First time sump/refugium build.

Any progress on the 20 gallon long sump under the 46 bow front? I have a 46 gallon as well and want to do the same thing. What stand do you have for your tank? Does the 20 gallon long fit under it easily?

 

ATO's are for lazy people who like floods! LOL, just kidding but I had a bad experience and don't use one anymore. I simply have the tube from the RO running into the stand with a valve on it. Takes me about 4 minutes per evening, and I don't have to worry about flooding.

 

My initial reaction is that I'd rather have the refugium in the middle. This way all the water will pass through the fuge section before going back to the tank.

 

I have a 46 bow front and a 10 gallon sump because that is the only thing that will fit under my stand. I want a bigger size sump so if you figure out a way to fit one under the stand I would love to know how. Please post a pic

 

I had the same issue with my 72 bowfront. Maybe you could use some of my ideas scaled down a bit. Far left is an acrylic sump. In the left side of the sump (inlet side) is just a pile of live rock rubble, and a sheet of fiber filter on the top tray as a prefilter (replace it every two weeks). In the middle of the sump is my fuge. It has a DSB, Chaeto and Mangroves, and a small power head for circulation which helps prevent cyano growth in the chaeto.

I drilled the end of the sump and installed a bulkhead fitting. I got a simple rubbermaid container, installed a bulkhead on it, and joined the two. The rubbermaid contains the return pump, skimmer, and a Media reactor. It's hard to see in the pics, but I used a simple sheet of plastic cross stitch stuff you can buy at any craft store. It acts as a particulate filter and prevents anything from entering the container with the pump, etc. The whole thing wasn't a lot of money and works perfectly! The problem with bow front cabs is the narrowing ends, so you have to work lengthwise to get any serious filtration in there. Hope the pics give you some ideas. Good luck!

 

Here's a pic of the sump i built for my 46 bow. Looks like your picture.

 

Wow, it's been almost 2 years since I've been on here. Just shows me how much of a slacker I've been with my tank. Shame on me!

I posted a new thread about this, so sorry for the dual posts, but I just found this one again and figured it would be better to resurrect this one that than the new one. After re-reading this it sounds like I'll have to go with a 10 gallon sump. Is that even going to be enough? Are there any in between sizes? I'm planning on an Eshopps pf-1000 for my overflow, but not sure what the best option for skimmer and pump would be.

Any suggestions?

 

Ya know, I've heard that too, about the flow being slower thru the macroalgae, etc.

On my DIY sump/fuge, the water only goes from oine side to the other, not like shown with the sides to the middle.
All my water/flow goes thru my large mass of chaeto, and to the RP and back out.
Currently I'm flowing about 800gph thru my skimmer section/chaeto/RP.

Works for me

Your design looks good, and good listenting to the advice here.
MY DIY ATO (gravity only, no pumps, sensors, etc.) keeps my sump RP/chaeto area always the level I set it at.
It instantly replaces any evaporated, spilled, bagged out of it(fragging) water that is taken out.
My SG remains rock solid, and has for years.

Keep up the good work.
Also, keep in mind that a sump/fuge can also be made using pre-made, plastic bins/tubs of varoius kinds. That way you can often maximize the area you have available for your sump/fuge.

Gook luck, keep up the good work.

 

I just finished building a diy sump using a 20 long tank. I also used the design your using with the return section in the middle. That way you can control the amount of flow to the fuge. I got my glass from lowes I think its 3/32" I read all over that 3/32 is way to thin and to only use 1/4" but I believe 1/4" is overkill. It will have the most pressure on it when your first filling it and there's only water on one side of the baffle but once its full it'll have equal amounts of pressure on the glass. But like I said even when in first filled mine it didn't even budge. If you have any questions feel free to contact me I also have pics of mine if you would like to see them as well.

 

I'd love to see pictures. Planning on picking stuff up this weekend so I'll take all the info I can get.