Sump configuration-Looking for opinions

[bdejong1112o]

I am setting up a 220g reef tank and am working out how I want my sump system to work. Here is what I was thinking of doing, this is similar to how my LFS has their main 180g tank setup.

One of the two main returns from the tank drains into a large 30 gallon tub that acts as a refugium. This then drains into a 40g breeder that acts as a normal sump with a filter sock, protien skimmer and return. The second drain from the tank empties into the 40g tank so the return water is split between the fuge tank and the sump input.

I like the idea of running a fuge and this seems to be the best way to get a large volume of water under the stand. Its a store bought stand and as such is a little limited on the door opening.

What do you think? Any better ideas? Is this enough volume for the main tank size? Primary function is reef by my wife wants fish as well and I was told this will help with the loading of the tank.

 

[CodyRVA]

This diagram by vivid aquariums is a good place to start. It doesn't incorporate a fuge, but I built my sump/fuge from this model and just added a fuge after my skimmer chamber.

In regards to the sump/fuge size I personally think this depends on your system as a whole, including your livestock. If you're going to have a heavy bio load, you may want a large fuge. Conversely, you could just buy a massive skimmer, but it would likely eat up a lot of sump space. It's all give and take and depends on how much of each type of filtration you want to incorporate.

I would add a fuge, while they do have to be massive before you can heavily rely on them for your main component of nutrient export, they do provide the benefit of maintaining good PH. I'm not sure I see a benefit of breaking your drain lines out between your sump or fuge > sump > display. Seems like a more complicated setup vs running the drains together and i'm not sure what you benefit from doing this; not contesting your approach, just not sure I see the point I guess?

As far as sump size, so long as you have enough room for your equipment you should be good. This is obviously an easy way to add water volume, which has obvious benefits, but again this depends on why you value your sump. I'm tight on space with my system so for me, my sump was always about being efficient and utilizing space for all my equipment necessary to maintain my systems specific requirements. That being said, I would add the largest sump/fuge setup your stand will accommodate.

 

[bdejong1112o]

Thanks for the input.

The reason given for splitting the returns was to not force all the overflow water to the main fuge tank. He seemed to think that it would be to much flow. His tank currently uses two of them, one for each drain. I am only running one due to space and that i want to have a good size sump for a skimmer and future tools like a doser setup and monitoring equipment. Is there any rules or benefit/harm on the amount of flow to the fuge portion?

I am going to fill as much of the remaining area under the stand with the sump leaving only enough room for all the electronics as needed. So I know i can fit a 40ish gallon size sump either with a breeder tank as a DIY or a bought sump. I am seriousely leaning toward the DIY since I like to do that kind of stuff and it will allow me to make it how i want it. But there are some very nice sumps out there. Decisions, decisions....

When you talk about being massive how do you determine the size? Is it just trial and error until your tank tells you whats right? I suppose that if i setup the su p correctly i can always suplime t the main fuge tank with an additional section in the sump tank as the loading changes. This is so much fun....

The lomg term goal is a mainly reef centric tank with enough fish to make the wife happy! She likes the reef look but also wants enough fish to make it appealing to her. I assume that is where a massive fuge will help right?

 

[CodyRVA]

Thanks for the input.

The reason given for splitting the returns was to not force all the overflow water to the main fuge tank. He seemed to think that it would be to much flow. His tank currently uses two of them, one for each drain. I am only running one due to space and that i want to have a good size sump for a skimmer and future tools like a doser setup and monitoring equipment. Is there any rules or benefit/harm on the amount of flow to the fuge portion?

I am going to fill as much of the remaining area under the stand with the sump leaving only enough room for all the electronics as needed. So I know i can fit a 40ish gallon size sump either with a breeder tank as a DIY or a bought sump. I am seriousely leaning toward the DIY since I like to do that kind of stuff and it will allow me to make it how i want it. But there are some very nice sumps out there. Decisions, decisions....

When you talk about being massive how do you determine the size? Is it just trial and error until your tank tells you whats right? I suppose that if i setup the su p correctly i can always suplime t the main fuge tank with an additional section in the sump tank as the loading changes. This is so much fun....

The lomg term goal is a mainly reef centric tank with enough fish to make the wife happy! She likes the reef look but also wants enough fish to make it appealing to her. I assume that is where a massive fuge will help right?

I guess it really depends on how you plumb the fuge to the sump. Your return pump is going to control the flow rate. When you say "splitting the returns" you mean the drain lines from your overflow correct? The only negative impact I can think of in regards to a high flow fuge/sump is the build integrity: if the baffles are acrylic in a glass tank, you run the risk of your baffles losing their integrity or it might just be too much flow for the macros in your fuge, but this seems unlikely.

I would DIY your sump, but that's just me. You can do it for a heck of a lot cheaper, build it to how you want it and honestly it's fun and a learning experience. Biggest thing for me is the cost, acrylic prefab sumps are ridiculously expensive, the ROI is not justified at all. I always tell people to save some $ and put it into better places like your skimmer or lighting.

Many folks don't even have a fuge so I wouldn't get to caught up in the volume. You should be fine with the direction you're going. You may run into the problem of running your nutrients too low with too much filtration, but when you have too much you can easily dial things back. If you under size everything and have nutrient issues you're going to have harder decisions to make: either reduce your fish (bio load) or invest in more/larger equipment.

And yea a fuge will help with nutrient export and PH control. Depending on what you put in your fuge and what type of fish you get, you can grow macros and feed it to fish like tangs & rabbit fish; a self sustained ecosystem.