Sump Design Help

[nanofreak]

Ok so I have a 75 R and I have a extra 55 g tank I am looking to turn into my filter and fuge and everything else I have crammed in the sump now. I am also relocating the filter system to the Garage. My question is I want to baffle it with bubble trap and Fuge area. How do I go about splitting the tank up and specs on how a bubble trap goes as far as how high and space between walls thanks...

[Doug1]

The baffles should be about 2 inches apart, on a 55g I would leve 10-12" of space for the return section, depending on the size of your return pump. I would make the baffles that go from the bottom up around 12" high, that will establish the water level in the sump, allowing around 5-6" of empty space to hold what drains down when the power is off, the in between baffles should be at least an inch off the bottom, forcing water over the first and then under the second, over the third, under the fourth, and over the fifth into the return area, that will force any bubbles in the water to raise to the surface rather than sweeping on through and into the return pump area

[collin]

your gonna be using my tank as ur sump.........i need to upgrade

[Loverotties]

I agree with Doug.

[Fat Tony]

You are going to want as big of a return pump area as you can get. For me, I like the tank divided into 1/3's. My sump (33 long, same footprint as a 55, just 12" tall though) is setup this way. The third on the left is my "fuge", the center section is my return pump section and the right hand third is my skimmer section. All the water from the tank goes into the skimmer section and then overflows into the return pump section where the return pump is attached to a manifold and distribute water to the tank, the ca reactor and my "fuge" Then the fuge drains over a baffle back into the return pump section.

[nanofreak]

Doug awsome info thanks guys I have 2 more questions
how do u caulk the inside of the bubble trap you will only have 2 inches of
space between pieces. 2 nd question where to get the acryiluc. Home depo
sells it us this ok to use

[Doug1]

Thats one reason to space em 2 inches apart, your can usually get your hand in to smooth the caulk bead.
If the acrylic they sell is 1/4" it should be OK

[Fat Tony]

I used the thickest glass they had available at lowes (like 1/8th inch) for my baffles. If you click the link in my signature to my 135 build thread it will show you how I did this step by step.

[Doug1]

Originally Posted by Fat Tony

I used the thickest glass they had available at lowes (like 1/8th inch) for my baffles. If you click the link in my signature to my 135 build thread it will show you how I did this step by step.

Kewl Tony, I have used both glass and acrylic, my trick for acrylic baffles to glass is to cut them SNUG, then sand edges with belt sander(notching a little for bottom seam silicone, then when they are snug enough to press fit into place, a few dabs of super glue gel sides and bottom then silicone the seams. The super glue is just extra insurance, and the silicone seals it off, it's not really structurally sound but since it will have fairly even pressure on both sides its no big deal

[Fat Tony]

I have used acrylic panels before. My process is to hot glue them into place and a good bead of sillycone around the edges just to hold them in place.

I use the same technique for glass.

[collin]

i used a glass 10g and glass dividers

[nanofreak]

Home depo has the 1/4 acrylic sheet that should
work I assume the hot glue us a good idea

[Fat Tony]

Yeah, you can get the acrylic at HD or lowes. I prefer glass as the silicone actually bonds with it, silicone doesn't bond well well acrylic. Just remember that if you use the hot glue method, cover the glue completely with silicone. I am not sure if the glue is reef safe or not, but have not had any issue with using it myself. To be on the safe side I always just make sure that it is totally covered in silicone.

[Phishnoob]

Originally Posted by Fat Tony

You are going to want as big of a return pump area as you can get. For me, I like the tank divided into 1/3's. My sump (33 long, same footprint as a 55, just 12" tall though) is setup this way. The third on the left is my "fuge", the center section is my return pump section and the right hand third is my skimmer section. All the water from the tank goes into the skimmer section and then overflows into the return pump section where the return pump is attached to a manifold and distribute water to the tank, the ca reactor and my "fuge" Then the fuge drains over a baffle back into the return pump section.

Any chance of a pic on this? I almost understand and this sounds ideal to do my 20L. I am not quite understanding the baffle part and supply to the fuge. Also, if you have a return size, say 1" on my part do you use a valve to throttle the supply to the fuge or just tee it off?

[firsthesitation]

My first thought was, whats annual weather like in New Jersey? Are you going to run into heat/cold issues with putting the sump in the garage?

Thought any about the actual layout of the sump? My personal preference is Skimmer->Return->Fuge. Guess that'll change the size and baffle height you choose from. Think typically baffles are 10" and have 1.5 to 2 inches seperating them.