55 Gallon Sump Design

[sbhaines85]

This is my first ever posting to an online forum. I'm new to the saltwater aquarium hobby. I'm currently setting up a 125 gallon display tank with a 55 gallon sump. This will be a FOWLR setup but I hope to eventually get into corals. I plan to use an external Panworld as my return pump (1" hole is already drilled). With that said, here is a drawing of how I plan to build my sump. I will be using 1/4" acrylic as dividers (sealed in with 100% silicone). The two filter socks are 4x14 from BRS. I'd also like to use this sump once I get into corals so I'm always trying to plan ahead for that next step. Is there anything I'm missing or overlooking? Anything that I should change? I'm open to any and all suggestions.

 

[tzsetzse]

Looks well thought out. A refugium is wasted effort on a FOWLR system, IMO of course! Good to see however, that you are planning ahead. It's Soooo hard to retrofit once another method has been in place awhile.
My only contribution to your otherwise logical layout is your choice of acrylic as dividers. Been there and done that many times and NEVER experienced the satisfaction of using GLASS in a GLASS sump.
Silicon will adhere to glass but will never hold plexi or acrylic with the same security. In fact, acrylic dividers can warp, pull away, flex and have even been know to actually crack glass sumps. It's true.
It isn't as difficult as it may seem to simply go to a local glass shop with your inside dimensions and get several pieces of 3/16" or 1/4" plate glass cut. Ask them nicely and they may even knock the razor sharp edges off for you. Nice thing about using glass? If your dividers are slightly narrower than your sump? You can "fill" in the gaps with more silicon. I've done it both ways and will NEVER use plexi or acrylic in a glass sump again. IMO, of course, LOL...

 

[sbhaines85]

Thank you for the advice. There really isn't any reason why I chose acrylic over glass. So I won't take any chances; I'll be visiting a glass shop in town.

As for the refugium, I'll probably just fill that space with live rock at the beginning. That's more a "thinking ahead" move because like you said, I'm sure retrofitting a sump later on can be a real pain. Thanks again!

 

[mcarroll]

I know that style of sump is what you see everyone do, but I suggest keeping the sump an open tank. Baffles are very over-rated to begin with, can be a pain to clean, and once they are in you lock yourself to a single design/water level/etc. This also complicates skimmer choice. No baffles mean you can adjust the water level to your skimmer - or however you want - on the fly.

Personally, I see no value in having baffles just to have them, and I have yet to run into a use case which actually demands them.

-Matt

 

[Kworker]

I don't think baffles are over rated like previously mentioned, however. They are very good to have to separate skimmer and return pumps. Otherwise the area the skimmer is in will fluctuate. It's good to have the return section be the only area that changes water level with evaporation. I do think those are the only two sections necessary though. Refugiums are the over rated portions of sumps. They will cause more issues than prevent. If you seek them to soak phosphates and prevent algae, the best way to prevent algae is the root of the cause. Whether it be improper lighting or over feeding, whatever the cause you don't need a Refugium to do so. Our tanks are too small to replicate the ocean you have to treat it as if it is always on the verge of collapse.

Hope I help a bit, if you wish I will post a picture of my sump later when I'm home.

-KC

 

[mcarroll]

Bad design/assumptions are why I think people build sumps that way. I do not have any of the stated issues. My sump water level is rock solid wherever I want it to be.

A good ATO which you can adjust as-needed will take care of most issues described and give you more flexibility than baffles.

I use the Ultralife ATO, but any similar setup with a reed-type float (or Tunze's optical setup) should be more than adequate.

-Matt

 

[sbhaines85]

Thank to everyone for sharing. The information/opinions are very helpful.

mcarroll, I don't believe I've ever seen a baffleless sump. I'll make sure to do some more research on it and give it some thought.

KCbutnotsosunshi, I would love to see a picture of your sump. I'm having a hard time picturing how one would be built that only allows the water level to change in the return section. I'm sure it's a simple solution but I just work better off visuals. I do plan to have an ATO in place to help limit those changes in water level though.

 

[mcarroll]

Well, there's not much of a formula per se. No "Mcarroll's Official Baffleless Sump".

The idea is simply to adapt your tank to your needs (and re-adapt as needed) vs adapting your reefing to someone else's unchangeable idea of a good sump.

For my sump, I needed stable, calm water, and space for an extra heater and the skimmer. A little creative shopping in the plumbing aisle to slow and quiet the drain water, add an ATO system and I've got the perfect environment for the rest of what goes there: return pump, extra heater, skimmer, spare rock. I do change the water level occasionally to alter skimmer performance, or when I've changed skimmers so this has been handy.

Figure out what you need out of it, don't be afraid to experiment a little! (And if that means baffles, then so be it, but I doubt it.)

Good luck!

-Matt

 

[Kworker]

Sorry it's a bit of a mess, I'm just about to switch it all over to my new system so that live rock is normally not in there but I wanted to seed some more dry rock so I threw it in there... But as you can see, that small area on the left is my return section that fluctuates, the large section stays constant. Which is ideal for the skimmer.

Now here is a pic of my basement sump which is about complete and I have to clean up my silicone job a bit. The large section is where water from display drains into, which has the skimmer as we'll as heater between baffles. If set up correctly the large portion will have the stuff you would want to siphon out of the DT come down into it so you can siphon out quick.

 

[Thusany33]

I have a 55 gallon sump. I tried using acrylic dividers and it didn't fair well the first time around. Love a good DIY sump design. Hows it working for you?

 

[Kworker]

I have a 55 gallon sump. I tried using acrylic dividers and it didn't fair well the first time around. Love a good DIY sump design. Hows it working for you?

I use a plastic sheet used for windows, I found that enough silicone will hold it firmly in place for well over a year

 

[CoralMD]

In my sumps I used to use dividers for one reason to cut down micro bubbles now I don't use dividers I like my open sump with plenty of options to change things. When you do have dividers it does or atleast complicates things if you change something like a skimmer that may need a deeper water lvl so in turns makes you get more creatfull on getting things to cooperate. Hth

 

[dabiggooch]

very nice design