Sump upgrade idea

[NathanMI]

I'm going to upgrade my sump on my 90g reef and here's my idea,

I'm going to have a seperate refugium with a bulkhead to flow into the sump. How big should it be?

I'm going to get an
eshopps 800gph overflow
Haven't decided on a skimmer upgrade yet
And a reeflo blowhole 1100 external pump

Here's my plans:

Front View:


Pump plumbing:


I have a few questions:

What size PVC should I use?
What size should the bulkheads be? From tank to tank and from tank to pump.
Do I need anymore baffles? I think I'll just go with the one set for bubbles and that's it. Made from lucite.
Ill add loc-line to the returns

[NathanMI]

Bump

[Ron Reefman]

PVC size depends on how much you intend to drain. I think the 800gph could work with either 1" or 1.5" PVC.

I'd consider dumping the water from the refugium into the pump chamber (by passing the skimmer). Use a bubble trap chamber if you need to. But I wouldn't run refugium water thru the skimmer. It will just suck out all the pods that could be going to the DT. A lot of people put the fuge on one side of the return pump and the skimmer on the other for just this reason. And you want the refugium to run a slower turnover than the sump anyway, so you will still be sending most of your drain water to the skimmer.

Also take the 'check valve' out of the return line above the pump. They are nothing but trouble even if you clean them regularly. You need good anti siphon holes at the outlets just before the loc-lines. I drilled mine big enough to add small 'john guest' 90 degree elbow with one threaded end. Drill in the sid of the return line and you can swivel the elbow up or down to keep it as near to the water surface as possible to break the siphon as soon as possible. But remember, water will also flow out the elbow when the pump is running! So don't aim it too vertical.

Just my 2 cents.