DIY 20g Long sump (return chamber in the middle)

[thatreefguy22]

Hey reef central! It's early morning, and I'm still thinking hard about a DIY sump.

I've been looking around, I even went back to the basics to "how a sump works" and "what are the benefits to incorporating a sump to your system"

And I've looked at other designs here and there on Google and other forums.
And I have got to say, the sump design in which the return located in the middle is what catches my interest the most.

Here is my layout in word form:

So...

Chamber 1:

Inlet/other sponge type filter pads/skimmer.



Chamber 2:

The return section,

Plumbed with a "T" connector..With a flow control (ball valve) that will lead into chamber 3, the fuge.



Chamber 3:

The refugium.


But...a few questions still (I have posted to other forums but I like as much help as I can achieve!)

1. Return pump size? I'll tell you my situation in short form....return will be in the middle, in feet/inches from the base of a sump to the top of my tank is about 3'9" in height.
Note that, I will need to plumb the return to the farther right to my sump as that is where the fuge will be!! So that will include water control that leads back to the sump any how! Right?
And I am going to be using the eshopps pf-300 (300gph drainage, 1"pipe.)

2. Baffle sizes? WXH.
A 20L is 12" in height (around that) and 12" in width...

That's really all I can think of....I pretty much get the idea but still fairly new at understanding and designing my own lol!

I appreciate the help guys!
Thanks

[apstreck]

What size is you main tank? Find a pump that comes in under 300gph after your head loss. With flow that low though I don't think it would really be necessary to isolate your fuge, but I'm no expert.

As far as baffles, I just finished building a sump in a 20L aqueon tank. My skimmer chamber was 9", fuge was 8", and return section runs about 7.5". Baffle width was 11-3/4". Make sure to have the glass shop SLIGHTLY round the bottom two sides of any baffle that will be flush with the bottom of the aquarium, to account for the silicone seal.

[thatreefguy22]

Originally Posted by apstreck

What size is you main tank? Find a pump that comes in under 300gph after your head loss. With flow that low though I don't think it would really be necessary to isolate your fuge, but I'm no expert.

As far as baffles, I just finished building a sump in a 20L aqueon tank. My skimmer chamber was 9", fuge was 8", and return section runs about 7.5". Baffle width was 11-3/4". Make sure to have the glass shop SLIGHTLY round the bottom two sides of any baffle that will be flush with the bottom of the aquarium, to account for the silicone seal.

I just really like the idea of having my return in the middle...so since I'm having my fuge at the end and return in the middle and plumbing a "T" with a ball valve leading into the fuge...I can get a pump that's a bit over rated for my flow because I'll be plumbing the return line to the fuge as well back to the tank.

By the way, I'm running a 55g fowlr at the moment.

[thatreefguy22]

Oh and, Nice to meet ya! Thanks for replying to my post!

[swk]

I have the same setup more or less. My fuge is fed by my return pump via a tee. This way the fuge is fed with skimmed water and accumulates little to no detritus.

Baffle height really depends on how deep you want the water level for both your skimmer and your fuge sections. Also, if and where you want to place bubble traps.

My baffle height gives the skimmer 8" of water with a fullê 3 part bubble trap. The fuge baffle is 10.5" high followed by a smaller 2 part bubble trap.

I can take pics when I get home if you like

[Silly clownfish]

Not sure if this helps, because I have my fuge in the middle, but in my 20L sump the baffles are 8.5" from the drain to the fuge, then 8.25 (x3 for the bubble/debris trap) into the return. I got a reef Octopus Diablo 3500 DC return pump so I could adjust the flow. I love the pump so far (this is a new tank only about 3 weeks and I haven't even moved my fish over yet). It is so quiet that when I first plugged it in, my husband thought it was dead. I know some people are concerned that DC pumps are not proven long term, but if i have an emergency, I have extra pond pumps and and use one of them while waiting on a replacement.

My DT is a 75g Aqueon RR. I used a Herbie overflow and it took me maybe 10 minutes to tune it to be dead silent. I did need to tweak it a couple of times in the first week. I did get one of those good quality spears gate valves. That was probably the most critical single item. I think my husband was surprised that everything worked so well and passed all of the power outage simulation tests.

I am running the Diablo 3500 at the 4th setting (out of 6), but using the gate valve, can easily adjust to any speed of the pump.

Good luck with your setup.

[thatreefguy22]

Originally Posted by Silly clownfish

Not sure if this helps, because I have my fuge in the middle, but in my 20L sump the baffles are 8.5" from the drain to the fuge, then 8.25 (x3 for the bubble/debris trap) into the return. I got a reef Octopus Diablo 3500 DC return pump so I could adjust the flow. I love the pump so far (this is a new tank only about 3 weeks and I haven't even moved my fish over yet). It is so quiet that when I first plugged it in, my husband thought it was dead. I know some people are concerned that DC pumps are not proven long term, but if i have an emergency, I have extra pond pumps and and use one of them while waiting on a replacement.

My DT is a 75g Aqueon RR. I used a Herbie overflow and it took me maybe 10 minutes to tune it to be dead silent. I did need to tweak it a couple of times in the first week. I did get one of those good quality spears gate valves. That was probably the most critical single item. I think my husband was surprised that everything worked so well and passed all of the power outage simulation tests.

I am running the Diablo 3500 at the 4th setting (out of 6), but using the gate valve, can easily adjust to any speed of the pump.

Good luck with your setup.

Hey! That's awesome but I'm not too familiar with brand names (yet) sounds like you know your stuff! Thanks a for the reply!!

[thatreefguy22]

Originally Posted by swk

I have the same setup more or less. My fuge is fed by my return pump via a tee. This way the fuge is fed with skimmed water and accumulates little to no detritus.

Baffle height really depends on how deep you want the water level for both your skimmer and your fuge sections. Also, if and where you want to place bubble traps.

My baffle height gives the skimmer 8" of water with a fullê 3 part bubble trap. The fuge baffle is 10.5" high followed by a smaller 2 part bubble trap.

I can take pics when I get home if you like

Hey! In advance, thank you!

Pictures would be a savior!
So pretty much, you do have the same sump set up that I am aiming for...so could I just get a pump that is a little over powering just so it'll be able to feed my fuge and DT?

And if yes on the larger rated pump, what pump would best match my needs?
I'll mention again that my over flow is eshopps pf-300gph. With 1" drainage.

Would it be fine to use hard PVC for my return/fuge feed?

Also, I plan on having 3 baffles separating the 1st chamber and return chamber.

[thatreefguy22]

I'm still learning, and the head loss calculator...it's a bit confusing to me :/ my apologies if I am annoying haha

[swk]

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1405722043.691192.jpg

Here's the same basic design I used on my first 40 B setup.

One shot of just the sump, with the thing flipped around. Skimmer section is on the right in this pic

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1405722139.741303.jpg

I ended up making a slight mod and adding another baffle to the fuge side as I would get some microbubbles from the macro off gassing from time to time. I'll take a pic of my current sump when I get home

[swk]

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1405724913.784218.jpg

Here's the current design

[apstreck]

The eheim compact+ pumps are adjustable, that might be good for your application. I have a compact+ 3000, 792 gph but can be scaled all the way back to 400, and that's on the pump not with a restrictor on the output. And its totally silent.

[thatreefguy22]

@swk, I really like that! Thanks a lot for providing a nicely done, visual reference
But one question...I see two inlet pipes running into chamber 1...what is the second inlet PVC for? O.o

Also, this is the exact way I visualized my 20 long sump!
Thanks again!

@apstreck, I'll take a look at that pump...it will still allow me to keep the middle section to be my return, while having a separate line running back into the fuge? Right? Just curious..can this pump be plumbed with solid PVC?

Thanks guys! I'm always busy working almost 7 days a week, I'd do more research on my own, but, time is not on my side for this one. Lol

[swk]

Originally Posted by thatreefguy22

@swk, I really like that! Thanks a lot for providing a nicely done, visual reference
But one question...I see two inlet pipes running into chamber 1...what is the second inlet PVC for? O.o

Also, this is the exact way I visualized my 20 long sump!
Thanks again!

My drain is a herbie setup. One pipe with a gate valve is a full siphon, the other an emergency drain incase the main drain gets blocked somehow

[thatreefguy22]

Originally Posted by swk

My drain is a herbie setup. One pipe with a gate valve is a full siphon, the other an emergency drain incase the main drain gets blocked somehow

I see...haha. Thanks! So now all I have to do is wait and gather things I'll be using to construct/set this sump up

[apstreck]

anything you could do with a regular return pump you could do with the eheim. Plus, german engineering, eh?

[thatreefguy22]

Originally Posted by apstreck

anything you could do with a regular return pump you could do with the eheim. Plus, german engineering, eh?

Okay, that's what I thought..thanks!

[thatreefguy22]

Any suggestions on return line pipe size? 1"?