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View Full Version : Seperate sump and fuge?


dmazz_63
09/07/2006, 12:39 PM
Hi everyone. I'm in the planning/setup stages of a 90 gallon upgrade. I'm going to have 3 extra aquariums and some room beside the stand for the 90 gal when it's set up. I have the option of having a 20 gallon long inside the stand and either a 25 gal or a 55 gallon beside the new stand. Would it make sense to have a seperate sump and fuge and what would be the best way to plumb it to avoid disaster (unintentional water change). I will probably have a fair bit of live rock left over as well if it be used somewhere in the system.

Thanks in advance,
Dave.

Trigeek
09/07/2006, 01:08 PM
Hi Dave,

I'm using two different tanks for a sump/fuge combo under my 90g I'm currently setting up. I needed something inexpensive for the sump and fuge, so I'm using a 20g long I had and 5 1/2g tank I bought for $12.00 at a local pet store. I'm planning on running a line from the drain to the fuge (via T) with a ball valve to control flow. I'm going to drill the side of the 5 1/2g tank for the drain from the fuge and control that with a ball valve also. The tank will be mounted on a simple stand I'm making over the 20 long (with left ovet PT wood from redoing my ceiling in the kitchen). The drain from the fuge will go into the return section of the sump where my Eheim 1260 will throw it all back up to the display. This was a cheap solution, cheaper for me than buying rubbermaid containers or paying for a wet/dry system. Hopefully it will work fine until I'm ready to upgrade the sump, if it's even necessary. Good luck, Dave.

dmazz_63
09/07/2006, 06:58 PM
Any specific suggestions regarding tanks to use, placement, flow?

enemec1
09/07/2006, 08:16 PM
dmazz, I have one 20 L for my sump baffeled into two sections. and one 20L for my fuge. the fuge is a acrylic tank and I drilled on hole about an inch down from the top to drain. I have the main pump T off to the display and the fuge both have ball valves to controll the flow. the fuge drains back to the return side of my sump and than cycles back to the display and or the fuge again.
hope this makes sence.

Trigeek
09/08/2006, 10:47 AM
check out what Melev did with this split sump.

melevs reef (http://www.melevsreef.com/acrylics/sumps/c/split_sump.html)

Spuds725
09/09/2006, 03:22 PM
I have a 29 gallon tank for a fuge-- drilled about an inch below the rim and added a bulkhead-- this gravity drains to my main sump which is just a large single chamber holding my home made skimmer (I bought off someone else) that has a fairly large footprint.

I don't have baffles or anything since my flow is so low micro bubbles are not a problem.

I have an elbow inside the fuge on the bulkhead to raise the water level to the rim...

my fuge gets about 1/2 my sump flow (the other 1/2 feeds my skimmer directly)-- I run pretty low sump flow-- about 250 gph

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/92536FUGE29.JPG

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/92536SUMP2.JPG

not pretty but functional-- the pic was right after I installed the fuge-- the chaeto easily fills over half the tank now

dmazz_63
09/13/2006, 01:44 PM
I guess what I'm asking is, should the 55 gal be the sump (leftover live rock , high flow) and the 25 gal be the fuge (macro algae and low flow) or the other way around?

mkarston
09/13/2006, 01:51 PM
I like having it seperated into to pieces (sump/filters and fuge). The flow through your fuge should be less then that of your sump. Take a look at my setup for my 210g reef tank:
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/37565Img_8835.jpg
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http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/37565Img_8805.jpg
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http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/37565IMG_8799.JPG
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http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/37565Img_8806.jpg