Who is creative out there?

[gborrillo]

I currently have a CPR 194 wet/dry that I basically converted to a sump. I recently purchased a Euroreef skimmer and was originally planning on buying an entirely new sump altogether since I knew that the skimmer does not fit into my sump.

Before I go out and spend another $500 on a sump to accomodate my skimmer, is there a way to use my current sump right now - perhaps by adding another 'sump' that would essentially hold the skimmer? How would that work? I would imagine that the overflow would still go into my current sump, but at some point, I would have to drill a hole that would allow my skimmer to do its thing - making sure that enough circulation takes place at the same time !

Anyone heard of such a setup, and if so - how to get more info? I guess I am basically going to convert my entire current sump into a fuge, and buy another tank to hold the skimmer. My question then becomes how do I connect the 2 and still have good circulation?

 

[Anonymous]

Why do you need to do this? Does it not fit for some reason? A little more info please.

 

[gborrillo]

Oh yes, sorry - the problem is that the CY 194 I have does not have a footprint large enough for the Euroreef to fit in. There are basically 3 sections in my current 'sump' - the intake, where the skimmer is, then the water pours into the section for the biofilter media, which I took out and put some LR and caluerpa, and then the return section. Any one of these compartments are not big enough for the euroreef, so I am stuck between either trying to figure out how to plumb an additional sump, or replace my sump altogether so I can fit it.

 

[Anonymous]

this is difficult to respond to without seeing a picture.

sure, you can add another sump you just need to have the room to do it.
what comes to mind would be a interstitial level for the skimmer between the existing tank and sump.

what seems better would be cutting the sump you already have to accomodate the new skimmer.. unless you think you can sell it without losing your shirt.

 

[gborrillo]

thanks. i attached a pic of my current sump setup...obviously, my problem is that the new skimmer wont fit in any compartments....

based on what you said, how would you 'cut' my current sump to fit it??? that seems like a very laborious task that could take a week or so, right?

totally a newby here and just trying to make this work/

 

[Anonymous]

so if the bioball bulkhead was nonexistant... would it fit?

 

[gborrillo]

no, the only way to fit it would be to remove the partition that is set between the return section and the intake ; OR the intake section and the bioball section.

if i could just somehow remove all partitions within the sump, i'd be happy cus then i can build my own partitions...but not sure if i can do that.

 

[Anonymous]

It'd be kind of difficult to remove all the partitions cleanly, and they may be holding the thing together. I would do the following:

Get a nice little 6 or 8 gallon rubbermaid. The volume doesn't really matter, but you need it to fit the Euroreef skimmer footprint. Ideally it would be about 9" tall, but it could be more. You want about 6-8" of water in the tub for the skimmer to work best. Cut a hole in the side wall of your rubbermaid. Put a bulkhead (one of these guys) in the hole.

Elevate the rubbermaid so that the bulkhead is above the lip of your sump. Now put a small pump (anything over 200 gph would probably be fine) in your sump, and have it feed into your little rubbermaid. The rubbermaid will fill up, and then overflow back into your sump. Done and done.

Another way you could do this is to have the drain from your main tank go directly into your little rubbermaid, and then to your sump. Then you wouldn't need to buy another pump.

Hope this helps.

 

[Anonymous]

Hopefully this sort of illustrates what I mean. Imagine that the part marked "refugium" is next to, rather than above, the sump. And instead of being a refugium, it holds your skimmer.

 

[fishfanatic2]

I agree with Matt. No reason to drop 500 on a sump when a Rubbermaid does it just fine.

The diagram posted above pretty much says it all.

 

[gborrillo]

Thanks fellas. But what if I do not have the space to 'elevate' the skimmer holder so that the bulkhead is above the sump brim? In other words, if I were to make that happen, there is no way the skimmer would fit, much less me have any chance to take the collection cup off. My total cabinet height is 28inches and the skimmer is 24 inches itself !

 

[Anonymous]

Cound you notche one of the dividing wall and put the pump on one side and the body of the skimmer on the other. Is the problem the body of the skimmer is to big?

 

[gborrillo]

Well that could potentially work actually. Yes, the entire footprint of the skimmer (including pump) is too big for my sump. But if you could somehow put the skimmer itself in one section and the actual pump in another (its only connected via a pvc pipe), then I guess that would work. Dont know if moving them apart would reduce the effectivity of the skimmer though - that would be my main concern.

 

[Anonymous]

How about the foot print of the body? If you notch one of the walls they can still be connected as designed.

 

[gborrillo]

what do you mean - 'notch one of the walls' ? you mean take down one wall completely? or just a hole big enough to fit the pvc pipe that connects the pump to the skimmer body?

knocking down one of the walls may not be the best idea since it could be structural and i dont really know how i would do that. putting a hole in the chamber next to it could be tough too because you would need a pretty small drill to get it down that low !

 

[Anonymous]

I mean a notch or slot if you like. From a structural standpoint a hole would be better. I do not know the dims of your sump, but a dremil with a side cutting bit would probably be a better choise than a drill.

 

[Anonymous]

Well that could potentially work actually. Yes, the entire footprint of the skimmer (including pump) is too big for my sump. But if you could somehow put the skimmer itself in one section and the actual pump in another (its only connected via a pvc pipe), then I guess that would work. Dont know if moving them apart would reduce the effectivity of the skimmer though - that would be my main concern.

Don't do this--it will affect the skimmer efficiency greatly. I've tried it and it didn't skim a damn thing.

I was worried your stand would be too short. What I would do is drill a hole in the side of your current sump and connect it to a rubbermaid using two bulkheads. Just don't elevate the rubbermaid. You will want the rubbermaid to be tall enough to not overflow when the power goes off. Basically have two sumps side by side, except one is a hell of a lot cheaper.

It is VERY IMPORTANT that you make sure you get a food grade container.

 

[Anonymous]

FWIW if you do go this route I would place a union in the plumbing between the two sumps if it will fit.

 

[gborrillo]

Thanks, Matt. I appreciate it. I drew up what I THINK you are trying to say. A few questions though:

1. You mentioned to make sure my rubbermaid is tall enough so that if the power runs out, it wouldnt spill. How could this happen if the skimmer sump is connected?

2. What does the union do?

If the rubbermaid is NOT elevated and merely connected with a direct output, would water empty out into the sump? I am not very good at this stuff, but it seems that water would only pour into the sump from the skimmer sump if something were pulling it into there. I guess some water would go through, but wouldnt water just be circulating within the skimmer sump predominately?

 

[Anonymous]

Your return pump sucks it through. Water enters the skimmer sump first, and is pumped back up by the pump in the regular sump. It has to get there somehow.

It would be nice to have the skimmer sump just as high as, or taller than, the regular sump so you can have the largest volume possible, but it's not necessary. As long as it's tall enough so that you have a 6-8" water height when all pumps are on, and it can hold all excess water that drains down when the pumps are off, you'll be fine.

The union is simply for easy separation of the two sumps should you need to disconnect one or the other for cleaning or ever move the tank. I would use threaded bulkheads as well. This way if you ever decide to get a larger "skimmer sump" you can easily connect a new one without sawing apart your plumbing. In my humble opinion, slip connections in PVC suck. They're permanent, and leave no room for future change.

My 2 cents.