Building my own Refuguim/sump and could use some feedback

I have recently picked up a 55 gal tank for my sump/refugium system and would like to venture into the DIY realm in building a sump/refugium system.

I am putting this system in a different area of my basement, an unfinished space about 4' away from my main tank. This makes it easier to get at the parts I need to as well as making water changes etc. much much easier. I have other pets, and this will be sitting relatively low, so I need to cover the system to keep little paws and noses out.

Here is a link with my plans. I think it's pretty straight forward but I have a few questions and am hoping I can get some answers from the collective brains here.

1. My tank is tempered glass, so no drilling. What would be the best way to get water from my return space to a return pump? I was thinking flexible vinyl tubing to allow me to move the protein skimmer as well as the pump, without having to deal with rigid pipes.

2. Anyone with some recommendation to control the splashing of water coming into the supply area? I will be running 1 1/4" PVC from the main tank to the sump. So there will be a lot of volume going through. I was thinking of using flexible vinyl tubing to go from the down pipe to some type of hole in a piece of acrylic but how would I mount this. I need to be able to remove the top etc. to get in.

3. Is 2" gap on the bottom too large a gap, or is the volume coming in and returning going to drive the flow through this and the gap is sufficient?

Any feedback you have is greatly appreciated. Please be critical as this is my first tank and the initial efforts I made at filtration were so far off the mark it's laughable. That's what I get for solely relying on my LFS. I left with $400 of **** that I can't really use. I need to do this right to prevent what I've been dealing with for the past 7 weeks.


p.s. One thing I noticed in my drawing is that I neglected to include the heater. That will be in the lower part of the left side of the tank. Heating the water before it is sent to the refugium and being sent back to the main tank.

 

Everything is good but use a filter sock insrede of carbon, and the bio-rings will trap detritus and EVENUALY crash your tank.

 

I can see you have put a lot of research and thought into this, so kudos for your hard work so far!

Since you are making your own sump, here is how I would do it:

Don't use the wet/dry filter at all. Get rid of all ceramic media. With a good skimmer, 'fuge, and running carbon, they won't be of any help longterm, and may actually cause problems if not maintained.

You can certainly use flexible drain tubing/hoses; it is what I use. I have an overflow box, which drains via the hoses, which are run down about 4-6" under the surface of the water to prevent splashing (salt creep) and noise.

However, I would actually run two lines, one to the left side of the sump, and one to the right. Have one side be your skimmer & equipment compartment. The other side your 'fuge. The middle the return pump. You would want to make the 'fuge the largest compartment, return pump the smallest or same as skimmer.

I don't know where you were thinking of putting the return pump, although re-reading your post, it seems you were going to do an external pump? Just get a submersible pump and put it in one of the compartments as I described. You would use either rigid PVC or polyethylene tubing for plumbing (most use PVC). You need the skimmer to be in a separate compartment, as the height of water in the return pump compartment will vary due to evaporation. I highly recommend getting an auto top-off (ATO). The float would be placed in the return pump compartment. Search on this site for plenty of ATO ideas.

Finally, the advantage to having dual drain lines (one to each side) is that this way you can vary the flow to each compartment. The 'fuge would get less flow than the skimmer side. The best/easiest way to accomplish this is by running one drain line from your tank, then tee'ing off and run one line to the skimmer and one to the 'fuge. Use a ball valve only on the 'fuge side to control flow to that section. Do not use a ball valve on the other skimmer line as you want one side to always be able to handle 100% of the drained water in case the line with the ball valve was partially plugged (by a snail, etc).

Hopefully all of this makes sense! Feel free to ask any more questions

 

X2, no point at all in a wet/dry. None.

Return in the middle.

Now I used to be pretty adamant about return in the middle. But over time, seems most systems will do well regardless of the setup as long as the owner takes good care of it. Return middle, skimmer before or after fuge "probably" does not matter that much... HOWEVER, since you do have to build it some way, might as well build it the best in theory on paper, with the ability to control flow through fuge.... so return in the middle.

 

Sounds like a great blue print. That being said, just make sure your flow rate is reasonably slow in the refugium and that ur skimmer containers water remains constant. The return chamber is where you will notice any evaporation and where you will top off so make sure it is a decent size. With dual bubble traps you and a good delivery system to the sump you shou,t have to worry about splashes. Depending on ur dt tank size depends how much water you want to move thru the refugium/sump per hour. Hope fhis helps

 

Ps i use a one inch gap under the partition and have no bubble issues... just a thought, as ur flow rate may need a larger gap and perhaps only a one inch drain tube ( of course this up to your preference)

.)

 

I agree with marshal o. Don't bother with the wet and dry.
Water changes and a protein skimmer work refugium. You'll be fine

 

Good plans, 'cept no real need for the DSB in the DT, or the fuge- can and often does lead to problems- but I bet that just about pissed someone off reading that- sorry, no intention.

Google 'Reverse Durso' for ideas about keeping the splashing noise down on the return to the sump.

I also recomment putting the sump/fuge up on it's own stand- 2 main reasons.
- you get back head height loss on the RP, and
- you can easily siphon things out for water changes to a bucket or a floor drain, etc.
- your critters noses also?

You could check out my DIY sump thread if you like- view the short video?
http://www.3reef.com/forums/i-made/my-diy-sump-thread-140525.html

 

Thanks for the feedback. I have revised my plans based on everyone's recommendations.




I get what you're saying about controlling the flow to each of the sections. I plan on putting in a ball valve for each of the main supply lines to help control the flow to each side.

It's good to know that there is no value in having the ceramic media filter etc. That will save me a lot of time and effort. With this new design, can I have live rock in all three sections, or is it best to just leave it in the fuge section?

 

That's a nice sized fuge so I would think LR in the fuge would be sufficient enough.