sump design

[baseman422]

this is the design for my 10 gallon sump. First chamber will flow into filter sock and the skimmer the second chamber is the fuge and the third the return. this is for my 20 gallon tall soon to be reef/clown fish habitat.

any thoughts before I glue down the baffles?

[baseman422]

anybody have an opinion on making the return chamber smaller to allow more room for the fuge?

[hillscp]

anybody have an opinion on making the return chamber smaller to allow more room for the fuge?

I wouldn't bother with a fuge in that size sump. It won't do you a bit of good IMO.

What is the reason for the sump? (other than a fuge)

The reason I have one is to put heaters, skimmer, probes, dosing lines (stuff I want hidden) and I do have a fuge but my sump is 55 gal and I'm not sure its really a fuge (I just keep a big ball of chaeto in there).

Just wondering what your reasoning is :)

[SGT_York]

make sure you leave enough space under the ballast on the far right, if you try and have the water flow over it you will have BAD micro bubble issues.

Make sure your glue/silicone is rated for aquariums.

[baseman422]

actually hillscp, I will be doing the exact thing with mine as your
s. Keep skimmer, heater, and what i am calling a fuge with keep a ball of chaeto too.

[uncleof6]

anybody have an opinion on making the return chamber smaller to allow more room for the fuge?

Return section size:

The return section needs to be large enough (running volume) for the pump to continue running several days, without attention to evaporation loss--without sucking air/burning up. Regardless whether you have an ATO or not, they fail, and the volume is a passive fail safe. This is far more important than a "fuge," and as hillscp pointed out, a 10 gallon tank is too small for a practical 3 section sump. Skimmer and return, is all the room there is.

[hillscp]

Ahh,

And now that I have a second look I also see that HOB skimmer.

I still think the middle section is a waste. You won't be able to put enough chaeto in there to make much difference and as uncleof6 said there is benefit to having volume in the return section. It's hard to imagine unless you have seen it (and maybe you have) but as water evaporates the level of the return section goes down (everything else stays the same) so if your reuturn is say 3 gallons and you evaporate 1 gallon (not uncommon) then your return level has dropped by 1/3 and you are at risk of sucking air into your pump.

My aquarium can easily evaporate 3 gallons in a day in the summer when the fan is running. My return section can hold 12 gallons which keeps me good for a few days (pumps are external so the suction is down quite low).

HTH

Scott

[baseman422]

it is actually the JNS WS1 skimmer. it is an in sump skimmer. Very small footprint.

I know the return area is a concern. I thought the chaeto section would help with eliminate algae growth in the display tank. I maybe able to run the return pump external and save some space.

Im not worried about nitrates, Im sure with the skimmer and weekly water changes they should be pretty close to 0.

[baseman422]

it is actually the JNS WS1 skimmer. it is an in sump skimmer. Very small footprint.

I know the return area is a concern. I thought the chaeto section would help with eliminate algae growth in the display tank. I maybe able to run the return pump external and save some space.

Im not worried about nitrates, Im sure with the skimmer and weekly water changes they should be pretty close to 0.

[hillscp]

It is true that having chaeto can help with algae in the main display by removing nitrate. The point is that such a small amount is not likely to be very effective.