29T Sump Design

[Crazy Tiki]

Hey just looking for some feed back.

I wanted to incorporate the ATO resivour in to the sump as I do not have a lot of room in the cabinet so rather than get a smaller tank I was going to silicon a resivour in towards the right side.

The display tank is a 55G RR which is only 36"W so with the 29T in the cabinet that left like 5-6 inches but wanted to keep that space for lighting and power supplies.

119252

[TheFishMan65]

I have read numerous times that if you don't have 10% of your DT volume for the fuge forget it. I don't think you have it - I don't remember the width of a 29T I am guessing 12 inches. Even at 15 inches I think you are short. I also am guessing the ATO is 3-4 gallons. That won't last you a week which IMHO is the minimum. I would do one or the other. If you go with the fuge make sure you still have enough in the return section to handle a few days of evaporation.

[Crazy Tiki]

Thanks Fish Man for the advise.

Calculating the fuge area I get just under 5 gallons, the display area not including the overflow is 50.3- pretty close. I can always adjust the baffles 1" higher to 13" which would give me 5.4 gallons and I can also bump it out to 9" wide and make the return a little smaller, was planning to have the skimmer on a platform as I believe the best oporating hight is 9" for the Reef Octopus.

I think I am okay with the ato area as I would be comfortable with a 4-5 day supply, as I don't mind topping it off more frequently. As it stands in my nano I have to do it every three days.

Any other reviews.

[THE ROOK]

Fuge 1st, then the skimmer. That will allow the fuge to be deeper than the rest of the sump. 1st baffle can be 14-15".

If your concerned about the waterfall & possible noise, just angle that baffle slightly (top towards the fuge) and the water will just flow down it.

Not a fan of the in-sump ato as baffles don't always seal 100% in the lower corners.

[TheFishMan65]

Rook, your one of few to suggest fuge first. Any other reasoning?

[THE ROOK]

It simply will allow you to make that section deep, thus adding water volume to your fuge/system without having to make the skimmer section so deep. Either way will certainly work and there are minor advantages to both.

But with the way you have it now, it appears your skimmer will need a stand. Not many skimmers work well in 12" of water. Just make sure you have plenty of room under the stand to raise it. I can only get my MSX 200 to about 9" due to the height.

It's truly only a tube of silicone. You can certainly experiment down the road with different baffle designs after you've run a sump for awhile.

Mine is actually a split drain with the fuge on one end, skimmer on the other & a return in the middle. Seems to work well but does require more plumbing under the stand if you only have a single drain as I do on my 75. This design allows for a low flow fuge which is why I chose it. Probably about 80% goes to the skimmer side.