Sump plan help

  • Thread starter Thread starter opie77
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125g 6' DT mixed reef. I havent drilled the tank yet. So all is open there. 50g sump. 48" long. Nothing cut for sump either. I have a skimmer that needs 8-9" water level and has a 9"x9.5" footprint. I have a mag18 pump. Theres 4' elevation from bottom of stand to top of tank. 2 Jager 200w heaters.

Id like drains in the middle of the tank. returns left and right using lock line. Id like a sump with a fuge, ato, in sump skimmer and heaters.

Does this help?

Thanks for that breakdown FishBeard. That helps a lot.

Also, open invite to my house. I have a fridge FULL of beer!
 
lol, that does help a lot.

For a pump, I would get something around the 1200gph range, so a Mag12 would be perfect if you like the Mag pumps.

For the drains and returns, that is perfectly doable. 2 1" drains is more than enough to handle the turnover, and two 3/4" returns would cover it for the return flow as well.

I have a 3/4" glass drill bit already, and the drill guide, but I know the glass-holes kit comes with that too.

If you ever need help I'm happy to come over when it comes time to drill as well.

Another thing I would recommend is to get check valves for the return lines. That will stop back-siphoning when you shut the return pump off and/or power outage as well.
 
Figure now that you have the mag18 you can put 3 return holes in if you want. Left,center,right. With still keeping your center overflow. This will reduce the need for vortex or korlia power heads keeping you tank clutter free.
 
Not saying it can't be done, but sumps aren't supposed to be used for flow in display tank. If you don't want the clutter of powerheads then a closed loop is a great option. I have one for my 110 gallon tank. But even so, 1800gph isn't enough for a 125 mixed reef. That's barely 12x display volume turnover.
 
Yea, i would not treat your sump as your display tanks primary flow source. You NEED to match your sump flow to what your skimmer is rated to operate best at. Stick with a dedicated closed loop or powerheads for flow.
 
Yogo, according to mag 18s flow chart, at 4 ft head, it should flow 1375. Im right at 4 ft from sump to top of tank.

May have to invite you over and talk it out. Its easier to show and explain than try to describe it here.

Fish, so your saying sump is filter and thats it? If I need flow I rely on closed loop/powerheads?

Skimmer is rated at 180g. Was told to look for a bigger than tank size for skimmer.
 
Yeah, sump is just filtration. Don't use it for flow. And I'm happy to come over and check it out. If you account for elbows and more the mag18 should be ok. I just don't like high flow in the sump. The longer the water stays in the sump, the better filtered it will be.

But even so, a mixed reef needs 30-40x display tank volume, so you're looking for about 4000-6000 gph. And the more SPS you get the higher the flow you need.

The skimmer in the instructions should have a recommended flow rate for the sump area.
 
I think what Fish is saying is to find out how many gal/ hr your skimmer pumps and match it with the flow in you sump. Look at the specs. It is not the 180 gal tank size rating on your skimmer.

You want to use a closed loop or PH for flow, not your returns
 
Ok skimmer is rated to 2400l/h or 630g/h. So do I use a different return pump and a bigger closed loop/power heads?
 
I'd sell the 18 and put it towards a new 12. You should be close to your target gph considering 4-5' of lift headloss. You can tap off your return to feed your fuge and maybe even have enough left for a media reactor or 2.
 
This would have been a great thread for me about 6 months ago!!! I have a 120 with a 30 gallon sump and I am really ticked I didn't do a 55 for a sump. (so much more room for activities!) I plan on using a 55 when I finish my basement. Right now basement is TOO cold for it!
 
A 40 breeder actually works better for a sump than a 55 gallon. Wider and easier to manage. 55's are too narrow and are difficult to work with and keep clean IMO.

And I would also try the mag18 first. You can always T-off and use it for feeding reactors as well, which would help too. And you can always turn down a little if you need to.

But yes, I would most definitely go with a closed loop (my personal favorite) or powerheads to get flow. I plumbed a closed loop for a 110 I am working on, so no powerheads are visible in tank. And I made a DIY rock wall on the back to, so the only thing that isn't rock are a couple of intake screens near the bottom.
 
yogoshio said:
I would also try the mag18 first. You can always T-off and use it for feeding reactors as well, which would help too. And you can always turn down a little if you need to.
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asuguhes.jpg


+1 Which this is why this system was plumped this way to have reactors down the road and to feed the fuge.. The pump was over strong in gph on a 150gal tank but worth it IMO.. Nothing a valve can't fix if to strong ;)
 
I have a question to consider. This is a center return sump so the overflows from the tank are split in two, one for the skimmer section and one for the refugium. If this was a say far right return all the flow would go thru the skimmer section and the refugium section so the entire return pump volume. If he is running 1300gph he will have approximately 650 per side not 1300 per side. Also if you feed reactors off your return line you will be scrubbing the refugium additions to the main tank which is what I thought was one of the duties of the refugium. I am asking for this to be considered because I am using the exact same design for my DIY refugium and I have had to add a powerhead to the refugium side to add flow to keep the macro happy, I am however running a mag12 for return. FYI the mag 12 and 18 at 4' of head are very close in flow. Thanks all
 
zoomcorvette said:
I have a question to consider. This is a center return sump so the overflows from the tank are split in two, one for the skimmer section and one for the refugium. If this was a say far right return all the flow would go thru the skimmer section and the refugium section so the entire return pump volume. If he is running 1300gph he will have approximately 650 per side not 1300 per side. Also if you feed reactors off your return line you will be scrubbing the refugium additions to the main tank which is what I thought was one of the duties of the refugium. I am asking for this to be considered because I am using the exact same design for my DIY refugium and I have had to add a powerhead to the refugium side to add flow to keep the macro happy, I am however running a mag12 for return. FYI the mag 12 and 18 at 4' of head are very close in flow. Thanks all
Click to expand...

That's why you don't split the drain. You feed it all to the skimmer and tap off the return to redirect a little flow to the fuge, or tap off one drain to the fuge with a ball valve to throttle the flow being directed there. And yes, sometimes a small circulation pump may be needed in the fuge for water movement in that chamber.
 
I was told by many never to throttle the drains in a system. I am just wondering if the center return is just not a good idea as it cuts the flow of the return pump in half. The majority of sump designs I have seen have the return to one side which puts all the return pump flow thru both the skimmer section and the refugium. I am wondering if I should change the way mine is layed out. You cannot have different flows unless the return is centered in the system or the refugium and skimmer sectiions are seperate. FYI mine is working great it just seems the two designs are very different in the amount of flow thru the refugium section and I am wondering which is best.
 
I think you are reading what you want to see. No one said to throttle the drains. But if you insist on feeding the fuge from a drain line, you can tap into a line going to the skimmer, and throttle the line you have tapped in. This will not restrict any flow in the drain line, just the amount of it that gets redirected to the fuge.
 
Thats what I plan on doing Fish. I was thinking if I fed the fuge skimmed water, wouldnt the fuge starve to a point? I was thinking of using a reducer tee off my drain to feed the fuge with a ball valve. Maybe a 1.5"/1.5"/1" or keep it full 1.5"?

Also, since I am right now putting the baffles in, how the heck you silicone the middle baffle of the bubble trap the full length?
 
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