Sump Questions

[User7007]

Here is some specs of my tank and sump:​

Reef Tank: 48L x 20h x 18w = 75gallons.

Tank overflow to sump(when power off): max 7 gallons with 2inch suspect above overflow calculation.

Sump Measures: 36L x 16h x 17.5w =40gallon. This is a 40gallon breeder tank.

Drain style: Bean Animal Style: (2) main drains at 1” and (1) 1” emergency drain. (gate valve will be present for both drain waste lines; the third (emergency) line will not have one.

Overflow Box: Eshopps Eclipse Large Overflow Box (100-150g, 1000gph)

Return Pump: Jebao DCP-10000 SINE Wave DC Tank Circulation Return Pump Controller: Controlling full syphon/noise with Pump’s DC controller and drain to sump in-line gate valve.

RedSea Filter Roller: Measurements as per spec on attached photos.

Direction of Water flow:

Sump Sections by label:

Section 1) Drain Waste: Red Sea Filter Roller accepts waste water; water overfills first baffle to sump section 2-the Protein skimmer.

Section 2) Protein Skimmer. Receives water from first overflowing baffle. Section 2 size is debatable? I need help on section 2 size. I instinctually go for 10” between baffles aka sump sections; therefore, 8” x 17.5w (width of sump). I do not have a skimmer picked out yet.

Questions: I do not know the proper height for the skimmer; what would you suspect be a good start for the sump water height for skimmer? Should the skimmer just be placed on a step up if required?

Section 3) Refug- my Cheato sections will be approx. 10” x (17.5”) width of sump. This will flow into my return pump visa over/under/over baffles. Between the baffles may have some 50micro mechanical sponge. Reason for sump order is: chaeto being on the 3rd chamber to reduce a collection of free radicals disrupting the skimmer

Question: What should the heights of the baffles be? I'm unsure about the required skimmer height, but I believe I can add support beneath the skimmer to modify its functionality.

Section 4) Return pump kind of takes the sacrifice for reduced space. The chamber will be approx. 6”

Please see photos attached.

I should note: I will be using glass for my baffles. Baffle spacing will be 1" apart.

I do appreciate the responses and the time you took to review my thread. I have spent alot of time reviewing threads, watching BRStv but when it comes to my own build and being hands on, it creates more questions than a typical copy and paste build.

Thanks!
Khol

 

[Asm481]

I would skip the baffle before the skimmer, just let it flow over. Also 8 inch wide is a bit tight for many skimmers. An 8 to 10 inch depth will fit most skimmers. Myself I get nervous about having enough room in a sump for power outage. I would run the water level less then 10 inch through the fuge and return.

 

[User7007]

I would skip the baffle before the skimmer, just let it flow over. Also 8 inch wide is a bit tight for many skimmers. An 8 to 10 inch depth will fit most skimmers. Myself I get nervous about having enough room in a sump for power outage. I would run the water level less then 10 inch through the fuge and return.

Nice, okay I see exactly what you mean; cant believe I did not notice that. So, the reason why I went 8 inch was because I was running out of space for everything else. Would you agree than going 10 inch on skimmer and 8 inch on refug section?

Also, on the baffle heights, what would the sump baffle heights be without knowing the future skimmer in place? I have 16.5" max height. That being said 25% of 16.5 is really 10gallons. I need to keep max 7 gallons spare room or 20 percent of total sum volume.
Does this all sound logical and correct to you?

 

[User7007]

So I quickly redid the diagram; this time I removed the baffle before the protein skimmer.

IF: I made the baffles 9 inch tall for each chamber does that sound correct or fair to assume would be correct? This would mean the water would not be heigher than 9" in sump. I would only need 4 inchs to accept the tank/overflow when power off. The 4 inchs represents 25% of my sump & 10 gallons. I need a max of 7gallons collections with the power off.

Thougths and Ideas about Sump design?
Oh- Does the skimmer have to flow into the next chamber or does it spill back into its own chamber? I own a old school Instant Ocean 100 Skimmer that can hang or be placed in sump. I didnt plant on using it but I guess I will in approx 6months or so if I cant afford a fancy upgrade... Thoughts on this too?
Thanks a bunch for everyones time- again, I do appreciate the time it takes to read.

 

[User7007]

Anymore thoughts?
Thanks

 

[RocketEngineer]

An easy way to get the baffle spacing during installation:

I suggest making each successive baffle about 1/2” shorter than the next.

 

[RocketEngineer]

Oh, and I typically run my systems with 1-2” of space in the sump even with drain back. I set this when I first start the system up then mark the levels, pumps off and pumps on, using marker in the glass for future reference.

 

[User7007]

An easy way to get the baffle spacing during installation:

I suggest making each successive baffle about 1/2” shorter than the next.

Oh okay I understand but could you please explain why? Does it help with softening the flow as it enters a chamber?

 

[Cichlid Dad]

12 inch tall baffles put the skimmer on an adjustable stand. This setup in a 40 will handle a 120 if power goes out.

 

[Cichlid Dad]

 

[RocketEngineer]

Oh okay I understand but could you please explain why? Does it help with softening the flow as it enters a chamber?

Having a small waterfall causes any oils/proteins that collect in each section of the sump to get pulled back into the water stream for the skimmer to have another crack at removing. With them all the same height, the surface of the sump could get that oil slick you see on tanks without overflows.

 

[User7007]

12 inch tall baffles put the skimmer on an adjustable stand. This setup in a 40 will handle a 120 if power goes out.

Okay great. So what I did was make the baffle 9" because the tank is 16"H; this leaves me with 4 inchs of water required for overflow/power off and gives me 3" left over to the very top.
I do appreciate the replys. I actually changed a few things as being my return pump in the center chamber but I did take the advice about spacing and changing the baffle heights.
My Over/Under/Over bubble trap to the pump has a last baffle height of 8".
For example I am 9"/10" (but raised 1" therefor 11") and 8" on the last baffle which enterss the sump. Here is the attached example. The top pic and bottom pick I took from the internet and the middle pick I made on Canvas. The Baffle sizes on the left are my actual measurments that I did.

My main question now is: having the fleece roller or socks in the same chamber as the skimmer? Is this going to be a problem? I found some pretty compelling response from people lking the return pump in the middle. They call this the Melv Design if I understand correctly?
The baffles I cut were glass and I cut extra 1x6 to create chanels for the glass to help make things stronger. I was not intending on adding the 1x6H glass slots but 'the purple sea hourse' shop owner said He's currently fixing a sump after 2 years and he always ends up adding channels to customers sumps after 1-2 years they fail.

Also, one final question: I cannot seem to find much info as to how the redsea reef roller mat system actually works in the means of water flow through it. I see it can be attached left or right and hung or placed on stand giving 9.9" of height. This is another reason why I made first baffle 9" tall so the roller door can be opened. How does the water flow over the mat once enters? Does it flow out the bottom without any or minimal bubbles? What would the ideal amount of water be for the device to sit and operate in?

Thank you very much for reading my long response. And I do appreciate the photos you all shared.

 

[User7007]

Having a small waterfall causes any oils/proteins that collect in each section of the sump to get pulled back into the water stream for the skimmer to have another crack at removing. With them all the same height, the surface of the sump could get that oil slick you see on tanks without overflows.

Thank you for that advice- I never thought of that but that makes so much sense. I did take that adivice and altered my baffles heights! Thank you!

 

[bamafanmdw]

I was about to post an almost identical question. I am working on a set up for a 48x24x25 (120 gallon) tank.
I also want to use the Red Sea mat and a refugium but my initial sump design took up all of my area underneath (44" x 16").
I have an extra 6" of width so I'm going to go to a 34" x 22" design and place my reef mat and skimmer in front of each other. I'm debating if they are ok in the same chamber or I need to add a sideways baffle in-between, or maybe just a piece of aquamesh in-between. I don't think it's necessary but not sure.
To save space I was looking at the Reef Octo 150SSS Space Saver with internal pump. Was about to search threads on space saver skimmers to get some reviews.
Any comments or thoughts are appreciated.