration, no sump, etc. Hope that helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corrosionjerry Posted February 2, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2011 (edited) Thanks for the ideas... I am definetly going with the sump... anyone have any idea what size of return pump I should go with... thinking maybe something like 300-400GPH / Also what brand should I be looking at... Edited February 2, 2011 by corrosionjerry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkoD Posted February 7, 2011 Report Share Posted February 7, 2011 for my new 120 gallon im setting up with a 40 gallon sump, im gonna be using 1900GPH pump (what came with the setup) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cale262 Posted February 7, 2011 Report Share Posted February 7, 2011 The first thing I'd ask is which skimmer are you using? You want your skimmer chamber water too remain at a constant height, water depth based on the skimmers requirements (8-10”s?)… At 48”s long, I don’t think I’d worry too much about the bubble trap. ATO is a must IMHO...flow requirement for you return pump...Not so important and there are several different schools of thought depending on how you set up your returns, I personally run mine at 10xDT volume, allot of others match their flow to their skimmers GPH capacity...so many different opions out there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cale262 Posted February 7, 2011 Report Share Posted February 7, 2011 Pump brand names...ehiem is always popular, I run all Danners, RedDragons if you got the extra $$$ ($800ish).. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chopperman Posted February 8, 2011 Report Share Posted February 8, 2011 Have you checked out melevsreef.com theres some good sump designs there and a wealth of info. Adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corrosionjerry Posted February 15, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2011 Pump brand names...ehiem is always popular, I run all Danners, RedDragons if you got the extra $$$ ($800ish).. I purchased a vertex in sump skimmer rated for 100G / yes an ato... I need to do something with that for sure... I see some online run from a tuperware to the sump that apear to be adequate... will need to do some research / any suggestions? How big of an RO holding container would be good for a couple of weeks of topping off? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted February 15, 2011 Report Share Posted February 15, 2011 If you aren't going to cover your sump, you could lose 20gal/wk... I've got a trickle system (one 33 trickles into another, then into a sump) with all open-top tanks, and that's how much I lose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corrosionjerry Posted February 15, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2011 that is considerable / is there any problems with covering the sump? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted February 15, 2011 Report Share Posted February 15, 2011 I can't see any problems. You'll get plenty of aeration from the skimmer and water going from the overflow to the sump. My set-up is quite open. Normally, you'd have a canopy on your top tank, which would cut down on evaporation, and the sump would be in a cabinet, cutting down again - mine's all in open shelving... I guess the example I gave was a bit extreme. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corrosionjerry Posted February 15, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2011 No your example isnt extreme .... my sump and tank are totally open / the main tank is open for direct light that will be coming from 5-54W vho lighting for reef setup and the sump is below , open as well because it is on shelving.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted February 15, 2011 Report Share Posted February 15, 2011 I have a few 10g pails, if you want to use one. They have screw-on lids, too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corrosionjerry Posted February 15, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2011 Think I am going to monitor the water evaporation for a month or two / then come up with what I will need for a top off tank to do the job for two weeks...or use a 30 gallon or 20 gallon tank for the intrum until I see what the evaporation rate is... the good thing is that there is probably more evaporation this time of the year when it is dry and the furnace is going off and on.... should test the limits Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leon71 Posted March 2, 2011 Report Share Posted March 2, 2011 Not to hijack the thread, but where do you get 10 gal pails with screw on lids? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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