Help me pick a sump/fuge

firemedic0135 · 05/05/2009, 11:17 PM

I am racking my brain trying to decide what kinda sump/fuge to run here.I had planned on using the old.. skimmer->fuge->return setup for the longest. Now I am thinking about using the skimmer->return<-fuge setup , or just using a seperate fuge altogether. UGH I just need to pick one and go with it.
Help a brotha out will ya?
LMK what you like and dont like if you would.
Thanks

BTW its for my 90g reef I am working on.
Have a 45 sump on hand as well as a 55g aquarium when I make the tranfer to the 90g

nces519 · 05/06/2009, 01:07 AM

skimmer->return<-refuge
"T" off the drain from the display, then control the flow through the refuge with a ball valve and have the remaining flow go to the skimmer. Lets macro algae absorb nutrient rich water, and lets you have less flow through the fuge and still have a nice amount of flow through the skimmer

808-340 · 05/06/2009, 02:11 AM

^^^ that's exactly how i did my set up for those reasons.

redfishsc · 05/06/2009, 05:38 AM

^ Agreed with the above, in that the skimmer should always be the first line of filtration. Let it remove as much crap as possible.

Another advantage to the skimmer>return
Then, they are sent back to the tank in the return, not skimmed out by the skimmer.

firemedic0135 · 05/06/2009, 01:12 PM

Thats the way I was leaning so I am glad yall agree.
I have always thought the skimmer should go first.Just wasnt sure if I wanted the return in the middle of the sump or at the end.

Whys · 05/06/2009, 01:38 PM

The usefulness of a center return depends on what you believe about the survival rate of pods traveling thru your return pump's impeller. In my own setup, which has limited space and uses an over powered return pump, I decided the center return simply wasn't worth the overhead. Instead I went with a split drain to both the skimmer and the fuge, then fuge => skimmer => return, and I occasionally rotate a liverock from my refugium with one in my display tank to help repopulate pods in the display. I also use a Tunze Nano skimmer which is supposed to be gentle on pods.

erendon · 05/06/2009, 08:53 PM

That is what I did with my sump/fuge.

firemedic0135 · 05/06/2009, 09:44 PM

Looks very nice.
could you tell me a little bit about the flow in this setup.I see you have one inlet into a sock and a fuge/macro area looks like eggcrate into the skimmer area and I see another pool hose but cant tell where it is going. Your retrun is coming from the far left area with what looks like another fuge type setup.

erendon · 05/07/2009, 07:17 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by firemedic0135
Looks very nice.
could you tell me a little bit about the flow in this setup.I see you have one inlet into a sock and a fuge/macro area looks like eggcrate into the skimmer area and I see another pool hose but cant tell where it is going. Your retrun is coming from the far left area with what looks like another fuge type setup.

Well, I have a MAG 24 running the tank. It actually used to be two pieces 1 (wet/dry) and 1 (sump) that I found at my LFs. I just drilled two holes and conected the two via bulk heads. One drain line goes into the fuge area(the hose has now been placed in the back and the sock was taken off) and one into the sump area. I have the eggcrate in place to keep the cheato rom going into the skimmer.
I have taken a lot of my LR from the display and placed it in the fuge.
I try to keep it simple and if I ever want to change my set up to a larger one, it can be taken apart with minimal effort.
My fuge is PACKED with critters so it has done its job well.

Paco · 05/07/2009, 07:56 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by nces519
skimmer->return<-refuge
"T" off the drain from the display, then control the flow through the refuge with a ball valve and have the remaining flow go to the skimmer. Lets macro algae absorb nutrient rich water, and lets you have less flow through the fuge and still have a nice amount of flow through the skimmer

This is what I did. I run a filter sock on the Skimmer Section, none on the fuge section. Tank's too new yet to have too many 'pods so too early to tell how it will work out in that respect.

05/05/2009, 11:17 PM	#1
firemedic0135 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: East Tx. Posts: 147	Help me pick a sump/fuge I am racking my brain trying to decide what kinda sump/fuge to run here.I had planned on using the old.. skimmer->fuge->return setup for the longest. Now I am thinking about using the skimmer->return<-fuge setup , or just using a seperate fuge altogether. UGH I just need to pick one and go with it. Help a brotha out will ya? LMK what you like and dont like if you would. Thanks BTW its for my 90g reef I am working on. Have a 45 sump on hand as well as a 55g aquarium when I make the tranfer to the 90g

05/06/2009, 01:07 AM	#2
nces519 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 100	skimmer->return<-refuge "T" off the drain from the display, then control the flow through the refuge with a ball valve and have the remaining flow go to the skimmer. Lets macro algae absorb nutrient rich water, and lets you have less flow through the fuge and still have a nice amount of flow through the skimmer __________________ Click the red house for my very unpopular build thread! Current Tank Info: 120 gallon with 340 gallon system in progress

05/06/2009, 05:38 AM	#4
redfishsc Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Wake Forest, NC Posts: 3,696	^ Agreed with the above, in that the skimmer should always be the first line of filtration. Let it remove as much crap as possible. Another advantage to the skimmer>return Then, they are sent back to the tank in the return, not skimmed out by the skimmer. __________________ "The measure of a life is not its duration but its donation." Corrie Ten Boom “The tyrant dies and his rule is over, the martyr dies and his rule begins” -- Søren Kierkegaard Current Tank Info: ghetto grad school reef.....11g rimless tank, 36X9X9, lit by Cree and Rebels scobbled together. Stocked mostly with free stuff I got from panhandling my fellow reefers.

05/06/2009, 01:12 PM	#5
firemedic0135 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: East Tx. Posts: 147	Thats the way I was leaning so I am glad yall agree. I have always thought the skimmer should go first.Just wasnt sure if I wanted the return in the middle of the sump or at the end. Last edited by firemedic0135; 05/06/2009 at 01:17 PM.

05/06/2009, 08:53 PM	#7
erendon Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Chicago, Il. Posts: 444	That is what I did with my sump/fuge. __________________ He who tries and fails is wiser than he who does not try out of fear of failure. Current Tank Info: 180 Gal Reef, DYI fuge/sump, 3x 250's, 1400 K phoenix.

05/06/2009, 02:11 AM	#3
808-340 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Far Away... Posts: 108	^^^ that's exactly how i did my set up for those reasons.

05/06/2009, 01:38 PM	#6
Whys Moved On Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Spokane, WA Posts: 3,263	The usefulness of a center return depends on what you believe about the survival rate of pods traveling thru your return pump's impeller. In my own setup, which has limited space and uses an over powered return pump, I decided the center return simply wasn't worth the overhead. Instead I went with a split drain to both the skimmer and the fuge, then fuge => skimmer => return, and I occasionally rotate a liverock from my refugium with one in my display tank to help repopulate pods in the display. I also use a Tunze Nano skimmer which is supposed to be gentle on pods.

05/06/2009, 09:44 PM	#8
firemedic0135 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: East Tx. Posts: 147	Looks very nice. could you tell me a little bit about the flow in this setup.I see you have one inlet into a sock and a fuge/macro area looks like eggcrate into the skimmer area and I see another pool hose but cant tell where it is going. Your retrun is coming from the far left area with what looks like another fuge type setup.