My first sump build

[Cooper32803]

So I bought a 55 gallon tank to use as a sump when I get my big tank (125g). However I am horrible at math and understanding how tall I want my baffles to be and what heights for the bubble trap escape me. Can anyone help?

I am thinking in the far right is where I want to put the overflow drain and protein skimmer, then in the middle would be a refugium and then in the far left after the bubble trap would be the return pump.

How far up should I put the piece of acrylic between the sump and refugium and how would I do the bubble trap? I want to make sure there is enough room in the tank in case of a power outage so there are no floods on my floor.

Anyone make their own sump and can help me with the calculations?

Thanks ahead of time!

 

[blackx-runner]

The big things you want to take into account on baffle/water height is leaving adequate room for backflow and skimmer depth. There is no exact formula, you just have to build it to meet your needs. What I did on my sump (125g tank for 250 display) is divide it into 3 sections. |ref|Ret|skm| The water enters the skimmer section where I have the water height set with the bubble trap at about 10". The skimmer sits on a short stand to get it to the proper height. The water then goes through the bubble trap to the return section with the same water height. You could also go with a lower water level, but I see no reason to. The return pump feeds the main tank, it also feeds a manifold that pumps water to the refugium section as well as a couple reactors. The refugium section is ~16" deep and just slowly overflows back to the return section. The flow here is pretty minimal so I don't even have a bubble trap although it wouldn't hurt. That leaves me about 2/3 of the length of the tank and about 8" of height as room for backflow. And I have used nearly all of it a couple times.

 

[Cooper32803]

So here is a picture of what I propose to do with my sump. Any input would be great as I am kinda flying blind right now LOL

The far right is the drain from the overflow and skimmer with a bubble trap leading to the refugium and then the return pump on the far left. I am thinking the baffle between the refugium anfd return pump should be shorter?

 

[blackx-runner]

The height you have the refugium/return baffle will be the water height in the entire sump. That's really not leaving too much room for backflow.

 

[Cooper32803]

I thought so... how high should it be? That is around 15 inches right now..

 

[Cooper32803]

Bumping another one of my posts for the night crowd :bounce:

 

[AsphaltPays]

The height you have the refugium/return baffle will be the water height in the entire sump. That's really not leaving too much room for backflow.

Definitely agree if that is 15 I would go with a 12 or 12 1/2 just to be on the safe side just my 2 cents worth


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[Cooper32803]

Ok thanks!! Will cut the tape and see what that looks like.. Does the plan look good? I have seen alot of people who put the refugium on the end, but wouldn't that be bad for any copepods trying to get from the refugium to the main tank?

 

[Loki]

I would make the skimmer section much smaller. I would also make the return much larger. The return section of your sump is where all of the evaporation will show. So let's just say you currently have 3 gallons in that section and your tank evaporates 3 gallons a day. Each day you will have to fill that section. My return is about 15 gallons and I also have an ATO.

 

[Loki]

Also it may just be the tape but the two outside bubble trap pieces of glass need to be the same height. I would give a 1" gap between each pane of glass and have the middle 1" off of the bottom of the tank. The middle can be the same but I have mine taller. I would suggest (assuming you go 12" baffles) that piece be 15". It really doesn't matter though.

 

[revhtree]

Very cool and looking good!

 

[Cooper32803]

Also it may just be the tape but the two outside bubble trap pieces of glass need to be the same height. I would give a 1" gap between each pane of glass and have the middle 1" off of the bottom of the tank. The middle can be the same but I have mine taller. I would suggest (assuming you go 12" baffles) that piece be 15". It really doesn't matter though.

Ok thanks for the input! I will move the tape around tomorrow after work and take a picture again to see if it looks better to everyone..

 

[Cooper32803]

Very cool and looking good!

Thanks! Considering I have only the slightest clue as to what I am doing here! Haha!

 

[blackx-runner]

Ok thanks!! Will cut the tape and see what that looks like.. Does the plan look good? I have seen alot of people who put the refugium on the end, but wouldn't that be bad for any copepods trying to get from the refugium to the main tank?

No, either way water is flowing from the refugium section straight to the return section. What you don't want to do is have your skimmer section between the fuge and the return.
Quick and dirty paint job LOL

 

[Loki]

^^ I like that! I would put a gate/ball valve after the T going to the fuge to slow the flow down. I would also submerge that pipe into the fuge. There shouldn't be any air so it shouldn't cause bubbles or anything.

 

[Loki]

Oops. It does show it submerged. Perfect!

 

[Cooper32803]

Ohh ok I get it... I think lol... The sump is probably the easiest part too... now plumbing... rut roh! Plan on there being lots of threads by me for that! LOL how high up should the wall between the return pump and the refugium be? As high as it looks in the drawing (almost to the top)? And will the water level stay to the top of the two bottom baffles in the bubble trap leaving plenty of room for power loss?

 

[blackx-runner]

Just google sump pics and search threads on the forum. You'll get a ton of ideas, then just put together what you think will work best on your system. There are hundreds of different ways to do things in this hobby.
As for water height you can go as high as you wish in the refugium. Just be aware it will be dropping into your return section. If it falls too fast and too far it could create bubbles. The water height in the skimmer chamber will always be at the baffle height as long as the water in the return area is at or below that level. If the return area is higher level it will also raise the skimmer section to that height. The return section will get lower with evaporation.