Diy sump advice

Smokeshow · May 24, 2020

hello all. I am currently designing a sump for my 75g tank. The sump will be a 55g tank. I have 2 main ideas.

Drain from the tank will go to 2 4x14 filter socks. Through a baffle into the skimmer chamber. Then through a bubble trap to the refugium. The over the baffle to the return pump chamber.
And

The first chamber is where the tank drains into. It will then overflow to a tray with 2 4x14 filter socks. Then into the protein skimmer which will most likely be a aquamaxx cones q-2. From there it will go over the baffle where ill have a tray setup for polyfill, carbon, purigen or whatever else i need to use. It will go through the bubble trap and into the return pump chamber. The return will have a T for the refug and a ball valve to control flow into the refug. And will overflow back into the return pump.

Smokeshow · May 24, 2020

And for the tank drain, I have 1 x 1.5" bulkhead and 4 x 1" bulkheads. Was orginally planning on a 1.5" drain but I think it will be a bit more flow than what I'm needing. I'm looking for around 500-600gph. So would a single 1" drain be sufficient? Or maybe 2 and have a ball valve on the 2nd drain?

Red_Beard · May 24, 2020

What kind of overflow do you have? If at all possible I would suggest a bean-animal style drain. It is super quiet and has an emergency drain if stuff gets plugged. Also for 500-600 1inch is plenty. Go with at least 2 though in case one gets a clog.

K7BMG · May 24, 2020

Yes agree with two drains.
I would use gate valves as they are easier to adjust for flow.

I have two 1 inch drains and my pump delivers an average of 1260gph. One is wide open the other is half open.

Smokeshow · May 24, 2020

I wasn't planning on running an overflow box but that bean animal overflow looks pretty awesome

Smokeshow · May 25, 2020

After doing a bit of research i think I'm going with the eshopps eclipse L overflow box and I'm pretty sure I'm going to do the 2nd sump design the the jebao dct 8000 for the return pump.

RocketEngineer · May 25, 2020

I wouldn’t recommend a 55 for a sump. It’s very tall which means it will be hard to work in, meaning you are less likely to do maintenance. Also, you don’t need the second baffle after the chaeto.

Smokeshow · May 25, 2020

I already have the 55. Im building the stand so I can make the interior any height I want. Was aiming for about 30" interior height which will give me about 9" of working room. Which design are you referring to? I'm leaning toward the second design where the refugium if fed from the return pump. Or i could get a second pump that has about 200-300gph for the refug

SteveG_inDC · May 25, 2020

Following along as I am also planning a sump -- about to put in baffles. My sump tank is 100 gallons -- 48 x 22 x 22.

Do you really need a separate chamber from the drain w/filter socks from the skimmer? Why not have the skimmer in that first chamber and skip those baffles? Seems like you're taking up a lot of space with that setup. Refugium will be tiny.

Also, where should the bubble trap be? I've seen it between the skimmer and refugium or between the fuge and the return chamber (when the fuge is in the middle). Not sure which is best. I see your fuge is fed by a tee from the return. I don't love that design but each to his own.

Is the ATO part of the tank??? It looks like it in that drawing. Wouldn't you want it to be entirely separate?

Smokeshow · May 25, 2020

In the second drawing the baffle between the socks and the skimmer is mainly the support for the socks. Refugium will be approximately 10x10x15" enough for some micro algea and maybe a live rock or 2. Depending on what I don't use out of the 120lbs of dry rock I have. Instead of a T on the return I could run a 2nd smaller pump for the refugium. And the ato is the last chamber in the tank. I wont have enough room under the stand to add a different resevoir and its too far from my rodi unit or I would just run a line to the sump with a float valve lol.

Smokeshow · May 25, 2020

How's this one? It'll be alittle more complicated but makes more room for the refugium

The first chamber is where the overflow will drain. The pipe needs to be submerged about 1" and don't want to T it to get both socks because that can cause issues with getting it to siphon.

Red_Beard · May 25, 2020

I think it looks good, just beware of narrow areas that will make it hard to clean. Also the return pump section can be 5-6 inches wide and fit almost every pump. Might not hurt to find 2 or 3 you'd want and get a dimension, as well as the skimmer. Some of them are kinda tall and you will want some headspace to get the cup off. And keep in mind the running water level is usually 8 or so inches so you might need to put it on a platform. Also one thing that will help you make up your mind is to build it out in cardboard and masking tape. If you have the equipment on hand it really helps or you can get a cutout the same size and label it up. Just my .02.

Smokeshow · May 25, 2020

Okay. I guess I was a little worried about the return pump pumping water to the tank faster than it can fill up. Thats why I made it alittle larger. I have a d&d terminator II skimmer but I haven't read very many good reviews on it and can get a better one. Was planning on a water height of around 10-12". The aquaMaxx skimmer im looking at have a recommended water level of 8" so was going to use some light defusers and make a stand for it to raise it up. My garage is being taken up by my new TV stand that I'm building. When its finished I'm moving the tanks in and getting started on the stand and sump build.

Smokeshow · May 26, 2020

where is a good place to order custom cut glass online? cheapest Ive found is around 250 for 6 pieces

K7BMG · May 26, 2020

Yes glass is expensive.
Online who knows.
I order all kinds of things online, but not glass.
Chances are it never going to get to you in one piece.
But YMMV.
I would find a local shop there everywhere and probably without shipping.

Smokeshow · May 28, 2020

Found a local glass company thats cutting 7- 1/4" glass panels, and drilling 2- 3 3/4" holes in one of them for the filter socks. All for $110. But will take 1-2 weeks. Their cutting a 11 13/16x16, 5- 11 13/16x12 and a 11 13/16x6". I don't have a picture handy but will be a drain chamber from the dt overflow box that overflows to the filter socks which will drain to skimmer chamber. Then through a bubble trap to the refugium. Then the last chamber where the return pump is. Looking at the DCQ6500 pump from Jebao. For the ato chamber I'm going to use the 10gal aquarium that is currently being used as a quarantine tank. Will drain and clean it before putting it to use
Trying to find a cheap sewing machine to start making some diy filter socks. But still doing research on how to make them and what material to use.

ThePlummer · May 28, 2020

How about one of these kits. That's what I have on the way as we speak.

55 Sump Kit

This is our standard configured sump kit for a 55 gallon glass aquarium. It can be configured so that the water flows from left to right, or right to left, depending on your needs. Unlike off-the-shelf acrylic sumps, ours can be installed so that each chamber is the exact size you need to fit...

www.exoticmarinesystems.com

RocketEngineer · May 28, 2020

The way you have it now, it looks like the skimmer section will grow a film on the water because there’s nothing to remove the oil slick from that section. May want to reconsider baffle 2 and remove baffle 3.

Smokeshow · May 28, 2020

The way I'm going to do it will be similar to the 2nd picture in the original post. From the skimmer chamber it will flow over a baffle then under the next baffle that goes to the refugium. Then another 2 baffle bubble trap into the return pump chamber. Ato reservoir will be a 10gal tank that will be placed next to the sump.