Here is the Sump/refugion for my new 180G, any recomendation?

[albert2k]

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y176/albert01961/Refugio-Sump.jpg

[Monkeyfish]

Personally I'd go with a bigger sump. I plan on using a 75g sump for my 180 display and that's only because of space. Bigger is better. I'm also a fan of unidirectional sumps - intake on one side feeds directly to the skimmer, overflows into bubble trap (not necessary if you use a filter sock) which feeds the refugium and then goes into the return chamber. This makes better use of your skimmer.

Instead of ceramic pieces use live rock rubble.

Make sure you have enough capacity to hold about 15-17 "extra"gallons of water in case the power goes out. If this happens the return acts as a siphon and sucks out about 15 gallons depending on the water level of your tank compared to the drains/overflows. It looks like you may not have enough "spare volume" which could result in a flood.

Consider using an external skimmer and return pump to avoid heat issues.

[albert2k]

I fixed it and bought three pieces of 12 x 16 to made my sump 48 x 16 x 16. Here is how is going to be. Please let me know if the space is ok, now i can have 25g of free space.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y176/albert01961/Refugio-Sump-1.jpg

[jman77]

Make one of the sections smaller so you can add a ATO area to hold you're freshwater topoff. This way you do not have an extra container outside the stand to hold freshwater for your auto top off, or instead of making a section smaller, use the 25g that have no use for yet. This is a great feature that i will be adding to my sump as well.

[Keelay]

Yea google sketchup! :)

I'm a big proponent of the first sump design decision to make is decide what your ATO setup will be.

If you plan on manually filling the return section it will have to be large enought to handle at least a days worth of evaporation.

If you plan on implementing an ATO then the return section just needs to be large enough to fit your return pump.

The difference here is pretty significant. You don't want to design to do manual fill and then later change to ATO. You'll be wasting a lot of space. Either dedicate your extra space to an ATO compartment like jman77 suggested or us a float valve and directly feed the compartment and use the extra space for a larger refugium.

Once you make this decision, there are lot's of other decisions with various trade offs. You might want to look at melev's site. He shows a lot of different sump designs. You might get some ideas there.

[Keelay]

Oh one more suggestion. Avoid waterfalls, they are evil. Waterfalls create:

1)noise
2)microbubbles
3)salt spray

1)Noise. Most of us spend hours and money trying to make our setups quieter. That helps you hear the TV better, sleep sounder, whatever. Enough said.

2)Microbubbles look ugly (IMO) defract all that expensive light out of the tank. It makes you implement bubble traps to get rid of them wasting more space that could have gone to a fuge etc. Microbubbles also contributes to salt spray.

3)Salt Spray. Salt spray means salt creap. Salinity slowly declines as the salt coats the inside of your stand and equipment. Salt spray deteriorates electronic equipment coats light bulbs and is just messy.

The one level sump is ideal. You'll get a lot more space in the same sump for things that are useful to you. You have to have an ATO to do this, but in any case, if you have to have a water fall, make it as short as possible. You can prop up skimmers etc.

I have a one level sump with a bubble tower for my drain line. I couldn't be happier. It is whisper quiet and easy to maintain.

[albert2k]

Here is my sump/refugium, I'm setting all together, I will finish soon.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y176/albert01961/101_3861.jpg

[jman77]

conjo, you work fast , looks good loco