I?m designing a sump for my 75 gallon tank. I?ve never ran a sump before so I?ve been researching a good amount for what would be ideal for my needs. I?d appreciate any feedback if you read this entire thing.
My sump tank dimensions are 36? L, 12.5? W, 16.5? H. I have about 26? of available height in the stand which limits me to what skimmer I can chose and where it will be placed. I have a 75 gallon display tank with one drain (1?) rated by the manufacturer as 600 gph. I plan on adding a T in the drain so that it drops straight down into a filter sock in the skimmer section. The other outlet of the T would slope down towards the refugium with a ball valve in the line. Both of these lines would be 1?.
My skimmer is an E-Shopps S-150 which based on what I?ve researched it works best at a depth of 8? so this is what my first baffle height will be set to. I then plan on having a 1.5? gap between the first and second baffle. The second baffle would be 1.5? off the bottom of the tank. There would be another 1.5? gap between the 2nd and 3rd baffles. The 3rd baffle would be 7? high to prevent back pressure. The skimmer is 21? tall which leaves me just enough room to remove the collection cup without having to tilt the skimmer. The footprint is 9? by 8? so the first compartment would be 11? x 12?. Since I don?t have room to raise the skimmer, I?ve chosen to place the return section in the middle compartment. If the refugium were to be in the 2nd compartment, then I would be limited to the amount of volume in there (< 8?) due to baffle height. My sump tank is 16? tall so this would really waste a lot of volume.
In the return section, I would have a MD-7 (700gph). The pumps footprint is 5?x4?x4?. The size of the compartment would be 6? by 12?. The PVC line returning to the display tank will be 1? to match the return pump outlet. When I reach the return bulkhead at the bottom of the display tank, it will have to transition to a ?? pipe. I think the transition occurring here will be ok since there is already some head loss by this point.
The third compartment would have a divider 14? tall making this section 15? long, 12? wide, 14? high. The refugium may have a couple small pieces of live rock but it would be used mostly for macroalgae. I plan on cultivating copepods here in the future which is another reason I wanted to maximize volume. Since I have a ball valve on the drain line coming into the refugium, I can throttle the flow down here and have a higher flow rate in the skimmer section (let?s say 2:1 gph ratio skimmer to fuge). I?ll have either a PAR 38 or small LED in there. The fuge then overflows into the return section. I?ll have a single reactor with BRS GFO. It will be out of the sump on the refugium side and emptying into the return section
I plan on doing a DIY ATO at some point. I?m not sure I?ll have room in the stand so I may have it just outside. I think this will be crucial not just to avoid the return section from being too low but also to keep the skimmer working efficiently at the height I have it.
So my questions are:
1- Are my baffle and compartment sizes logical at the moment or how would you alter them?
2- Since there is a drop from the refugium divider into the return section, would I need another bubble trap here? This area would have a lower flow than that coming from the skimmer section.
3- Should the drain outlets into the skimmer and fuge sections be submerged or just above the water line?
4- Would it be better to run BRS ROX .8 carbon in a mesh bag placed in the filter sock or have it sitting in between the bubble trap baffles?
5- Does it matter what section I dump the ATO water into? I?m thinking into the return section.
The layout below is not perfectly to scale but close.
My sump tank dimensions are 36? L, 12.5? W, 16.5? H. I have about 26? of available height in the stand which limits me to what skimmer I can chose and where it will be placed. I have a 75 gallon display tank with one drain (1?) rated by the manufacturer as 600 gph. I plan on adding a T in the drain so that it drops straight down into a filter sock in the skimmer section. The other outlet of the T would slope down towards the refugium with a ball valve in the line. Both of these lines would be 1?.
My skimmer is an E-Shopps S-150 which based on what I?ve researched it works best at a depth of 8? so this is what my first baffle height will be set to. I then plan on having a 1.5? gap between the first and second baffle. The second baffle would be 1.5? off the bottom of the tank. There would be another 1.5? gap between the 2nd and 3rd baffles. The 3rd baffle would be 7? high to prevent back pressure. The skimmer is 21? tall which leaves me just enough room to remove the collection cup without having to tilt the skimmer. The footprint is 9? by 8? so the first compartment would be 11? x 12?. Since I don?t have room to raise the skimmer, I?ve chosen to place the return section in the middle compartment. If the refugium were to be in the 2nd compartment, then I would be limited to the amount of volume in there (< 8?) due to baffle height. My sump tank is 16? tall so this would really waste a lot of volume.
In the return section, I would have a MD-7 (700gph). The pumps footprint is 5?x4?x4?. The size of the compartment would be 6? by 12?. The PVC line returning to the display tank will be 1? to match the return pump outlet. When I reach the return bulkhead at the bottom of the display tank, it will have to transition to a ?? pipe. I think the transition occurring here will be ok since there is already some head loss by this point.
The third compartment would have a divider 14? tall making this section 15? long, 12? wide, 14? high. The refugium may have a couple small pieces of live rock but it would be used mostly for macroalgae. I plan on cultivating copepods here in the future which is another reason I wanted to maximize volume. Since I have a ball valve on the drain line coming into the refugium, I can throttle the flow down here and have a higher flow rate in the skimmer section (let?s say 2:1 gph ratio skimmer to fuge). I?ll have either a PAR 38 or small LED in there. The fuge then overflows into the return section. I?ll have a single reactor with BRS GFO. It will be out of the sump on the refugium side and emptying into the return section
I plan on doing a DIY ATO at some point. I?m not sure I?ll have room in the stand so I may have it just outside. I think this will be crucial not just to avoid the return section from being too low but also to keep the skimmer working efficiently at the height I have it.
So my questions are:
1- Are my baffle and compartment sizes logical at the moment or how would you alter them?
2- Since there is a drop from the refugium divider into the return section, would I need another bubble trap here? This area would have a lower flow than that coming from the skimmer section.
3- Should the drain outlets into the skimmer and fuge sections be submerged or just above the water line?
4- Would it be better to run BRS ROX .8 carbon in a mesh bag placed in the filter sock or have it sitting in between the bubble trap baffles?
5- Does it matter what section I dump the ATO water into? I?m thinking into the return section.
The layout below is not perfectly to scale but close.
