First Sump, Optimal Layout?

[Hugh Mann]

150 gallon sump for a 230 gallon tank.

This is my first Sump, so I'm not exactly sure how to set it up, and what equipment should go where. The pump is external, so I don't need a compartment for the return.

If I understand it right, it should go filter socks -> refugium -> skimmer -> return
What about the heaters, I hear lots of people run heaters in the sump, where should those go? Am I missing anything?

Lots of big, hungry preds, so a big fuge is necessary.

 

[HD_Reefer]

Socks, skimmer, fuge, return. I have a heater just past the skimmer and another in the return section. I'm sure there are lots of opinions on the placement, but my thought was pre-warm the water before the return, then warm it to temp in the return section right before it goes back to the DT. So far, my temps have been extremely consistent.

 

[xxkenny90xx]

Socks, skimmer, fuge, return. I have a heater just past the skimmer and another in the return section. I'm sure there are lots of opinions on the placement, but my thought was pre-warm the water before the return, then warm it to temp in the return section right before it goes back to the DT. So far, my temps have been extremely consistent.

Sounds just like my sump. Except I don't keep a heater in the return section. Sometimes I forget to refill the ato and the return section gets a little low. Wouldn't want a heater out of the water

 

[HD_Reefer]

Sounds just like my sump. Except I don't keep a heater in the return section. Sometimes I forget to refill the ato and the return section gets a little low. Wouldn't want a heater out of the water

Both of my heaters are on the bottom of the sump, so even if the pump ran the section past prime, the heater is still fully submersed. Its also right underneath the bubble trap, so it gets maximum flow. Trigger Sapphire 39

 

[xxkenny90xx]

Both of my heaters are on the bottom of the sump, so even if the pump ran the section past prime, the heater is still fully submersed. Its also right underneath the bubble trap, so it gets maximum flow. Trigger Sapphire 39

Gotcha. I like my heaters to sit vertically. Mine last longer with the thermostat part sticking out of the water

 

[Hugh Mann]

Why the skimmer before the fuge? Use the chaeto as a bubble trap?

I was planning on two 400w titanium heaters just before the return pump, on the bottom for exactly that reason. The bulkhead for the return pump is about 2.5" above the bottom.

 

[HD_Reefer]

Gotcha. I like my heaters to sit vertically. Mine last longer with the thermostat part sticking out of the water

Interesting, never really thought about that. I just don't trust heaters by default and wired my system so that I could easily change them both out every year.

 

[HD_Reefer]

Why the skimmer before the fuge? Use the chaeto as a bubble trap?

I was planning on two 400w titanium heaters just before the return pump, on the bottom for exactly that reason. The bulkhead for the return pump is about 2.5" above the bottom.

It lets the skimmer catch all the junk that comes out of the DT before it gets caught up in the chaeto. It will definitely work the other way around, but skimmer first keeps a cleaner sump.

 

[HD_Reefer]

Why the skimmer before the fuge? Use the chaeto as a bubble trap?

I was planning on two 400w titanium heaters just before the return pump, on the bottom for exactly that reason. The bulkhead for the return pump is about 2.5" above the bottom.

On the topic of both heaters in the same place....there may be some science to this, but I was worried that setting it up that way would just put super heated water into the DT. With that concern, I opted for spacing them as far apart as I could in the sump and using the one in the skimmer section as the primary. The primary is set to 80, the secondary is set to 79 and the InkBird is set to 78. It seems to be working perfectly so far, the dead middle of the DT stays the same temp as the Inkbird, within 0.2 degrees so far.

 

[Hugh Mann]

It lets the skimmer catch all the junk that comes out of the DT before it gets caught up in the chaeto. It will definitely work the other way around, but skimmer first keeps a cleaner sump.

Makes sense. I'll do it that way.

On the subject of refugiums, how deep/shallow/long should they be, any general rule of thumb?

On the topic of both heaters in the same place....there may be some science to this, but I was worried that setting it up that way would just put super heated water into the DT. With that concern, I opted for spacing them as far apart as I could in the sump and using the one in the skimmer section as the primary. The primary is set to 80, the secondary is set to 79 and the InkBird is set to 78. It seems to be working perfectly so far, the dead middle of the DT stays the same temp as the Inkbird, within 0.2 degrees so far.

The heaters I'm buying have separate temperature probes. I was going to use those the sump, and an Inkbird in the DT itself. Same settings as you, more or less.

 

[HD_Reefer]

Makes sense. I'll do it that way.

On the subject of refugiums, how deep/shallow/long should they be, any general rule of thumb?


The heaters I'm buying have separate temperature probes. I was going to use those the sump, and an Inkbird in the DT itself. Same settings as you, more or less.

My fuge section is 10.5 wide, 15.5 long and 9.5" of water. I don't think there's a min/max on it, just depends on how much flow & light you feed it. I have a mini-fuge running on the wife's 24g in a 3" X 10" phosban reactor. It has a 9w pico grow light on it and fills the container from a golf ball size to restricting flow in about 2 weeks.

 

[Hugh Mann]

My sump is 56x24x24, so there's lots of space for an ample refugium.

I also understand that you can use glass plates do adjust the water level in each section, not sure what the proper term would be for that. Any particular depth per section? How, if at all, would it effect the ability of the sump to hold extra water in a power outage?

 

[HD_Reefer]

My sump is 56x24x24, so there's lots of space for an ample refugium.

I also understand that you can use glass plates do adjust the water level in each section, not sure what the proper term would be for that. Any particular depth per section? How, if at all, would it effect the ability of the sump to hold extra water in a power outage?

My skimmer and fuge sections run at 9.5", return section is about 1/2 to 3/4" lower. My sump has an adjustable plate at the bubble trap to adjust the water height, so it was easy to dial in to 9.5" where the skimmer is the happiest. When I shut the pumps off and all the water drains down, it's exactly 2.5" from the top of the sump, right at the top of the return pump section divider. I could probably run it a little deeper and still be safe, but it seems to be very happy where its at now.

 

[Hugh Mann]

Alright, I think I get you.

One last question. What about the water level in the sock section? I'm not exactly sure how the filter socks get set up.

 

[HD_Reefer]

Alright, I think I get you.

One last question. What about the water level in the sock section? I'm not exactly sure how the filter socks get set up.

Do your drains go directly into the socks or into a chamber that overflows into the socks?

It's really about noise control. If the socks are high above the water line, you'll hear the flow into the socks. In my sump, the top of the socks sit at 10" and the water is at 9.5", which makes it dead silent. I know some folks put floss and sock silencers in to limit some of that noise.

 

[Hugh Mann]

I haven't built the plumbing yet. Unless it's recommended against, I was going to have the drains dump directly into the socks.

I like the quiet, so that sounds about right. I may adjust the depth a bit, since my sump is 24" deep, increase my overall volume for sweet, sweet stability.

Maybe if there's room, add an extra compartment to culture live rock, or could that go in the refugium section?

 

[HD_Reefer]

having the drains in their own section with the pipes ending 3-4" below the waterline lets any air bubbles or noise happen there, before it goes into the socks. I would build it that way if you can. I've seen many going directly into the socks and not a single one was silent. If it wasn't for the gentle hum from the pump inside my cabinet, you'd swear it wasn't running.

 

[HD_Reefer]

Here's a link to my sump....maybe you can build yours to match proportionally.

Trigger Sapphire

 

[Hugh Mann]

Ah, I see what you mean. That's a pretty slick sump. This one is a glass box with just a bubble trap that needs some heavy modifications.

Still, I'll make it work. Thank you.

I might do some cardboard mockups of how I think it should be and check back in to make sure I didn't make some stupid mistake. I can see why it is common to just buy prefab sumps like that.

 

[HD_Reefer]

I originally planned to build my own, but after I saw this one, I couldn't justify doing it myself. Definitely not the cheaper option, but I don't think I could have done anything even close to the performance I get out of it.