20 Gallon Sump build

Howdy all! I posted a while back regarding which over the back protein skimmer I should use. Thank you very much to all who replied - however, I've decided to go the sump route.

I currently have a 30 gallon tank - I'm going small and learning the ropes as I'm new to the saltwater hobby. I decided I'm going to build a sump out of a 20 gallon long, as this will give me more flexibility, and allow me to use larger equipment as I plan to expand to a 75 gallon once I'm comfortable keeping my 30 gallon stable. I plan to stock it lightly with some corals, hopefully with success. My BTA is still doing well, and I have some Xenia, Rhodactis mushrooms, etc. and all seem to be doing well. I purchased a head of about 40 Zoanthid polyps yesterday, and so far they seem to be hiding - hopefully they open up soon. I figure they're still getting used to the new tank - anybody else experience this?

This is what I plan to do:

One sheet of glass, 12 inches long, secured to the top at the end of the tank, with a bulkhead fitting for the flow into the sump.
Underneath this, I will have another slide out glass piece with a fitting for a berlin sock, to provide the initial mechanical filtration. I will install 2 6" high baffles, to control water height, at equal lengths, to provide a chamber for the protein skimmer, which will then overflow into the final chamber for the return pump.

I will be using a Marineland Maxi-Jet 1800 for a return pump. For the protein skimmer, I chose one rated for 120 gallons (needle wheel), built locally, which my LFS has been using with success for several display tanks at the shop. It's easy to adjust and maintain, and looks like it pulls quite a lot of gunk at the shop.

I think I will keep a bag of Phos-zorb in the sump, and perhaps a bag of Nitra-zorb as well. Heater will also stay in the sump to keep it out of the way.

If anyone has some comments, or suggestions, I would appreciate it - hopefully I'm thinking along the proper lines here.

 

Greetings. What kind of GPH do you have going into the sump? If it a 300GPH overflow, which would do nicely for the set up you have, the maxijet 1800 would work. You may have to put a ball valve on it to dial it down a bit though. Also, IMO, a Mag 5 would be a better pump quality wise. Instead of 474GPH it is 500GPH. It is close. A ball valve would most likely be needed on that as well.

I run filter socks as well. For a time there, I did not. Refused to. Then I found that for my setup, they really did help. Now I have one on my drain into my sump and my output for my skimmer. Just change them out twice per week, otherwise they become nitrate factories. You can put your media in the socks and you will get some action. Not as good as something that forces the water through them rather than around them, but it is better than nothing.

 

Overflow

Not sure what kind of overflow I plan to get. I was planning to head off to the store later this week to pick one out after I get the glass panes attached with the silicon, leak tested, etc. The price was right on the MaxiJet ($35 new) so I picked it up.

Rather than using a ball valve on the pump, could I use a reduction on the overflow into the sump at the bulkhead, from 1" to 3/4"?

When you say change the socks - twice per week - the socks are $8 each - must they be changed twice each week?

Z

 

What kind of overflow would be recommended? I don't want something that will lose siphon if the power goes out and the return pump stops, even though I have everything on battery backup. I also don't want to have the return pump overflow the main tank if the power comes back on and the siphon is lost. Power sucks in my area in Florida, especially during the rainy season, so power outages are a large concern.

I also don't want to pay $100 for an overflow - advice appreciated

 

Well, I got my sump online today. I ended up getting a good overflow built locally for $40 bucks, rated at around 300 gallons per hour. I have it set up with about 20 pounds of live rock in the first chamber, where the inflow of water + berlin sock is located. Inside the sock I place a largish bag of Phos-zorb to take care of my phosphate problem. I have a skimmer rated for a 120 gallon tank in the second chamber - hopefully, it starts to pick up the gunk in the next week or so once it breaks in In the final overflow chamber I have a bag of purigen to remove any additional organics that would otherwise break down, plus a bag of Marineland carbon.

To take care of my KH problem when I filled my sump I used roughly 8 gallons of RO-DI water. I also added "Ions" by Seachem to boost my MG levels. I'll continue to monitor my water throughout the week, and do another water change next weekened with RO-DI water - eventually my levels will stablize. I'll post pics soon.

 

I decided to do away with the filter sock today - at least for now.

My overflow box has a sponge that will filter out the larger particulates before it goes down the standpipe. However, the 100 micron sock got EXTREMELY dirty in 1 week. My skimmer started to break in throughout the week, but only started pulling slightly green water. Today, after just a few hours after removing the sock, it started foaming more, and pulling some brown gunk from the water as soon as I took away the sock.

My logic is that changing socks every 2 days is an additional p.i.t.a, and a potential nitrate factory. Let the sponge on the standpipe pull the larger particulates, clean it every day, and let the protein skimmer pull the rest and collect before it can break down and add to my NO3 level?

Thoughts?

 

You are right about the sponge collecting a lot of gunk, they do. But the socks filter out soooooo much more. If you do run them, you can change them out twice weekly. That is OK. But once weekly is not enough IMO. Some people say that nobody should run socks on a reef tank. I run two socks. My tank is doing fine. Many ways of doing things.

 

John - what micron sock do you use?

I just thought it interesting that my skimmer perked up as soon as I removed the sock. I've heard many different opinions and I'm still trying to get my head around all the options

I meant to swap the sock out earlier in the week, as once a week definitely would be nowhere near adequate. I finally managed to get over to the store to purchase the second sock, and after speaking with the guy there who runs 700+ gallons of SPS frag tanks, to try sockless. After a few hours, instead of hauling mildly green water from the tank, it was pulling brown skimmate. It looks like that the 100 micron sock was pulling so much that the skimmer had hardly anything to work with.

It seems to me with the skimmer, the waste is pulled from the water, and won't break down - however, leaving the sock in the water with the waste, wouldn't that start to break down to NO3 in a short amount of time, even with biweekly sock changes?