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You could also feed the fuge off the return pump bleed instead of two pipes off the DT which you don’t have in the drawing or are you planning on running a DC pump?
40 Breeder Sump & Refugium Design
- Thread starter DirtDiggler2823
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DirtDiggler2823
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Running a traditional AC pump. The plumbing won't be drawn up until I build the sump.
Michael Llabona
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Beware of using Marine pure in highflow/ splashing water. They can slowly erode away. You do not want the ceramic dust in the tank. They are supposed to be in indirect flow.
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DirtDiggler2823
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I was not aware of that. Would you recommend I use rock rubble in those areas instead?
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If you use a marine pure block you really won’t need the rocks in the sump. You will want it in a low flow area. You would want the 8x8x4 block.
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DirtDiggler2823
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I was under the impression that the more surface area you have for bacteria to adhere to, the better.
Awesome design! Not sure if it was mentioned but one thing to consider is how much sump height is reserved for any backflow from the display tank.
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DirtDiggler2823
If I can't break it, it doesn't exist
Nothing is to scale, so sump height has not been determined. When I build it from cardboard, I'll post more pics and adjust from there. Hopefully this is a good design that other people can adopt. That would be quite the feather to put in my cap.
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One of those blocks will have more then enough surface area for your needs.
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DirtDiggler2823
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I was planning on 40 pounds pukani, and like 30-40 pounds of reef saver type rock for scaping purposes, and a couple of these blocks. Is it possible to have too much porous surface areas?
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Not that I know of. People that like the minimalist look use those blocks. With pukani and a block I would not worry about adding rock to the sump. Look up how much surface area one of those blocks has.
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Todvod
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I know your drawing isn’t to scale, but consider the size of your return chamber. Bigger is better. I did not consider this well enough and was hoping to use my manifold for easy water changes, but there is only about 4 gallons available to pump out of the return chamber. Wish I had 6 gallons as that would be 10% of my display rank. You could easily increase the size by using a mesh block as the separator between the fuge and return chambers. I think BRS may have done that on one of their ULM tanks. Anyway, worth looking into. I like your design a lot. I actually thought about splitting my single overflow into 2 so I could do what you’re planning. Best wishes!
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DirtDiggler2823
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That is not something I was considering......
OMGitsManBearPig
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What is the purpose of having the separate supply line for the fuge? Is it flow control?
I've never really understood the center return design over the basic left to right supply to return.
Edit - with the exception of the Eshopps design, which uses clever tunnels/channels to transport water to separate chambers on some designs. I still think that is flawed due to the maintenance issues inherent with tunnels, though...
Thoughts?
2nd edit - now that I think of it, that Eshopps center chamber also wasnt a return, that was a bypassable skimmer/refugium section. So - question stands: why the center return over a left to right inline configuration?
I've never really understood the center return design over the basic left to right supply to return.
Edit - with the exception of the Eshopps design, which uses clever tunnels/channels to transport water to separate chambers on some designs. I still think that is flawed due to the maintenance issues inherent with tunnels, though...
Thoughts?
2nd edit - now that I think of it, that Eshopps center chamber also wasnt a return, that was a bypassable skimmer/refugium section. So - question stands: why the center return over a left to right inline configuration?
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That is a good question. I know I’ve read you can make the return bigger by having it in the middle but why can’t that be done on the end.
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DirtDiggler2823
If I can't break it, it doesn't exist
It's based on another sump design. The principle is to allow less clean water to the fuge so the chaeto has a better chance to do it's job. It might not work, but i think it will.
OMGitsManBearPig
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There’s no question it will work; I think it may also benefit from extra control over flow. However, I have been led to understand that a skimmer and a chaeto fuge do different work. Skimmer takes nutrients out before they break down to nitrates. Chaeto takes in nitrates and other stuff. I haven’t seen a good argument yet for the additional complication of center return. It seems to me that end to end filtration would be more efficient. A simple revision to this design would be to swap the refugium and return pump sections.
Anyone with opposing viewpoints? I’d love to learn more about why this design exists in the DIY world. It has to happen for a reason...
Anyone with opposing viewpoints? I’d love to learn more about why this design exists in the DIY world. It has to happen for a reason...
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DirtDiggler2823
If I can't break it, it doesn't exist
I can always turn off the skimmer. It doesn't have to run 24/7.
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