Building my basement sump! Need some input please!

[erikras]

So my Fluval Osaka 320 (84gal) stand doesn't allow for a sump to be placed under the tank. Also, the tank is in the living room and noise is a major concern. So I decided to just bite the bullet, put my mechanical engineering skills to work, and build a basement sump. As an added bonus, no more carrying buckets up from the mixing barrel in basement to do water changes. (I have a minor disability and this gets real tiring and old quick.)

So I actually have a spare Osaka 320 tank already in my basement. Hagen replaced my original tank due to a failed center brace and didn't want the old one back. So I re-siliconed the brace and my friend's machinist dad make me a clamp on brace from 316 stainless to reinforce the top of the tank and keep the brace from pulling away from the tank front or back again. The tank measures roughly 48" H x 18" W x 22" H. I'm going to build a small platform from 2x12's to keep the tank about 1ft off the concrete floor. I plan for it to house a small refugium and my skimmer. Additionally, there will be an ATO system and I plan to place my 32gal mixing trash can on a platform to allow gravity to add fresh water to the sump when doing WC's.

Already own or on order:
The tank
CPR CS90 600gph siphon overflow box
Bubble Magus NAC9 Skimmer (Probably overkill but got a killer deal on it.)
Finnex 200W digital heater (Will supplement the 300W in the DT)

I'll be sourcing a pump capable of 600+ gph @ 21' through my work. (I work for an Mechanical Contractor.) Probably something similar to the Iwaki MD70RLT. I'll plumb a bypass to allow access return water to return back to the sump.

So here's my basic plan for the layout of the sump. It'll be in four sections. Starting from left to right:

Section 1 - Refugium. Fed by ~25% of the supply from the tank and spill over into Section 2.)

Section 2 - Fed by ~75& of supply and bypass from return pump. Will house the skimmer. Plan for a 12" water depth. RO/DI makeup water will be added here with ATO. Will spill over through bubble traps into section 3.

Section 3 - This section will be narrow and and primarily house the intake strainer of the external pump.

Section 4 - This will be a dry section separated from the rest of the sump by a full height (22") wall. I plan to place the pump within the tank so I don't have to drill it. I might include some type of float switch or water sensor here to cut power to the pump by means of a relay if water does leak into this section. Pump will surely be on a GFCI circuit!

What is the best material to make the baffles and dividers out of? Can I just use plexiglass from Home Depot and silicon it in place?

Thanks for the input. I'm going to work on coming up with a sketch of my planned system.

[marks69]

glass for your dividers. also don't put an external pump inside a tank. if the baffel ever gave out your shot. i would put the lower sump at about 3' to make it easier to work on and save some head loss. drilling is always easy, and you don't have to worry about the pump blowing up.lol the section that you keep dry you could use for top up, with an aqualifter to keep topped up.
gl
mark

[sjm817]

First thing I would change is that CPR overflow, They are notoriously unreliable. They can not maintain a siphon on their own and require a vacuum pump to do so. Drill the tank if at all possible. It is not as hard as you think. You can get a complete kit with everything you need to do the job from www.glass-holes.com If you must use a siphon overflow, get a Lifereef. Much better reliable design.

As above, raise the sump up on a bench and drill the sump for the external pump.

[erikras]

Thanks for the input guys.

Drilling my display tank would be a royal pain since it's already stocked and has a DSB with 100+ pounds of sand and 90 pounds of live rock. As for the CPR overflow, it comes supplied with the aqualifter pump and I plan to use a float switch either in the DT or the sump to cut the return pump if the water levels get out of whack. I've already got a ReefKeeper Lite to use for controls or may hardwire it.

After doing some research, it appears the Fluval Osaka tanks can be drilled. The front and sides of the tank are a single piece of rather thick glass. I may drill the back of the tank instead and just make sure to have a long enough straight run before the pump. (Two elbows will be required since the pump will be sitting next to the tank.)

[erikras]

So I think I came up with my plan for the supply line. I'm going to steal nexdog's idea from this thread.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?p=9689733