Reef Central Online Community

Go Back   Reef Central Online Community > General Interest Forums > New to the Hobby
Blogs FAQ Calendar Mark Forums Read

Notices

User Tag List

Reply
Thread Tools
Unread 07/08/2015, 03:37 PM   #1
jbecker
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: Arizona
Posts: 2
New Tank, New Hobbyist (Sump Layout?)

Hey Everyone,

I just inherited an old 300 gallon fresh water tank from a neighbor and have been diligently researching how to re-purpose it as a reef tank (96x24x30 glass tank with 72x18x22 glass tank for sump). I essentially want to setup the entire system to operate as a simpler, cheaper, low bio-load fish only tank but have the sump setup to easily upgrade to a reef tank as money becomes available.

Do any of you have suggestions or recommended builds for a sump layout? For instance, should I setup a chamber for a future refugium; should I put in filter sock holders even if they are to sit empty at first? Things like that. I have plenty of glass plates to use as baffles, I just need to know where to put them.

Sorry for the broad post, but new hobbyist and new member here. Thanks.


jbecker is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 07/08/2015, 05:00 PM   #2
Irishman360
Registered Member
 
Irishman360's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: Brighton, CO
Posts: 286
Quote:
Originally Posted by jbecker View Post
Hey Everyone,

I just inherited an old 300 gallon fresh water tank from a neighbor and have been diligently researching how to re-purpose it as a reef tank (96x24x30 glass tank with 72x18x22 glass tank for sump). I essentially want to setup the entire system to operate as a simpler, cheaper, low bio-load fish only tank but have the sump setup to easily upgrade to a reef tank as money becomes available.

Do any of you have suggestions or recommended builds for a sump layout? For instance, should I setup a chamber for a future refugium; should I put in filter sock holders even if they are to sit empty at first? Things like that. I have plenty of glass plates to use as baffles, I just need to know where to put them.

Sorry for the broad post, but new hobbyist and new member here. Thanks.
This is the website I used to help with my sump I just built.

http://gmacreef.com/reef-aquarium-sump-tank-design/

I have a spot for a refugium and haven't put anything in it yet since my bio load isn't that big yet. I also made a egg crate cover to hold my filter sock but will probably take it out when I get my skimmer and refugium up and running.


Irishman360 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 07/09/2015, 08:15 AM   #3
jbecker
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: Arizona
Posts: 2
Thanks for the link.

I will probably go with a central return but after hearing from you I will definitely put in a chamber for a refugium and some holes to mount a sock even though I probably wont be using them for awhile.


jbecker is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 07/09/2015, 08:24 AM   #4
thegrun
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Garden Grove, Ca
Posts: 17,023
Quote:
Originally Posted by jbecker View Post
Thanks for the link.

I will probably go with a central return but after hearing from you I will definitely put in a chamber for a refugium and some holes to mount a sock even though I probably wont be using them for awhile.
Both the refugium and filter sock holders are very good ideas.
Here is a picture of my sump:


From left to right: Filter sock holder and skimmer section, refugium, return pump section.


thegrun is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 07/09/2015, 08:37 AM   #5
Shawn O
Registered Member
 
Shawn O's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2014
Location: People's Communist Republic of Massachusetts
Posts: 1,474
There's no reason you have to run a refugium at the beginning. You could keep that section empty or just fill it extra live rock. Some folks here advocate for not using filter socks, or at least only using them when you're trying to remove something in particular, as they can remove microfauna.

The best advice I can give, which isn't really worth much, is to have a pro drill your tank for the drains (if it's not already drilled). 300 gal tanks are a bit pricey to practice your drilling skills on.

Good luck and please post pics along the way. We love pics.


__________________
"55gal glass box full of water, rocks and some not-so-amused little fishes"
2x Occellaris, 1 Pajama, 1 Neon Dottyback.

Current Tank Info: 55gal tank, sumpless, ReefOctopus Classic 90, Twin bulb T5.
Shawn O is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 07/09/2015, 03:22 PM   #6
nuxx
RC Sponsor
 
nuxx's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Austin, Tx
Posts: 3,990
Did a super simple sump on our frag tank...

Basically just a bubble trap separating the skimmer/drain area from the returns.






__________________
Peter

TankStop - Fish and Coral

470G Display - Build Thread

Current Tank Info: Retired - 470 Gallon Mixed Reef (120x29x31")
nuxx is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 07/09/2015, 05:33 PM   #7
Irishman360
Registered Member
 
Irishman360's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: Brighton, CO
Posts: 286
My DIY Sump

Very simple set up for me. You may not need a refugium like the other post said and just put more live rock in it. Somethings you can put in the refugium to live in it and when the babies go to through the pump they can feed your fish, if they breed.


Attached Images
File Type: jpg IMG_2384.jpg (58.0 KB, 22 views)
Irishman360 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 07/09/2015, 05:50 PM   #8
ericarenee
Registered Member
 
ericarenee's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Louisville Kentucky
Posts: 3,110
For a sump .I think its very important to have a Skimmer chamber that will maintain its own water level. Its best for it to be the first chamber and the baffles being higher then the others will do this . Also if you do add a fuge do it on the end so you can have calmer water flowing in it and the pump in the middle..
here is mine. But i have external pump and separate Fuge that gravity feeds to sump.
20150609_164354.jpg


ericarenee is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 07/09/2015, 07:42 PM   #9
Ian14
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2015
Posts: 199
+1 for http://gmacreef.com/reef-aquarium-sump-tank-design/


Ian14 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 07/09/2015, 07:45 PM   #10
ericarenee
Registered Member
 
ericarenee's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Louisville Kentucky
Posts: 3,110
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ian14 View Post
wow this is identical to mine except the baffle in my return section floods the middle equally with power or pump outage. I Need 30 gallons of empty space is why i did that...

skimmer isolation like this is a must.


ericarenee is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
300 gallon, low bio-load, new tank, sump layout

Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On



All times are GMT -6. The time now is 12:44 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Powered by Searchlight © 2024 Axivo Inc.
Use of this web site is subject to the terms and conditions described in the user agreement.
Reef CentralTM Reef Central, LLC. Copyright ©1999-2022
User Alert System provided by Advanced User Tagging v3.3.0 (Pro) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2024 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.