Sump design idea

hi all from Cairo , i am planing to build a new reef aquarium room from scratch in my terrace. my last 3 years of reefing didn't have a sump tech. i had only a turf scrubber as the tank was only 50 gallons without holes.

so i am posting this initial design to have your inputs on

 

Hello, my advice would be to move the refugium to the oposite end of the tank. And put the skimmer/reactor where you have refugium now. Something like this.


| refugium | return ,|, Skimmer ,|, Inlet |

The ,|, would be a bubble trap and the refugium would be fed from a slow flow off of a "T" on the return.

Having your refugium so close to the inlet concerns me, especially the way it looks to be spilling right into your sand bed. This could kick up stuff that you don't want running through your skimmer.

Just a thought.

Here is the design I had come up with...

sump/fuge

Of course, your dimensions would be tailored to your needs. This design allowed for a higher wall for your refugium. You can also us slits to keep cheato from getting into your return pump. Or at least minimize it.

Good luck.

 

many thanks Marty ,

i don't have a sand bed as it is a crushed corals i used before and it is perfect calcium source and nitrification bact. housing ...i draw it like so to make the skimmer and the reactors in the last stage before the return to tank to be sure the clarity of the outcome.

what do you think?

 

If it is crushed corals you may be ok, I still worry about too much flow through the refugium and cheato getting into the skimmer.

Also, some of the experts may weigh in on this, but in my opinion as long as you don't have (much) more sump flow than your skimmer is rated for, you should get a good cleaning.

For example: if you have 1200 gph flowing through your sump, but your skimmer is only skimming 200 gph then you are aren't processing enough of the water going through the sump.

Like I said, I am far from an expert, just food for thought.

 

Just remember to make the return section as large as possible because this is where you will notice the evaporation most.

 

thank Semino ,

'I still worry about too much flow through the refugium and cheato getting into the skimmer'

i may add another , l , after the refugim containing a sponge in the first section!!