New to sumps! I need help.

[nellecat]

I have a 75 gallon reef tank that is being started. I am using a 20 gallon tank to make a DIY sump. My problem is I have no idea how to run a sump effectively and could use some pointers and advice. I know I came to the right guys .

(I want a skimmer and a dual carbon/GFO reactor in there as well as the middle will be a refugium.)

Thanks!

[REGGAEX]

Try the filtration forum plenty help.

[gls259]

I would say get a larger tank to use as a sump, more water and equipment space... You also have to consider water that will drain into your sump in the event of a power outage, meaning that your 20 gallon is holding less than 20 gallons. Fitting your skimmer and reactor might also be tricky. There wouldn't be any room for a sizable refugium. I used a 30 gallon tank and did myself a sump (hehe) for my 55 gallon. Skimmer heaters filter bag in first section ~12" refugium also about ~12, and a third section for my return~8". I would deff say wait and get at 40 gallon or larger...

[TimeConsumer]

Originally Posted by nellecat

I have a 75 gallon reef tank that is being started. I am using a 20 gallon tank to make a DIY sump. My problem is I have no idea how to run a sump effectively and could use some pointers and advice. I know I came to the right guys .

(I want a skimmer and a dual carbon/GFO reactor in there as well as the middle will be a refugium.)

Thanks!

That's a lot of stuff to squeeze in a 20g sump. I have a 40 breeder on my 75g. Between my filter sock, skimmer, single reactor, return pump, refugium, ATO sensors, heater, and bubble trap it is packed pretty tight. I'm at the point where I'm dabbling the the idea to make a 75g sump. If you can find a way to fit a larger sump, do it. If not, I hope you're good at Tetris.

As far as design goes, there are two basic designs. They both have their merits, it boils down to personal preference.
1) You can have the return in the center and the refugium on one side. This allows for flow control either by plumbing off the return line or off the drain line. I use this design. Because my water level in my skimmer and return section is 8", this design allowed me to have my refugium 14" tall so I could squeeze in a deep sand bed.
2) You can have the refugium in the center and the return pump off to the side. This seems like the route you are looking for info on. This will have all the water in the sump pass through the refugium. However the height of the refugium is going to be tied to the height of the skimmer compartment.

There's some good sump design ideas on Melevsreef you can check out.

[Denbf58]

i have a 30g long under my 75 only problem is if you are using store bought stand it will have to go in before the tank goes on even then you have to r&r the center brace of the stand.

[madean]

If your building the sump first decide on a skimmer. You need to find out the height and foot print of the skimmer and how much height your going to need to remove the collection cup for maintenance. Also your going to need to be able to remove the whole skimmer for cleaning. So you need to be able to have a tall enough tank to hold an adequate amount of water but it needs to be low enough to remove equipement. So once you decided on the skimmer I believe you can start deciding the space requirements of each chamber. So a decision has been made on your skimmer- it will have a water operating level requirement. Lets say its 8-10" for maximum efficiency. You will want to design your skimmer chamber to be somewhere around 8-10". You will need to take the footprint into consideration. Say the skimmer footprint is 6" x 10". You can turn the skimmer sideways and make the chamber 10" wide. This will give you a couple inches on each side of the skimmer in the skimmer chamber. Lets say you are using a 20 gallon long aquarium for a sump. 30"L x 12"W x 12"H. So 10" of the 30" length is going to be used for the skimmer. And you decide that you want 8" of water height in this skimmer chamber. So you are only left with 4" of empty space in this section. So gallons calculation= [L(inches) x W(inches) x H(inches)]/231 so 12 x 12 x 4/231= This equals roughly 2.5 gallons of air space in the skimmer section. Or space to allow for back syphon when the power goes out. So lets say you use the exact same dimensions for the refugium on the opposit side of the sump. Now you have roughly 5 gallons of space for back syphon overflow due to power outage. So now we are down to the middle section or return section. This area is tricky because this area is going to be the one area that fluctuates up and down and not other sections including your display tank. So a good rule of thumb is to be able to have a few days wiggle room for evaporation even if you use an ATO (auto top off) water system. The evaporation depends on the room temp, which type of lights you use ect ect. But lets say you have worked the numbers and decide or come up with using half of the available space in the return section so 10" x 12" x 6". You will have a little more than 3 gallons of available space for water overflow back syphoning due to power outage. So if you add up the available space for a power outage you have roughly 8 gallons of available space for a back syphon. Standard 75 gallon is 48"L x 18"W x 21"H. So we can calculate water loss in inches from the display tank. In a power outage your return pump turns off and a syphon is created because the return outlets sit underneath the water level. If you add locline or penductors or something to direct the flow in the tank, chances are some piping and a nozzle is used and it sits even lower in the water. Well until air is introduced into the return line the syphon will not break. Once air is introduced to the return line the syphone breaks and shortly water will stop entering your sump. The difference in inches from the normal operating water level line and the water level line after the syphon has broke will tell you how much water has entered the sump. So back to the calculations. Standard 75 gallon is 48"L x 18"W x 21"H lets say your system is designed flawlessly only 1" of water enters the sump. (48" x 18" x 1")/231= 3.74 gallons of water displacement. So quick chart below:
1" of water = 3.74 gallons 2" = 7.48 gallons 3"= 11.22 gallons
1.25" = 4.67 gallons 2.25"= 8.42 gallons 3.25"= 12.16 gallons
1.5" = 5.61 gallons 2.5"= 9.35 gallons 3.5"= 13.1 gallons
1.75" = 6.55 gallons 2.75"= 10.28 gallons 3.75"= 14.03 gallons

So you can see that at 2" of water loss or back syphon during a power outage will pretty much tap you out with what was discusssed/calculated earlier in this stupid long reply, lol. But I hope you can read this and can figure out how to plan/calculate what you will need for your setup. 2" water displacement is not uncommon, neither is more than 2". So hopefully you decide to use a larger sump than a 20 gallon long aquarium. If you have questions PM me. But try to understand the logic first, and do the calculations. This type of stuff will help you plan better for future projects and will let you enjoy this hobby as opposed to being ****ed off over an overflow. Good luck

[driver3490]

If the stand can handle it a used 55 would be a perfect fit under it always go as big as possible, shelve one end for accessories.