question about sump, refugium

Raideress · Jul 30, 2020

Hi have a non drilled tank with a stand that has a middle section, so cant fit a sump, i have an over flo box, and was thinking could i buy a standard fish tank that fits in the stand, and a return pump and throw in cheato, pods, air stone and light and some other biomedia all in the small under stand tank?

i guess what im saying isnt a sump kind of a tank with dividers, do i need the dividers? any thoughts, suggestions welcomed.
thanks
Kim

Smarkow · Jul 30, 2020

My current tank has been up and running without true dividers for 3-4 years without issue. I do use some egg-crate siliconed in place vertically to keep algae from getting to my return pump and clogging it, plus a strainer on the pump intake. In a small sump without dividers you might run into issues with bubbles from the overflow getting sucked into the return pump which would lead to micro-bubbles in your display. My sump is 48" long so this has not been an issue for me.

Raideress · Jul 31, 2020

Smarkow said:
My current tank has been up and running without true dividers for 3-4 years without issue. I do use some egg-crate siliconed in place vertically to keep algae from getting to my return pump and clogging it, plus a strainer on the pump intake. In a small sump without dividers you might run into issues with bubbles from the overflow getting sucked into the return pump which would lead to micro-bubbles in your display. My sump is 48" long so this has not been an issue for me.

ok thanks, this gives me some food for thought, may also look into a mesh or egg crate divide and maybe a piece of foam on the overflow hose, thanks for your info, so far ive been ok without a sump, but would love to move the protein skimmer down below and the heater

snorklr · Jul 31, 2020

the level of water in the sump will drop with evaporation...having a baffle in there will let the level where the skimmer sits remaim the same so the skimmer output stays the same ...the level of the return pump chamber isnt as critical....how large a tank can you fit down there?...there are baffle kits available that you may be able to cut down a bit to fit...or just get a couple pieces of glass cut ...half the battle is figuring out what water level you want (the kits are adjustable)...you also need enough extra volume in the sump that when your pump shuts off the sump wont overflow

Hugh Mann · Jul 31, 2020

+1 to baffles aren't necessary, however recommended at least for the skimmer.

Raideress · Aug 1, 2020

snorklr said:
the level of water in the sump will drop with evaporation...having a baffle in there will let the level where the skimmer sits remaim the same so the skimmer output stays the same ...the level of the return pump chamber isnt as critical....how large a tank can you fit down there?...there are baffle kits available that you may be able to cut down a bit to fit...or just get a couple pieces of glass cut ...half the battle is figuring out what water level you want (the kits are adjustable)...you also need enough extra volume in the sump that when your pump shuts off the sump wont overflow

my overflow box just reaches the water line, so if my tank lost an inch of water. nothing would flow, so that would stop it overflowing i assume with also a hole in the return line tubing ive read to stop a back siphon if pump stops?
i have to constantly add water to the tank anyway with water levels, could fit about 25 gallon tank