Help with sump/fuge design

[jrw]

Here's what I have...
90 gallon AGA reef tank with overflow box. Under the tank in the stand cabiner is a 30 gallon tank 36"x12"x17"H . The overflow drains onto a bed of filter media supported by "egg crate" then into the sump tank on the far left. The sump tank contains approx 26 gallons of water in use. In the sump are the following: Heater, Skimmer, UV sterilizer, and return pump.

My thoughts were to somehow divide this tank up and put a refugium in the middle, with the skimmer, uv sterilizer, and return pump all to the far right. To the left of the fuge would be the filter media box, and the area it would drain.

I should probably try to draw a picture and post it. (Need to learn how to do that to)

Does this make sense? And can anyone offer design ideas and suggestions as to the best way to carry this out?

Thanks,
J.R.

[jrw]

I attached a drawing. Maybe it will help

[otterpop510]

if you haven't checked out melev's website (don't remember the url, just google it) i think he had some really helpful advice and pics on the various designs for sump/fuge..

[Bebo77]

i cant see the attachment....

here is my sump

[melev]

jrw, you want your skimmer in the first section where the raw tank water pours in. You can skip the media tray, as it is just one more thing you've got to clean regularly and probably will end up neglecting.

Install a baffle or bubble trap right after the skimmer, keeping the skimmer section just large enough to hold it and the drain line.

Next you can have a shallow refugium with one more baffle to prevent macro algae from getting into the return section where your return pump is. The UV could be incorporated in the return line if the flow isn't too high. The heater can be in the refugium.

otterpop510 - just type "melev" in google and you'll find my site. Little known fact.

Bebo - I remember seeing those plans long ago. That sump looks great! Who made it for you? Have you started using it yet, and does it work & meet your expectations?

[hulley]

I'm looking to do the same thing, I have a 90 AGA and looking to do a 30g refuge. I'm currently using a mag 9.5. Is this too much pump to use with a refugium? I heard high flow is not good!

[MattToTheMax]

here is my sump design for my 90 aga. i think the refugium dividers should actually only be around 10" tall though, and maybe make the last return divider a little taller. i haven't actually built this yet so i'm not sure, so use at your own discretion.

[melev]

If you make the last baffle higher, it will riase the water level just as high to all areas before the return section. Based on that drawing, if you raised it 2" hgher, the water would flow across the top of the teeth, rather than through them.

[jrw]

Thanks for the advice. What's the rationale behind putting the skimmer first? I'll do it just because, but I like to know why and understand.

When putting in the dividers do I just silicone in plexiglass?

How long do I have to wait on the silicone before returning the water?

[jrw]

Melev's site just answered my skimmer position question. Thanks Melev!
Amazing what a little reading will do for ya.

[jrw]

Ok guys, how does this look?

[jrw]

I've seen people here drill holes into glass aquariums with diamond burs in a Dremel.

What do you think about putting a 10 gallon inside my current 30 with holes dirlled around 2 inches from the top for a refugium?

[jrw]

I guess I'm thinking if I put holes for overflow and then use a pump to fill the refugium it would then overflow back into my current 30 gallon sump and problem solved.

Will this work? It sounds like a good idea to me. Anyone else have any thoughts?

[melev]

Your second sump drawing is fine.

If you prefer to use a 10g separately, just remove the refugium area from the sump plan, but keep that skimmer section only large enough to hold the skimmer for it to work at its peak efficiency. The return area would just be larger, and you can still keep your heater there.

If you want to avoid adding yet another pump to fill the separate refugium, you can divert some of your return pump's water to the 'fuge. I did that here: http://www.melevsreef.com/return.jpg

[jrw]

Thanks Melev. I'll think it over for a few days and make a decision. Then just go for it. I can not get my Nitrates consistently below 20ppm (hangs around there) and I've read that this may help.

Thanks all.

[jrw]

One last question (Don't really believe that) Is it realistic for me to add the baffles during a water change (after emptying sump of course) and then re-add the water within a couple of hours?

[tkeracer619]

silicone takes longer than a few hours to cure. If you use a small amount of silicone and some heaters running to try and cure it will still take a few hours to cure. Im not sure if curing silicone emits any chremicals harsh to aquariums but Im pretty sure if you do it right you can do as you described.

[melev]

If you are bonding glass baffles in your glass sump (or acrylic, but I don't recommend it), it needs to cure for 24 hours before adding water. You don't want to have to do this twice, right?

If you do use acrylic, make sure it is 1/4" thick as thinner material will bow and crack/break.

Want to lower those nitrates? Do a 50% water change and you'll cut them down to 10ppm. Do another 50% water change and you'll get them down to 5ppm. Make sure you don't have anything adding them, like filter socks, bioballs, biowheels, etc.

[jrw]

I guess I could move the heater to the display for the 24 hrs.

Could my filters be the source of my nitrates? I change them every 2 weeks. Should I take them out all together?
I have stacked a 50 micron filter pad then a carbon pad then a coarse poly filter on top. If I could do with out it would save the hastle and expense.

[melev]

Yes, it can add to the problem. If you have enough LR, LS, and a good skimmer, you shouldn't have to run carbon. Here's a good article about carbon that I read some time back. Using a phosban reactor, I can run carbon actively as needed, without any pads.

http://www.pets-warehouse.com/carbon.htm