My DIY sump/refugium plan

[Marty]

I'm planning on starting a DIY sump/refugium in a couple weeks. Here is what I have drawn up. I'd love to hear your comments and suggestions. Thanks!

[Froc3]

That's what i am running right now, but i wish i would have gone with putting my refugium and sump seperate. I am looking at making these changes, but i found that water was running through my refugium way too fast.

Evan.

[target001]

looks pretty sweet the only thing id question is the 2 baffles u have at the top of the live rock chamber i think doin it that way may create some extra noise that will drive u nuts apart from that what are there purpose?

IMO u dont need those 2 extra pieces of glass they will end up causin u sleepless nights and the setup will work just as well with out them
i just noted they have filter media on them i dont think thats gonna work for u cos the media will just fall off i think a filter sck will be yer best bet in the inlet chamber on the inlet pipe

[Marty]

Originally Posted by target001

looks pretty sweet the only thing id question is the 2 baffles u have at the top of the live rock chamber i think doin it that way may create some extra noise that will drive u nuts apart from that what are there purpose?

IMO u dont need those 2 extra pieces of glass they will end up causin u sleepless nights and the setup will work just as well with out them
i just noted they have filter media on them i dont think thats gonna work for u cos the media will just fall off i think a filter sck will be yer best bet in the inlet chamber on the inlet pipe

Thanks for the replies guys.

I did consider the media falling off, I designed each of those angled baffles with a little "L" shape so the media will rest on the tail of the "L". The benefit is I can see when the media is getting dirty and I can replace it. Another benefit is that there can't be any backups due to clogged media, the water will just flow over the filters. As far a noise, it's not an issue in this case, because my cabinetry closes and the tank isn't in my bedroom. I still may consider a filter bag though. Heck maybe both. lol

I can't wait to get started on it. I figure it will cost around $300 including the new skimmer. I'll post many photos when I get started. Probably three weeks to get started because my in-laws are coming to town.

[Frizza]

Just thought I'd point out a few things worth considering.
The first has to be your filtration platforms, in all honesty I dont really see the point in using it. If you want to run some media (like carbon or a phosphate remover) then I would recommend you getting a reactor, these are very cheap and will be far more effective. It may also help with your maintenance schedule as well.

The second point is your return chamber, personally I would make this as big as possible otherwise you will find that you will be constantly filling it up due to evaporation.

The chamber for your skimmer really only needs to be wide enough for a pump or two. You could even use a single pump that is T'd off with some valves incase you decide on a reactor.

A note on what Froc3 said is also important, what you could do is move your chambers in a different order. What this means is that your return pump can be T'd off to your refugium chamber, install a valve so you can regulate the flow, and the refugium will overflow back into the return chamber. The only thing with this is you will probably need a more powerful pump so you get enough turnover, or go for a smaller pump just for your refugium.

Keep us posted with your plans, it is a great project, I thoroughly enjoyed making mine and I went through many revisions before deciding on my final plan.

[Marty]

Originally Posted by Frizza

Just thought I'd point out a few things worth considering.
The first has to be your filtration platforms, in all honesty I dont really see the point in using it. If you want to run some media (like carbon or a phosphate remover) then I would recommend you getting a reactor, these are very cheap and will be far more effective. It may also help with your maintenance schedule as well.

The second point is your return chamber, personally I would make this as big as possible otherwise you will find that you will be constantly filling it up due to evaporation.

The chamber for your skimmer really only needs to be wide enough for a pump or two. You could even use a single pump that is T'd off with some valves incase you decide on a reactor.

A note on what Froc3 said is also important, what you could do is move your chambers in a different order. What this means is that your return pump can be T'd off to your refugium chamber, install a valve so you can regulate the flow, and the refugium will overflow back into the return chamber. The only thing with this is you will probably need a more powerful pump so you get enough turnover, or go for a smaller pump just for your refugium.

Keep us posted with your plans, it is a great project, I thoroughly enjoyed making mine and I went through many revisions before deciding on my final plan.

Awesome tips. This is my first attempt at this so these tips are great. I'll do a little research and maybe submit a new sketch. Thanks and karma all around!

[Frizza]

Yeah, have a think and throw a few ideas about and you will end up with a design that suits you. The more you think about how you want to run your tank you will find the design will keep changing, another thing to think about is when you do your water changes do you want to do this via your sump? If so then you want to install a drain valve of some description as well as nice way of adding your new water back in.
I for example dose Kalk in my tank, so I have made space for a container that sits over the return section with a valve to control the drip rate.

Don't get me wrong I don't think it needs to be complicated, in fact I prefer my system to be fairly simple that way not much goes wrong!! But, I have space constraints and my sump and all of my equipment has to fit into a cabinet so careful planning was required.

Lots to think about and it will be worth getting it right.

[Marty]

Originally Posted by Frizza

Yeah, have a think and throw a few ideas about and you will end up with a design that suits you. The more you think about how you want to run your tank you will find the design will keep changing, another thing to think about is when you do your water changes do you want to do this via your sump? If so then you want to install a drain valve of some description as well as nice way of adding your new water back in.
I for example dose Kalk in my tank, so I have made space for a container that sits over the return section with a valve to control the drip rate.

Don't get me wrong I don't think it needs to be complicated, in fact I prefer my system to be fairly simple that way not much goes wrong!! But, I have space constraints and my sump and all of my equipment has to fit into a cabinet so careful planning was required.

Lots to think about and it will be worth getting it right.

Exactly. That's the beauty of putting the diagram up. I am still a newbie to this hobby and before I spend the dough and make the commitment I'd rather bounce it off the folks that have been in my shoes. I'll revisit the diagram and see where I'm at. I appreciate the help.

[Marty]

Ok, I made some good changes to my diagram, ones I think make sense based on the input I've received thus far.

Here is the old plan...


Here is my modification. Let me know what y'all think. Thanks...

[target001]

looking better
but i think u will have to much water flow goin threw yer fuge area
what about something like this so u can adjust your water flow to the fuge


the red thing is a tap