Sump Setup

Schgred · Jan 8, 2014

I am working on transferring my 37 gallon reef to a 55 gallon. I bought some used stuff from a guy who had a 55 gallon. included was a 9.5 mag drive pump and a sump that he built himself. I have attached the picture of the sump to this post for you to see. He ran it a bit different than I want. My thought is to have 3 sections that flow one to the other. I would have the first section be where the skimmer (aqua c remora) would hang on along with a phosphate reactor. I would have the water come into that section and have a filter sock on it as it comes into the Sump. That would flow into the next section which would be a refugium which would then flow into the section where the return pump would be.

How does this sump need to be adjusted? The panels are not placed as they should. I was thinking of taking one of the panels (the higher one on one side) and moving it to the other side so that there are three panels that provide a bubble trap.

Can you tell me if this is the right idea? Any critiques or tips to make sure the water flows as it should quietly and without bubbles. Any help would be great!

mbray94 · Jan 8, 2014

To be honest, I would start fresh and pull all of the panels out. Take measurements of your skimmer, return pump, and reactor. Make sure you leave a little extra room in the first section for a possible upgrade later. The way you are wanting to go about it is the same way that I have mine. I actually bought the Trigger systems 36s Ruby for my setup and it works flawlessly. The return section appears to be very large. You should not need more than 8" wide for the return pump. In the first chamber try to always leave some extra room. I wish I would have made my sump a little bigger. I am running a Vertex Omega 150 and it has a large foot print. Hope this helps.

Reefing Madness · Jan 8, 2014

That sump would run the way you wanted it to. The water comes in on the left, put your reactors and stuff in there, and it would flow to the right and be returned. The baffles keep the water level in the compartments.
Melevsreef.com | Acrylic Sumps & Refugiums

StikHedRon · Jan 8, 2014

Me personally would not have the refugium in the middle, I would have the return in the middle and the fuge on one side. Then "T" off the return and feed the fuge, so you can control the flow through the fuge better. You would have your drain area with skimmer, sock and whatever, flow would go through some bubble traps then into the return area. I would also not have a bubble trap on the side that my fuge was on to save space and just have one piece of acrylic. Just my 2 pennies. I have my sump setup the way I described and I love it that way.

Schgred · Jan 8, 2014

Thanks for the thoughts. This helps a lot.

Ronhaskovec, I believe this is how the previous owner set this sump up.

Reefing Madness, would there be too much flow if the Refugium would be in the middle compartment? I am planning on drilling the 55 gallon and putting on a 700 gph overflow from glass-holes.com. According to the Mag Drive specs, the gph with a 4-5 foot rise (which is what it will be) is right at about 700 gph. If there is 700 gph going through the sump, would that be too much for a refugium, or would that spin the chaeto just like it should?

Reefing Madness · Jan 8, 2014

700gph would look to be a good choice in that sump.

Schgred · Jan 8, 2014

Doing more research now seems to say that 3-5x the display tank volume is what you should aim at for flow through the sump. 5x would put the gph through the sump at 275 gph. That means that I would have to seriously dial back the return pump from the sump, or do what Ronhaskovec mentioned.

Reefing Madness · Jan 8, 2014

No, there is no reason to dial it back, nor would you want to. Cheato and most Macro Algae needs tumbled, alot of water going through it, 700gph is not a bad number.

StikHedRon · Jan 9, 2014

You want as much flow through your sump as your skimmer can handle. And you want as little flow through your fuge as possible. Now to add flow within your fuge which is totally different, add a small power head to circulate the water within the fuge area.

StikHedRon · Jan 9, 2014

More contact time in your fuge the better.

Schgred · Jan 9, 2014

Gotta love how some of these topics have people on either side. Ronhaskovec and Reefing Madness are giving two different opinions... I'll be running an Aqua C skimmer that will be hanging on the side of the sump. I was thinking of putting that and the Phosphate Reactor in the drain section with a filter sock. So 295 gph would be ideal if I match my skimmer to the flow going through the sump.