Sump Design...

[impreza]

I am just in the process of putting together my sump. I am using a 38G tank (36"long x 20" High x 12" Deep"). This will be a sump for my 65G.



I am thinking of spacing the baffles about 1" apart from eachother. How tall should the baffles be? I am thinking about 17", any comments? Is that too high? Also, for the return area, I am thinking having a spacing of about 8" there, with a 17" baffle. Any suggestions on my design? Will this design be able to accomodate enough water if the display drains a bit into my sump as a result of a power outage?

Any and all comments are welcome! Thanks in advance.

[sonic1634]

i would takeit down to 15-16in on the baffles high that would give u about 4-5in just in case of power outages the sump is less likely to flood

[sonic1634]

also in that open space i would put a refuge with some cheato

[impreza]

^Thanks! I was planning to put a fuge in that open space. Also, I have a Coralife Super Skimmer that I plan on putting in the sump. Should I run it as a "hang-on" skimmer on the sump, so should I place the entire skimming into the open area of the sump? What are the advantages of doing that?

[ludnix]

I would reccomend calculating how much water your tank drains into the sump incase of return pump failure. Then allow for that much water in the sump incase such a thing happens. Otherwise that all looks good to me.

EDIT: You should probably have a place for a skimmer as it's own section. Try looking at some of the sump designs at melev's reef.

Check out the "Varied Sumps" on the left navigation.

http://www.melevsreef.com/allmysumps.html

[impreza]

^How do I go about calculating that?

[ludnix]

It depends on what your water intake is for returning water to the sump, but you can use the water volume calculator:

http://www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/deput...volcalchtm.htm

to measure the amount of water that will flow into your overflow box or bulkhead and estimate the amount in your plumbing.

You could also try and test this with the sump that you have now (without the baffles and what-not in it yet) and see how much water flows into it when the pump fails.

[sonic1634]

i think he is say check how much water would drain into the sump with out the return pump on that way you would know exactly how much room u have to play with on the baffels i have a hang over skimmer it dose the job im not really sure of the benfits

[sjm817]

Skip that bubble trap. It wont stop microbubbles. The single baffle at the drain is good since it will force the bubbles to the surface. Leave them there. A filter sock on the drain does wonders to eliminate bubbles, calm the water, and yes, filter out crud coming down the drain. The macro in the fuge will also help to dissipate any bubbles. I would make the baffles lower. Maybe 15" high.

[sonic1634]

Good Idea Sjm... I didnt think about adding that.

[impreza]

^Thanks for the suggestions everybody!

So I should skip the bubble trap and instead, replace it with a single 15" baffle? Will 8" in length be enough for the return area?

Also, when my pump fails, my sump needs to just be able to accomodate all the water in the plumbing? Sorry, I am just sorta confused at this point on what would happen if my pump fails. What I am thinking is that if my pump fails, then no water would be drained into my sump since no water is being input into the display tank. or am I totally wrong? Where is the water coming from that will drain into my sump in the event of a power failure?

My return is a 1" bulkhead and my external overflow is 1.5"

Thanks again!

[sjm817]

When the pump is off, water will drain back to the sump. It will go down to the bottom of the overflow teeth and will also backsiphon through the return line. Keep your return output just below the waters surface to minimise this.

As an example, lets say your tank drains down 2" when the pump is off. That is about 6 gallons that will drain back to the sump. To accommodate 6 gallons of drainback, the 38G would have to have about 3" of space. Not a lot.

I would make the (single) baffles 15" tall. That gives you plenty of room for drainback.

A small return section is fine if you have an auto topoff. If not, bigger helps.

[kwaters]

I remember going through all of this as well. I have a custom 22 gallon sump, planned from Melev's designs. You have the link above in Ludnix's reply.

I opted to have my return in the biggest chamber in the middle of the sump....it takes more time to show the evaporation in the bigger chamber. My sump is 16 inches high and my baffles are 10". IMHO, the baffles do help with the micro bubbles and have a set between the skimmer section and the fuge section.

As for the overflow should the return pump fail, I drilled a small hole in the return, just below the water line in the display. I check it daily to make sure it is not crusted over, but when the pump goes out, it causes a siphon break...I can then aim my loc-lines where I choose and know exactly how much water will end up in the sump.

You can use the calculator here on RC to determine # of gallons...I just figured 2" (amount fo water that leaves the display before the siphon break) by length and width of my tank.

(OH WOW< MY TWIN STAR GOBY JUST APPEARED... he is an awesome fish!)

Anyway, I marked a minimum and maximum on the sump to ensure the proper water level. Take into consideration the overflow GPH and the return pumps GPH and try to match them up.

I tweaked it for the first month or so, but now, it works great.

Here is a pic of my sump, and again....thanks MARC for all of your great information.

[kwaters]

Here is another pic in action.