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11/27/2009, 12:49 PM | #1 |
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New sump Design, Please Comment before build
I am designing a sump for my 75 gallon saltwater tank
Any comments on design would be much appreciated, this is my first sump design. |
11/27/2009, 01:15 PM | #2 |
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You are trying to do too much in a tank that is too small. Evaporation in the return section, will not allow a constant water level for your skimmer, and your sand bed will be too small to be of practical value. Your water levels are too high to allow for power out drain down.
Jim
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"Things should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler." (oft attributed to Einstein; most likely paraphrasing by Roger Sessions; compactly articulates the principle of Occam's Razor) Current Tank Info: 325 6' wide Reef |
11/27/2009, 01:28 PM | #3 |
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Can you Recommend a better design, I know I want to have part be a refugium
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11/27/2009, 01:39 PM | #4 |
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Have your protein skimmer in the same section as your return. Then have that drain into a small fug area with macro, then that goes into your small return section.
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11/27/2009, 01:42 PM | #5 |
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water level is critical as mentioned. you need to figure out how much water will drain from the main tank into the sump if the power goes out. a miscalculation here results in water all over the floor.
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Kenny Current Tank Info: 70g Shallow Reef [Home]; 15g Starfire Cube [Office] |
11/27/2009, 01:46 PM | #6 |
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Just a quick example.....
2 things to also keep in mind. 1. Make sure you have plenty of room for your skimmer. Keep enough room for any possible future upgrade. 2. Water should drop no more then 1/4 inch into the return chamber or you will get micro bubbles. |
11/27/2009, 03:00 PM | #7 | |
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Quote:
Jim
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"Things should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler." (oft attributed to Einstein; most likely paraphrasing by Roger Sessions; compactly articulates the principle of Occam's Razor) Current Tank Info: 325 6' wide Reef |
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11/27/2009, 03:09 PM | #8 | ||
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Quote:
Quote:
Regards, Jim
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"Things should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler." (oft attributed to Einstein; most likely paraphrasing by Roger Sessions; compactly articulates the principle of Occam's Razor) Current Tank Info: 325 6' wide Reef |
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11/27/2009, 03:14 PM | #9 | |
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Quote:
Jim
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"Things should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler." (oft attributed to Einstein; most likely paraphrasing by Roger Sessions; compactly articulates the principle of Occam's Razor) Current Tank Info: 325 6' wide Reef |
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11/27/2009, 03:25 PM | #10 |
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Just to add to the other feedback;
In the pic in the original post it shows a DSB section. That DSB section appears to have drain holes down low. This will not work at all, you would be pouring sand into the next chamber and circulating water throught the DSB section, making it a simple sand filter (which would serve little if any benifit, AND would make a big mess). I would suggest leaving the sand out of the sump entirely. Like Jim said, you don't have enough room for it in there (and it will only cause trouble). Also as Jim said, the skimmer will need a constant level, so you don't want it in the same section as the return, the skimmer should be before the return in a section that keeps a constant level.
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my reef ate my wallet Current Tank Info: 57G, RBTA's Zoa's and softies |
11/27/2009, 03:33 PM | #11 | |
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Quote:
Jim is correct that your skimmer section must stay at a constant lvl. |
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11/27/2009, 03:40 PM | #12 | |
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Quote:
In theory your correct. However many many people dont buy the best skimmer and therefore have to upgrade later. So designing your sump with any future upgrades that you may want to do is not a bad idea. As far width of baffles.... That has nothing to do with what I was talking about. I am not talking about micro bubbles from the drain or skimmer. I am talking about bubbles you can get when the water drops over that last baffle and falls into the return section. My return is only about 800gph and the return section is 8 inches deep and if my water drops more then about .5 inches the pump will suck those small air bubbles in before they can surface. Again just something to think about. |
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11/27/2009, 05:03 PM | #13 | |
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Quote:
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In the end (and the begining) we're all just stardust anyway... Current Tank Info: 75 gallon SPS reef/55 gallon sump/6x54W TEK T5HO/Reef Octopus 200 Extreme Skimmer/Reef Octopus Single Chamber Calcium Reactor/RKL |
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11/27/2009, 06:10 PM | #14 | |
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Quote:
Jim
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"Things should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler." (oft attributed to Einstein; most likely paraphrasing by Roger Sessions; compactly articulates the principle of Occam's Razor) Current Tank Info: 325 6' wide Reef |
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11/27/2009, 06:36 PM | #15 |
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Or in other words, not placing the waterfall next to the return chamber
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my reef ate my wallet Current Tank Info: 57G, RBTA's Zoa's and softies |
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