All about Sumps Filters and Fuges

ok, this is the advice im looking for.
im not new to keeping scaly things, but i always had fresh, still have
2 tanks in the kids rooms (yea, theyre into it too)
just new to marine

i got the skimmer from my lfs, im an electrician and do
barter work at 2 stores, i took it cuz its what he had that day
i've gotten pretty good with it, just gotta watch the salt buildup
where the air line connects at the powerhead, other wise, i get
a good 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup of crap every day, im using the vodka method
water is great, tank is always clean and clear

only reason im going to the sump is i want a nicer light setup
and the salt creep from all 2 filters and skimmer is just too much work
figured less splash would be less creep

thanks for your advice, im taking it all in right now,
and the center return has been in the top 3 designs so far

thanks

 

There are plenty of ways to skin a cat, but there is one way that has the least drawbacks. Your way with skimmer last is OK. You just need to know what you are giving up. No flow control... too much water moving through, skimming pods out...ect.

The point is splitting the drain is no big deal and then you don't have any draw backs. Fuge run the way a fuge should run... skimmer and fuge fed dirty tank water. Pods and clean water get sent to the display tank.

If I had to have one all in line I would have the skimmer first. Do a little extra flow... not everything would get cleaned from the water... fuge still gets fed something and pods still make it to the display tank. Only one bubble trap needed.

 

thanks powerman.
i have seen the light, and will be going the way of the 2 drains, center fuge
i will be building the set up so the extra bubble trap will not be a problem,
just a couple more cuts and silycone

another question, is it ok to use plexiglass for the bubble traps and such?
i got a piece of 7/16" sitting in the garage that would be perfect, i just keep reading
about acrylic. would it be ok?

 

Plastic and glass do not bond well with silicone. Some people have had no problems, some people have had to tear everything out and do it all over. Just depends. I would use glass.

Be sure to get the top edges of the glass dressed so they don't cut into cords. You don't need all edges, just the top ones. You don't really need a bubble trap from the fuge. Depends how you have the flow going in. I just had a pane of glass, no bubble trap.

To split your drain, you need the to tee off the bottom of a horizontal run. So drain comes down send it over to the skimmer, tee off so flow to fuge fills with water. If you tee off a vertical run you will just get air and water. You want all water going to the fuge so you can control it with a valve.

 

gotcha, glass it is

 

Powerman,

If the fuge is remote is there a need for bubble traps going into it or out of it? What about the fuge drain line going into the return pump section- should there be a bubble trap between that line and the return pump?

 

if i went by way of a seperate fuge, a totaly different, say 10 gal tank, how would i drain it into the sump to return it? or would i have to have a seperate pump and sump?
so many options for this.
im bidding on a 25 gal acrylic on ebay now, we'll see what happens

 

The separate fuge needs an overflow to drain into the sump. It also needs it's own return pump unless it's gravity fed from the DT. You can tie the fuge into the existing sump.

 

If it's gravity fed from the DT can it drain into the return pump section of the sump via bulkheads/pvc installed high on the side of the fuge tank using no pump assuming the remote fuge and sump are side by side?

 

The fuge would have to be higher than the sump and lower than the DT. I'm pretty sure only the level of fuge drain needs to be higher, not the entire fuge.