is sump lay out ok?

[billford]

hi guys i have added a 25 g tub to my 200g sump.the reasons were the skimmer i use stated it worked best in 3-4in. of water.but it didnt work as good as it did in the sump so i put it back.now i have the return water going through chemical fitration then through some chaeto then into the main sump where it is skimmed and then pumped back up to the tank.is there anything terribly wrong with this? thanxs

[DrBDC]

It would be best to skim it directly from the display drain if you can get it arranged that way. Many sumps feed the cheato directly with a certain percentage of the display drain. The skimmer being last may lessen the pods that make it from the fuge area but a 200 gallon sump is pretty big so you may get a good amount of pods make it to the display anyway.

I have my display drain into a salt bucket in my stock tank sump which is where the feed pump to my skimmer is. (btw oceanic buckets are taller than some others) Then I keep the water level in the sump just lower than the bucket height so it overflows into the large sump area which has my cheato. Then at the other side of the sump is where my main return draws from. Maybe you can get an idea of what I'm saying from this pic:
http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i287/DrBDC/100_0890.jpg

[jonbry123]

It sounds like your set up is quite good but you don't mention your bioload. I see in your "Current Tanks" you list a DSB in the sump. I would consider putting in a filter that will collect large organic particles before the water can enter the DSB otherwise the metabolites will accumulate in the sump and cause a spike in your nitrate and phosphate levels. I have three overflows on my FOWLR tank where the water flows into three seperate containers similar to a wet/dry filter that I made out of plastic storage containers I bought at Home Depot. Each has 3 layers made from eggcrate the first level is padded with filter floss which catches all of the organic particles pulled from the tank. I replace the filter floss twice a month. With a heavy bioload of fish I have no nitrates to speak of.

[ihopss]

If you have any pods in with your chaeto they will be skimmed out,so I think,I would put the skimmer first.

[billford]

thanks for the help the dsb is acually in the tank upstairs.i will try to put the skimmer in front of every thing again and see if i can get it to work

[billford]

oh,the bio load is not high 325g with 5 blue chromis and 1 young alantic blue tang

[Aquarist007]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11985630#post11985630 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by DrBDC
It would be best to skim it directly from the display drain if you can get it arranged that way. Many sumps feed the cheato directly with a certain percentage of the display drain. The skimmer being last may lessen the pods that make it from the fuge area but a 200 gallon sump is pretty big so you may get a good amount of pods make it to the display anyway.

I have my display drain into a salt bucket in my stock tank sump which is where the feed pump to my skimmer is. (btw oceanic buckets are taller than some others) Then I keep the water level in the sump just lower than the bucket height so it overflows into the large sump area which has my cheato. Then at the other side of the sump is where my main return draws from. Maybe you can get an idea of what I'm saying from this pic:
http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i287/DrBDC/100_0890.jpg

nice fuge setup--how much live rock do you have in there.

[Aquarist007]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11985675#post11985675 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ihopss
If you have any pods in with your chaeto they will be skimmed out,so I think,I would put the skimmer first.

I agree:
the flow is left to right. My refug returns to the far left of the sump and is sucked up immediately to the tank. the skimmer pump is on the right.

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r107/reefescapetangster/IMG_4520.jpg

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r107/reefescapetangster/IMG_4519.jpg