10g sump, PIC inside

[tangyreefer05]

Do you think this will work well for a 30g. middle is fuge, left return + skimmer, right side is the return.

[sir_dudeguy]

design is perfectly fine, but IMO trying a 10g sump is more hassle than its worth. Once its all said and done, you're gonna only be adding about 6 gallons to your system. 6 gallons isnt really gonna do much as far as make it more stable. And 10g tanks are the worst for trying to fit a skimmer, a decent sized fuge, and a return pump in, plus the baffles. I had a tough enough time doing it with my 20g sump, and i didnt even fit a fuge.

[RonD]

I agree with sir_dudeguy. I had a 30 running for a while and had a hard time controlling micro bubbles. Water needs to slow down in your sump prior to it returning to the display.

[tangyreefer05]

I was worried about that. Okay good ideas, I will try to keep it 20 gallons minimum. Whats a good way to slow down the water in the sump, would a extra flow baffle work, making 3, two after the fuge? I can control this somewhat by not getting a high gph pump and overflow but that is what I wanted so I could maybe get rid of my powerheads and use bulk flows from the sump for movement, so it's a hard choice.

[sir_dudeguy]

put a valve on the incoming water and you could slow it down that way. Make sure your return pump doesnt push out more than your intake will be pulling out after the valve is put on tho.

[McCrary]

I would just ditch the sump completely, or go with a sump that you can really work with. Small sumps are a nightmare and many need constant topoff because of the small size. I have a 30L on my 110 and I will never put that small of a sump on any tank. A HOB skimmer and water changes will keep a tank that size perfectly healthy. No sense in adding so much more hassle when it isn't going to make a big difference. If you still really want to have a sump then there is a better design. Have the skimmer to the left in about 8" of water, the water will flow into the middle chamber. This gives the skimmer first crack at the water, have your return pump split, with part of the water being pumped into the right portion of the sump. The right portion is about 17" tall (or about 1" from the top pf the tank), the water will overflow into the middle section. The right portion can have a DSB and plenty of room for caulerpa or Chaeto and you are maximizing the amount of water in the fuge. The only place where a baffle is needed is coming from the left section, which may have microbubbles from the skimmer and the drain.

[mg426]

A bigger setup is not a bad idea,

[BurN]

agreeing with the above statements. if you can go 20g long you will have less bubbles and more room for the fuge

[vsnsofadrgn]

i had a 10 gal sump on my 29, there was barely room for the skimmer and return pump; i switched to a 20 tall and got a small fuge. i only have 2 baffles (one for skimmer/intake, middle is fuge, and last is return pump) and i have NO bubbles. altho it doesnt add much water volume, it got all the equipment out of the main, and that was the goal .

[kfowler]

I have a 10 gal sump and it works great. The only thing I'd say is you really need an ATO unit. It'll make your life a lot easier. Here's an older pic. Have since added an ATO, another heater, and removed the eggcrate.