Hi all, Need urgent sump help!

[Glenn121]

Hi All

Just joined the forum and looking for some help!

Im not sure where to begin really but im looking for some help on sump designs. Im wanting to order my new tank soon but not sure which route to take as far as the sump goes, how many over flows, weirs, what size pipe work, return pumps etc.. etc.. I'm pretty clueless on which design to do and I need to come up with a design soon so i can forward it on to my supplier for the tank/sump order. Can any of you guys help me out and shed some light on what sump would be best to use on a 4x4x2 reef tank.
If you guys could provide any useful info on sump set-ups etc.. i would much appreciate any help at all.

Thankyou:beer:

[mkoop]

If you don't mind making a few phone calls to local glass shops, you could use a 75g / 40g breeder as a sump and DIY saving quite a bit of money.

Do you already have a stand? That would be the place to start, making sure you do something that will fit.

There are a ton of factors to this but to properly help we would need some more details.

Stand Size?
Budget?
Are you a DIY or a buy it person? (I didn't think I was a DIY person until I got into this hobby, but it truly saves you a lot of money and helps ensure you get exactly what you need)
Do you plan to run a skimmer?
Do you plan to drill your tank or use some other type of return / drain?

[Glenn121]

Thanks for your reply Mkoop

I am having a custom built 48"L X 48"W X 24"H tank with hood and cabinate. I still need to have a chat with the suppliers so im not a 100% sure on the cabinate dimensions yet but as a rough estimate it will be 48"/50" cube and roughly 30" to 36" in height. The cabinate should have plenty of room to work with underneath as he does supply sumps with the set-ups but im not sure which design to go with and supply him with the blue prints. I could do a little DIY if need be at a later date but if i can supply him with a design then he can do the sump build for me. I like to keep things as neat and tidy as possible. Yes i do plan on running a skimmer, and budget can be flexible depending on what design you think would be the best route to take.

Thanks.

[thegrun]

Are you going with a center of the tank island overflow or is the tank going to sit against a wall? If it is against a wall I would go with a 24" long coast to coast with an external collection troth and two returns. I would go center of the back wall single overflow if you want to keep it internal.

[Glenn121]

The tank will Sit against a wall. Yeah, either a center weir/overflow or 1 corner weir/overflow on the back panel and 2 return. Would 1 overflow be sufficient or is a second always good to have as an emergency? Planning on using a 11.000lph return pump.

[thegrun]

I prefer a single overflow with an extra emergency drain. Two overflows take up too much room IMHO besides looking ugly.

[Glenn121]

Very true. I will stick to the same. Do you happen to have any ideas on a good efficient sump for a reef set-up?

[johnike]

This is mine.
Simple design made out of a 75 gallon tank.
http://i345.photobucket.com/albums/p361/john_eichwedel/DSCN2170.jpg (http://s345.photobucket.com/user/john_eichwedel/media/DSCN2170.jpg.html)
http://i345.photobucket.com/albums/p361/john_eichwedel/002-2.jpg (http://s345.photobucket.com/user/john_eichwedel/media/002-2.jpg.html)

[mkoop]

I have two drains and two returns in my 180, I dont have any experience with only a single line as thegrun suggests so I can't speak to the benefits or trade offs with that.

There are two common internal system set ups that many water keepers seem to have great results with (this is not all inclusive by any means but seem to be two common practices)

Firstly, as john's sump depicts is a drain(skimmer chamber) > fuge > return setup. This setup has all water going to the skimmer chamber then the refugium and lastly to the return. This is a very commonly used sump setup with great results for many people. The water just moves in a counter clockwise circulation between tank and sump. One complaint I have read about this set up is if your turnover is too much, the flow through the fuge can carry churn things up too much in the fuge and make it a mess. I don't want pieces of algae's, sand(I use different sands in my fuge than my DT), whatever it may be leaving my fuge.

The second common sump setup is skimmer > return < fuge. This method has drains to the skimmer chamber then flowing into the return chamber, on the right hand side is your fuge, the fuge receives water from a T in the return line. This allows you to control the flow into the fuge with a valve. I found this method personally fit my needs better and this is the method I designed for my 75g.

That being said, with the size of your display and a flexible budget and those dimensions, my personal choice would be to utilize two drains and two returns, into a 120g sump with a skimmer > return < fuge set up.

[Glenn121]

Thanks for your help guys, ill see what i can draw up tonight :)