Design my sump / plumbing...

[fivesmallworlds]

Hey everyone. I've been keeping saltwater for quite some time, but usually just FO or FOWLR, I'm now getting into keeping a reef and have a new project.

So Far:
I just bought a 75g with corner overflow
I'll be building the Stand / Canopy (mostly to make it look better than the pine stands I'm used to having but also so I can use customized dimensions based on the sump plans)
Lighting will be T5 Retro's
Skimmer, most likely an Octo 160 or Octo 200, possibly an ASM G-3 recirc.

The part I need help with... The Sump and Plumbing.
Taking all valid suggestions into consideration.

What would be the best sump/refuge plans for a 75g display?

In other words if you were me, what would you use for a sump/refuge? Where would you put the baffles etc. and how would you ideally plum it all?

Any pics would be great. This is my first setup using a sump and Refuge so some lingo may go over my head. But on the plus side, you're dealing with someone willing to put in the research and do it right the first time here.

Any suggestions/help would be fantastic!

[lark]

Go to a site called melev's reef. Sump model f is pretty standard.

Check it out: http://www.melevsreef.com/allmysumps.html

[fivesmallworlds]

Thanks lark

[kgross]

use a large of a sump as you can fit under the stand. Then put as large of a fuge as you can, make the skimmer section as small as you can so you have more room for fuge. Other baffles depend on the flow rate through the sump and the size of the sump.

Kim

[sjm817]

Build the stand so that it can fit an 18" wide sump. Having it stick out the back just a bit is one way to do this. If you want to build it out of a standard aquarium, a 40B would work pretty well. It is best to have or know what your skimmer will be to make that section work well with it. I like a simple 3 section design. Drain & Skimmer | Fuge | Return with just a single baffle the same height dividing them. I actually prefer a separate fuge, but that is hard to do inside a stand.

[fivesmallworlds]

I was considering a

|
_____ Drain ____
|| T/Ball valve |
|| |
Skimmer | Retrun | Fuge

That way I can decrease the flow through the fuge area. Is there a major advantage to have an 18" width vs. a 16" width? I'll be building my own stand, so I can incorporate an 18" into the stand design, but aesthetically speeking a 16" would work better for fit.

[fivesmallworlds]

Wow that didn't turn out right...

It's supposed to show the drain coming down and being split with a ball valve allowing the majority of the drain to be routed to the skimmer section and the remaining amount of water to the fuge at a slower flow rate. Then both the skimmer section and fuge draining into the return section.

[sjm817]

The only reason I said 18" is if you want to use a standard aquarium as a sump. They come in 12", and 18" widths. If you have a 16" wide sump, that is good too.

[fivesmallworlds]

OK, I'll actually be building the sump from acrylic, just wanted to know if it was a huge advantage of an 18" vs. a 16". But it sounds like that really only applies if you plan on using a 40b or something. Thanks.

Dimensions I'm planning are 40x16x16

[kgross]

The biggest advantage to 18" of 16" is more capacity, and unless you divide the sump up on the 18 inch side, you have a slower velocity of water in the sump so you get have less problems removing micro-bubbles and less noise.


I will still say go as large as you can. If you are building your own sump use up all of the space that you can I have never heard anybody complain about to large of a sump (unless they could not work in it correctly), but I have heard of lots of people complaining about to small of a sump.

Kim

[fivesmallworlds]

Thanks for the advice kgross. This is the design that I'm looking at (subject to change depending on any other suggestions made)

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll67/colingallows/Sump1jpg.jpg

The left section will be the skimmer section, the center will be the return section and the right will be the refugium. The return section will also house the heaters, UV and the like. Water level will be about 9" as I'll most likely be using an MSX skimmer. The Section at the top left will house LR rubble to reduce bubbles coming into the return section.

Hope the image helps a little. Still open to more suggestions.

[kgross]

Should work pretty well.

[lark]

Pretty standard design. Looks good.

You might want to raise the baffle on the refugium side. You can pretty much go all the way to the top. No reason not to increase the refugium volume -- otherwise that space above the refugium is just sort of wasted space. (This assumes that the other side of the sump will have enough clearance for any back flow when the pump is turned off.)

If you raise that baffle too much, you'll get a waterfall noise as the water spills over and into your return. But you could always just drill a couple of holes near the top of that baffle, then put a couple of bulkheads and pipes draining down into your return area, which would make it silent.

[fivesmallworlds]

Yeah, noise was an issue I was thinking of when designing the baffle for the fuge. But I like the idea of making it a bit taller and using some PVC to drain it back down into the return. I just don't want a bunch of bubbles getting into the return pump and into the display.

I think I will incorporate that, thanks lark. I did base this on the Model F you recommended I take a peek at.

[kgross]

To keep the noise and bubbles down, put the baffle in so that it slopes away from the return pump rather than straight up and down. That way the water can run down the slope rather than going over the top and then falling down into the return section.

Kim