Adding a sump?

[cruzersmith]

I have an old HOB sump on my 37 gallon cube tank and being old it just doesn’t have a way to incorporate the improvements in add on equipment for reefing. So I am investigating replacing it with a sump. The problem is finding a sump small enough to fit inside my stand. I found an 8 gallon aio aquarium with dimensions that will fit. Wondering if I should run it as is using the aio for adding in the equipment or tearing out the aio part and adding my own baffels? Leaving it as is might require using two pumps. One for moving water through the aio part and another for pulling water up to the display tank. Using the two pumps will work fine and I can use the main area for a refugium. I would just need to isolate the return pump with either a hard baffel or a foam baffel. I could get it up and running quicker that way.

 

[Biokabe]

If I were doing that, I would rip out the AIO components and just set it up the way I wanted. With an 8 gallon AIO, those chambers aren't going to be large enough for most equipment you might want to put in there. Put in your own baffles and you'll be able to accommodate the equipment you want and reserve the remainder of the space for your refugium idea. Though personally, I'd probably skip a refugium for such a small space and establish it as a cryptic zone with some kind of algae turf scrubber.

Either way, you shouldn't need to run two pumps in there. Water will move through the AIO section just fine through gravity; just put your return pump in the regular return chamber and run the plumbing up to your tank rather than through the regular return that the AIO provided.

Assuming it's a standard 3-chamber AIO, something like this:

 

[Uncle99]

I have an old HOB sump on my 37 gallon cube tank and being old it just doesn’t have a way to incorporate the improvements in add on equipment for reefing. So I am investigating replacing it with a sump. The problem is finding a sump small enough to fit inside my stand. I found an 8 gallon aio aquarium with dimensions that will fit. Wondering if I should run it as is using the aio for adding in the equipment or tearing out the aio part and adding my own baffels? Leaving it as is might require using two pumps. One for moving water through the aio part and another for pulling water up to the display tank. Using the two pumps will work fine and I can use the main area for a refugium. I would just need to isolate the return pump with either a hard baffel or a foam baffel. I could get it up and running quicker that way.

What are the dimensions you seek?
There must be a sump available for your cube.
Do it right.

 

[Fish Fan]

One consideration is that when the power is cut to the system, water will drain back through the plumbing until it stops when it reaches the bottom of the weir on the overflow and the return pipes. The sump has to be large enough to hold all this water in the event the system is switched off, or during power failure. I'm not so sure an 8 gallon is going to accommodate all that water.

Can you post a pic of your stand? You can't fit like a 20 gallon under your 37 gallon?

 

[Rocks reef]

Is your tank drilled for a sump?

 

[cruzersmith]

Is your tank drilled for a sump?

Unfortunately no. Will need an external overflow box.

 

[cruzersmith]

One consideration is that when the power is cut to the system, water will drain back through the plumbing until it stops when it reaches the bottom of the weir on the overflow and the return pipes. The sump has to be large enough to hold all this water in the event the system is switched off, or during power failure. I'm not so sure an 8 gallon is going to accommodate all that water.

Can you post a pic of your stand? You can't fit like a 20 gallon under your 37 gallon?

I only have 13” wide space to slide in between the doors. The most area I have would be 12.5x15. This is a column tank with a footprint of 21x18 so the stand supports are inside of that outer area.

 

[cruzersmith]

What are the dimensions you seek?
There must be a sump available for your cube.
Do it right.

I have found no premade sump with dimensions 12x15 or a little less. Anything I do will be an improvement over the 4.5 gallon HOB I’m using.

 

[cruzersmith]

If I were doing that, I would rip out the AIO components and just set it up the way I wanted. With an 8 gallon AIO, those chambers aren't going to be large enough for most equipment you might want to put in there. Put in your own baffles and you'll be able to accommodate the equipment you want and reserve the remainder of the space for your refugium idea. Though personally, I'd probably skip a refugium for such a small space and establish it as a cryptic zone with some kind of algae turf scrubber.

Either way, you shouldn't need to run two pumps in there. Water will move through the AIO section just fine through gravity; just put your return pump in the regular return chamber and run the plumbing up to your tank rather than through the regular return that the AIO provided.

Assuming it's a standard 3-chamber AIO, something like this:

Thanks for the drawing. I think I can make that work. It has a 4 chamber aio but I can remove a baffle if needed for equipment sizing.