DIY Sump

[CanadianReefer]

Hi guys,
I'm receiving my 220g tank and 80g (soon to be) sump tomorrow, and I've been trying to develop a plan of attack for the sump. Originally I was going with a very simply design, similar to the sump I have now. Unfortunately, I can no longer build it as originally planned, so I need some help.

The issue?

Well, it's both good and bad news. The good news is that via a points program with a LFS, I was able to get a reef octopus 5000 for less than 1/3rd the retail price - a deal that I could not pass up. Unfortunately, this skimmer is very tall (24") and my stand allows only 26" height. It eliminates my idea to automate the skimmer by adding the auto lid (too tall) and it also eliminates my ability to raise the skimmer onto a stand so that I can maintain a higher level of water in my sump. This skimmer recommends a height of 6.5". Clearly, a traditional configuration won't work, since I would obviously not want to waste so much sump potential by only filling it a 3rd of the way (the 80g I'm using is 16" tall).

Since I have 2 overflows, I was contemplating the idea of having one overflow flow into the skimmer chamber (that would sit beside the return pump area - both with a water level of 6.5 inches), then have the other overflow go through the live rock, refugium and reactors before being fed into the return pump. I'd use a baffle design that would allow for a 12" water level in these chambers. I have attached a rough idea of what that might look like.

Does anyone foresee huge issues with this idea, like with flow, for instance??

 

[CanadianReefer]

As an FYI, I didn't want the skimmer after the refugium since I need to maintain a very high copepod population, and I need to put live rock and marinepure in the sump since my aquascape will be very minimalist. The expansion space will be for equipment I may need to add later (I have a zeovit, for example, but I'm not 100% sure I'll use it... I may use my biodenitrator instead which would sit externally... these are decisions that are still up in the air), or I may use the space to house coral frags or fish that need to be acclimated etc.
My skimmer will need a line to an external canister, where it will purge a lot of its liquid...

 

[JoshH]

Looks like a great layout, but I'm pretty new to all this myself lol

 

[CanadianReefer]

bump... advice would be appreciated

 

[Peter Blue Reef]

If you desire the copepods, make a larger structure for them to thrive. They need a lot of room without the threat of predators. those jerks seem to have their priorities out of order. They will be eaten before they reproduce. They need a solid refugium and with the space provided, you can give it to them.

 

[primo21]

the return chamber looks a little on the small side to me. i would think a 220 could evaporate that in a day or 2. do you plan on having an ATO?

 

[CodyRVA]

A few thoughts...

1. Your skimmer is likely only going to be skimming half of the water that passes through your sump (assuming your drains drain at equal rates). Sounds like a fairly large skimmer, i haven't looked up the specs, but this could be good or bad. If it's over sized then no problem, if it's on par it could cause problems if only a percentage of your volume is exposed to the skimmer. This is all relative to your bio load as well as your return pump size.

2. Make sure your divider baffles from your live rock, refugium and expansion chambers has some opening for your pods to make their way to the return pump, otherwise they'll have a much harder time making their way to your display. Raising the baffles an inch or so off the bottom will help; IME pods tend to swim down more so than up.

3. Other hardware to consider like: heater, ATO, reactors

4. Are you having one main return or are you splitting them off at all? Just curious...

 

[CanadianReefer]

A few thoughts...

1. Your skimmer is likely only going to be skimming half of the water that passes through your sump (assuming your drains drain at equal rates). Sounds like a fairly large skimmer, i haven't looked up the specs, but this could be good or bad. If it's over sized then no problem, if it's on par it could cause problems if only a percentage of your volume is exposed to the skimmer. This is all relative to your bio load as well as your return pump size.

2. Make sure your divider baffles from your live rock, refugium and expansion chambers has some opening for your pods to make their way to the return pump, otherwise they'll have a much harder time making their way to your display. Raising the baffles an inch or so off the bottom will help; IME pods tend to swim down more so than up.

3. Other hardware to consider like: heater, ATO, reactors

4. Are you having one main return or are you splitting them off at all? Just curious...

Thanks for the reply. The skimmer is oversized. It's rated at 500 (400 with a heavy load). I've been told that with a dual overflow ( I've only had single) that the flow tends to naturally be more in one than the other, so make sure the skimmer is on the side that will have greater overflow. Is that typically the case?

Online, it says the skimmer needs to sit at 6.5", but I recieved the skimmer yesterday and it says 7.9 - 9". Now I'm very confused, but the latter would be better! The instructions are a poor translation though so I'm going to do more research before committing to the sump design.

I was only planning on having one return. It is a1900 gph DC pump. It should do the job without issue, I'm hoping. I'm contemplating the Herbie method, but haven't committed yet.

I recieved the stand, skimmer and sump tank yesterday, and am picking up the tank Katee today! So excited.

 

[CodyRVA]

Thanks for the reply. The skimmer is oversized. It's rated at 500 (400 with a heavy load). I've been told that with a dual overflow ( I've only had single) that the flow tends to naturally be more in one than the other, so make sure the skimmer is on the side that will have greater overflow. Is that typically the case?

Online, it says the skimmer needs to sit at 6.5", but I recieved the skimmer yesterday and it says 7.9 - 9". Now I'm very confused, but the latter would be better! The instructions are a poor translation though so I'm going to do more research before committing to the sump design.

I was only planning on having one return. It is a1900 gph DC pump. It should do the job without issue, I'm hoping. I'm contemplating the Herbie method, but haven't committed yet.

I recieved the stand, skimmer and sump tank yesterday, and am picking up the tank Katee today! So excited.

I've never run dual overflows so I can't speak to that. I can guess that if one has a higher flow rate then there's a reason as to why. You should be able to control the flow rates depending on how you plumb it, so one side is your primary that runs through the skimmer or the fuge.

Don't get hung up on the recommended depths. I have a DC Skimz monster skimmer and i think it says max of like 8 inches, and i believe mine is setting in 11 inches of water, and it still pulls all sorts of funky stuff from the water. As long as you can raise it SOME, you should be fine; otherwise you're rolling the dice that you can adjust the intake enough to adequate performance