Sump design critique

[tjonw6981]

Hey yall,

Been toying around with a couple of sump designs to send off to the builder and I am looking for some feedback on the one I am happiest with. Basically I wanted to do a rough sketch of the sump to communicate my needs to the builder and then let them handle the bracing, weir slots, lids, etc.

Water enters from the crashbox on the top left and will feed into a clarisea 5k. Water will then flow onto the skimmer section and finally the return zone. The Cryptic and Fuge will be fed off manifold for variable flow rates and then flow into the return zone from the right. The ATO resi is 7.5g and isolated in the back. All dosing and probes will dump directly into the return section to bypass skimmer.

Sump dimensions are 57"x27"x17" so about 100gal at max capacity if you deduct the ATO and 56gal normal operating capacity.
Skimmer Section 14"x20" - Minimum depth 6" , Max depth 12"
Cryptic & Fuge - 17gal each
ATO - 7.5 Gal

Merry Christmas,
Travis

 

[don_chuwish]

Great drawings! So you're going to fill the cryptic/fuge areas from a return manifold? I've always kinda liked that approach.
No filter socks wanted? I'm thinking you could at least design in the option, then use it or not as the mood strikes you.

 

[tjonw6981]

Great drawings! So you're going to fill the cryptic/fuge areas from a return manifold? I've always kinda liked that approach.
No filter socks wanted? I'm thinking you could at least design in the option, then use it or not as the mood strikes you.

Thanks Don! Yep, that way I can fine tune the flow in each area independently. No filter socks on this one, it'll have a rollermat in the first chamber.

 

[don_chuwish]

Very nice then! If you can get titanium thumb screws for the adjustable baffle I would - the plastic ones on mine have become very hard to turn over time.

 

[Ocelaris]

The most useful part of my sump has been the return manifold connections. I have two returns for the dual pumps and three 3/4 bulkheads for the manifold returns. Mine end up in the skimmer chamber, but I merge them and run them to the pump section so chiller and uv don't recycle through the sump indefinitely. I split the dual pumps into two sections, one for the manifold (and whatever goes back to the tank), and the other goes directly to the tank. This way all my manifold returns go back to the tank quickly.

A lip around the edge helps a lot with salt creep, and gives you a place to land your return manifold bulkheads. If I had to do it again I'd have my refugium after the skimmer. I get Chaeto in my skimmer frequently and have to clean the impeller weekly.

Also I wish I had room for an algae turf scrubber. Although a cryptic zone sounds cool, I would look at algae turf scrubbers. Also my refugium isn't big enough to keep up with my big tangs. Kalk reactor sits in the skimmer section as well. And anything that's hard to reach will build up detritus, so consider how you'll reach the back chambers.

Just some thoughts from my sump experience.

 

[tjonw6981]

Thanks for the heads up yall, the insight is much appreciated!

 

[tjonw6981]

Builder is paid and it should be here in about 4-6 weeks. Some minor dimension changes were made but the layout will be the same. Should come out fairly slick!