Two 40 gallon breeders as one sump

[josh6surfer]

I'm in the process of a 120 gallon build with two 40 gallon breeders connected together making one large sump ;-). I used 2- 2" bulkheads with unions. I want mechanical on one side and refuge on the other. Has anyone ever done this? Please advise

 

[Delta1389]

No clue but that looks like an awesome idea! Following!

 

[Bassett22]

No point to connecting them if one is going to be a fuge. Just T off the return line, let it feed the fuge, and have a drain in the fuge that dumps back into the sump.

 

[rayn]

I did something similar before. One was higher then the other and drained into the second. I created a low flow fuge for a dsb, macro algae, and pods. Then just T off the return and valve it back. Worked great.

Plumber together like that it may be difficult to control flow and water transfer between the two.

 

[aquanerd57]

My dream tank is a fuge behind the wall about the same level as the tank almost like a closed loop syestem. The fuge would then overflow to a regular bottom sump where all the toys are to create water magic i.e. Skimmer,reactors,top off monitors etc.. This will be my next build over 200 gallons.

 

[josh6surfer]

No point to connecting them if one is going to be a fuge. Just T off the return line, let it feed the fuge, and have a drain in the fuge that dumps back into the sump.

Why is there no point if one is a fuge? Don't most sumps have a fuge after the mechanical any way? I'm confused with your comment

 

[Drakonis]

Like this...

 

[aquanerd57]

Why is there no point if one is a fuge? Don't most sumps have a fuge after the mechanical any way? I'm confused with your comment

Only to separate them out and not have everything cramped in one sump. I don't like that. Bigger surface area will allow more room for everything and helps if your stocking to the max.

 

[roberthu526]

Like this...

I like it! But for people that can't put sump in the basement or with limited space under the tank this may be hard to achieve.

 

[aquanerd57]

I like it! But for people that can't put sump in the basement or with limited space under the tank this may be hard to achieve.

Haha you have discovered why I haven't done it. Correct .That would require a remodel of my home or sell it.Well we will see how I can do it in the near future.

 

[aquanerd57]

Haha you have discovered why I haven't done it. Correct .That would require a remodel of my home or sell it.Well we will see how I can do it in the near future.

 

[josh6surfer]

Only to separate them out and not have everything cramped in one sump. I don't like that. Bigger surface area will allow more room for everything and helps if your stocking to the max.

I agree which is why one of the breeders is for mechanical and the other for the fuge

 

[aquanerd57]

Got it. Your on the right path. [emoji106]

 

[Bassett22]

Why is there no point if one is a fuge? Don't most sumps have a fuge after the mechanical any way? I'm confused with your comment

I'm just saying, you already drilled and connected the two. You could have just elevated the fuge by a few inches and had a drain installed to the sump. Your work is already done and you have to move both tanks as a single unit. It's not a bad setup, but it could have been much simpler

 

[nickg]

It will work great! I have similar under mine.

 

[josh6surfer]

 

[josh6surfer]

Just finished plumbing the 120. Working on an rock scape now

 

[Brandon Lucus]

I was thinking of doing the same thing with two 40 breeders. How did this setup work out for you?

 

[jda]

This type of deal works no differently than just having a baffle.

 

[Brandon Lucus]

This type of deal works no differently than just having a baffle.

thanks! Just wanted to make sure before I started buying bulkheads and a drill bit. Do you think I could get away with just one 2” pipe instead of drilling for two?