Designing a new custom sump - input appreciated

[AWIL57]

Hello all!

I am going to be creating a custom sump for my new 260g tank and I haven't been a fan of the way my current 40g breeder works. Drain > Skimmer > Fuge > Return. I don't need a bunch of bells and whistles but want to make sure there is ample space for the things I want and need to run. The expected sump will be around 70g of water in a 60x24x16 tank with one drain line to both sides and the emergency pipe going to the return section (bean animal). Thinking of that space, I came up with the following design. It allows me to keep a deep fuge with limited light spillage (I can use a powerhead for extra flow in that chamber if needed), the filter roller has plenty of space, a frag/spare rock area, the skimmer/reactor section that I can adjust height on and the middle return that will have 2 pumps as well. I will most likely run a manifold off one of the returns for carbon/gfo and possible uv.

Any thoughts on the design would be appreciated!

Thanks!

 

[boacvh]

Hello all!

I am going to be creating a custom sump for my new 260g tank and I haven't been a fan of the way my current 40g breeder works. Drain > Skimmer > Fuge > Return. I don't need a bunch of bells and whistles but want to make sure there is ample space for the things I want and need to run. The expected sump will be around 70g of water in a 60x24x16 tank with one drain line to both sides and the emergency pipe going to the return section (bean animal). Thinking of that space, I came up with the following design. It allows me to keep a deep fuge with limited light spillage (I can use a powerhead for extra flow in that chamber if needed), the filter roller has plenty of space, a frag/spare rock area, the skimmer/reactor section that I can adjust height on and the middle return that will have 2 pumps as well. I will most likely run a manifold off one of the returns for carbon/gfo and possible uv.

Any thoughts on the design would be appreciated!

Thanks!

Not an expert by any means. I have never designed one and I use a stock one, not custom. But I have one observation based on the one I have. It depends entirely on what stand you have and how accessible the sump is, but on mine, having the return chamber in the back is somewhat of a nightmare. Its hard to tell water level easily and its hard to access for cleaning.
If stand its accessible shouldn't be a problem though. Anyway, just 2 cents based on the one I use

 

[AWIL57]

Much appreciated! I am actually planning on having it in a fish room on the other side of the wall, so it would be the side closest to me for access.

 

[JoshH]

VERY similar setup to my sump and a very similar size, my 54" x 24" x 16" sump. Has the fuge on the right, filter socks and skimmer on the left. Water comes down the main drain line and then splits to enter on both sides. Half feeds the socks and skimmer the other half feeds the refugium. Return is in the center in the back of the sump behind the Frag section.

It has only been running for a couple months now and isn't completely set up, so no algae in the fuge yet but the flow is nice and it is very easy to maintain so far. Especially seeing as it is on a shelf in a fish room similar to your future setup.

 

[AWIL57]

VERY similar setup to my sump and a very similar size, my 54" x 24" x 16" sump. Has the fuge on the right, filter socks and skimmer on the left. Water comes down the main drain line and then splits to enter on both sides. Half feeds the socks and skimmer the other half feeds the refugium. Return is in the center in the back of the sump behind the Frag section.

It has only been running for a couple months now and isn't completely set up, so no algae in the fuge yet but the flow is nice and it is very easy to maintain so far. Especially seeing as it is on a shelf in a fish room similar to your future setup.

Good to know. Do you have differing baffle heights from each side? Planing on keeping it higher in the fuge section?

 

[JoshH]

Good to know. Do you have differing baffle heights from each side? Planing on keeping it higher in the fuge section?

I do, water height on the filter sock and skimmer side is set at 8.5" which is the height at which my skimmer works best. My fuge is currently level with the frag section as I haven't had the need to raise it to it's operational height (No Algae yet). It will be set by plumbing inside the fuge chamber itself when I do set it up and should be around 13-14". Another reason why I went with the split setup is so I can isolate the fuge entirely if need be as I contemplated running a DSB. And this would be the ideal setup as I could maintain the DSB entirely separate from the system.