DIY Sump?

[Fin]

Ok I will. And I'll look into those skimmers. Is the original picture I posted a good design for a sump in your opinion?

I would do it differently, more like the pic I posted. Don't use the bio-balls. They are not necessary and will just add additional nitrates to your tank. Your live rock is all the biological filtration that you need. I would put the skimmer in the same chamber with your drain. You could put a filter sock in that chamber as well, if you want to filter out some of the detritus. I would make your return section larger and fuge area also, if you can. Some people use two baffle bubble traps and some use three. I would put a bubble trap after the fuge and before the return section. Pretty much just described the sump I am building (in the pics).

 

[Longnose Hawkfish]

Ok thank you. :) Is there any way you could draw out your design on paper so when I go to make mine I know exactly what to do?

 

[Longnose Hawkfish]

Fin, do you have a build thread for your tank? Thanks! :)

 

[Fin]

Fin, do you have a build thread for your tank? Thanks! :)

No, I do not have a build thread for either of my tanks.

I would rather you get input from a number of people and then make up your own mind as to what you want your sump to be. I don't really want to draw it up for you. Did you go to that link someone provided early on to Melev's Reef? There is a lot of good information there about sumps and how they work. I wish you luck.

 

[Longnose Hawkfish]

Ok thank you! :) and yes I did! Awesome read. I'm going to try and design my sump tomorrow and I'll post a pic of my design and can you tell me what you think of it?

 

[gtbarsi]

I would recommend you start with the fuge, the bigger the better. As you add more livestock you may out pace what the fuge can remove, that is when I would add the bio pellets. After a month of running the bio-pellets remove all but a little of your algae from the fuge, that way the pellets get the lions share of the nutrients and then you can keep the fuge for added water volume and pod breading.

 

[evan.lundberg4]

I'll share my setup just for a different, more simple approach. It just has one baffle in roughly the middle. I made it out of a 25 gallon tank. First chamber the water drains into and houses my skimmer, second chamber is my return and also I have probes, heaters, and auto top off in there. That's it. Super neat, simple and easy to clean. I didn't do a fuge because IMO unless it's large, like the size of my whole sump and accessible and easy to clean it is more trouble than it's worth. Just my opinion though. I'm into simplistic setups. :thumbup:

 

[Longnose Hawkfish]

Thank you both!! :) I am working on a design and I'll post pictures to get opinions. Is it fine if the water from the DT drains into the first section without slowing down? Thanks! :) have a great night!

 

[Longnose Hawkfish]

Something like that to slow down the water flow? Or no?

 

[Spendley]

I am going to make a sump out of a 20L. What would be the best way to use say chemipure and purigen? Maybe have the water that comes into the sump run through a section for this?

 

[gtbarsi]

All media is best used with a reactor, I had a canister filter I was not using so I removed everything from it and just used the media baskets to run my media.

 

[YodaHart]

You'll get many different opinions on sumps. Here's mine :)

I would ditch the refugium. They become detrius traps after awhile. Here's my sump. Water moves from right to left. The chambers are bubble trap -> filter sock tray -> skimmer -> baffles -> return pump.

Here it is in action...I eventually put a piece of acrylic over the filter socks to block the water spray.

 

[Longnose Hawkfish]

Thanks! :) looks nice! I'm still working on a design but should I put filter pads in te sump to help take out junk, or not. Thanks!

 

[Longnose Hawkfish]

So if I skip a fuge, what would I do with all the extra space?

 

[YodaHart]

So if I skip a fuge, what would I do with all the extra space?

Turn it into a frag area with a small LED setup :)

 

[evan.lundberg4]

You'll get many different opinions on sumps. Here's mine :)

I would ditch the refugium. They become detrius traps after awhile. Here's my sump. Water moves from right to left. The chambers are bubble trap -> filter sock tray -> skimmer -> baffles -> return pump.

Here it is in action...I eventually put a piece of acrylic over the filter socks to block the water spray.

Very nice setup you have there.

 

[gtbarsi]

I am not a fan of filter pads, I prefer filter socks as they are easier to replace and can be washed and re-used.
As to the space, if you are not going to run a fuge in your sump extra space in the skimmer chamber is good, as you may want to run a larger skimmer or some in-sump reactors at some point.

Personally I am in the final planning stages of the design of a DIY 20L sump and I decided to have a remote fuge fed by a T off of my return line to the DT, with a gravity return back to the pump chamber of my sump.
I currently have a fuge in my TOO small sump that I will be replacing.

Eventually I plan on setting up a bio-pellet reactor. This will minimize the nutrient export the fuge provides, and leave it as simply extra system volume and a pod propagation system. I might make it a frag grow out space, but i'm not there yet...

 

[gtbarsi]

Here is my current top down layout concept...