My rough sketchup

First off Google sketchup is the best thing for this stuff.


So this is the plan, i just bought a 50 g display and a 20 g sump tank and I'm mapping out the sump to try to get it to fit like in the picture. The trouble I'm finding is that I don't think i can get the water level to the optimum level for the skimmer and then back up for the exposed portion of the fuge shown in the picture. Is there a way to have a low water level followed by a high water level in the sump? the problem is that i want the fuge to be in the end of the tank and not in the middle. If its the only way i would make in in the middle, but id prefer to have the end. what do yall think?

 

so you would have a "display" sump? thats pretty cool! 50g isnt a huge weight compared to other tanks but i would still be scared of the structural integrity of you stand having the sump in a corner like that.

personally i would feel much safer if the sump was placed in the middle under the DT which would be supported by the 4 legs of the stand (not sure if you get what i mean)

but I'm not physicists, architect or mage so hopefully others will chime in.....

 

oh ya i get that. i could still have the support on the corner and cover up the corner, but i think the biggest problem will be making the water level high enough to make it look like an actual tank. lol

 

nice job with the sketchup but honestly, sumps will generally look like crap in a few months. Often getting the DT to always look nice can be a chore, I wouldn't want to put my sump on display 24x7 lol

also if you make a fuge in your sump, the lights should be on a reverse schedule so you'll be lighting up the room all night.

 

It should be no problem making the water level whatever you would like in the fuge section,it can be regulated by the baffle height.You should do some reading on DIY sumps,I think you will find some with a skimmer/input section on one end,a fuge on the other end and return pump section in the center.

 

so this is my idea. im just thinking physics wont allow water flow like this. idk let me know
thanks for your help.

 

You are right,it won't flow that way.What some have done is split or tee off the line from the overflow so a seperate one is feeding the fuge,the fuge then overflows and spills into the return section.A valve could be used to control flow to the fuge since it needs to be slow.Another way to do it would be to use a small pump in the skimmer section to pump water into the fuge.

 

Flip the design. Have water flow the other way. Display Sump stays high, return in Skinner section.

 

This would work but possible problems could be,microbubbles in displat tank from skimmer and return pump in same area and too much flow through the fuge making it ineffective.

 

ok new setup. took what you guys had to say in account and this is is it: