New guy with a SUMP Plan....?

[Spedward]

Ok, very new to tanks, but diving in anyway.....

I am takin my time and learning all I can b4 each move I make, so here is what I came up with after some DIY sump research......



The rough sketch of plumbing shows 2x 1" drains, one feeding the Skim section, and the other the Fuge. The return is 3/4" and shows a diverter tee with a ball valve for flow control, and a possible feed for a UV loop, back to Skim section.

Water level in Skim section will be 10" of course, and the Return/Fuge sections level will be maintained around 9.5", +/- daily evaporation. I laid this sump out so I would have maximum evaporation capacity possible, by having a low Fuge overflow so it shares a level with the return section, down to 4" anyway. I plan to have an elbow on my return pump intake, so I can evap water down to about 1.5" in the return section..... these return/fuge levels should give me about 5-5.5 total gallons of evap before trouble occurs. Is a 1.5" water level in the return ok? The OR 3500 I'll be running says it can run dry, so I figure cooling shouldn't be an issue if this should occur on occassion.

Are the two baffles on the Skim side good enuff for bubble control? Is the 1.25" gap (for cleaning purposes) ok? I do plan to have some eggcrate over the 1.25" gap in the fuge baffle. I also plan to run all plumbing with spa-flex hose, and barb fittings.... Is this ok, or will I be loosing possible flow rate by not using hard PVC?

All help is greatly appreciated.... TRT has been an ultimate resource so far, THANX!

[ckusnierek]

WELCOME TO TRT!!!

IMHO you might want to use a grate or somthing like that to keep the Macro in the fuge. Many ppl have the skimmer like your is layed out but if the skimmer is in the same compartment as the skimmer output you will be reskimming some of the water over and over. I put my skimmer in the same chamber as the return and the output runs into the baffled section.

Also I see your in NW Indiana. look to the fourms like on the top of the page. There is a local Reef Club NIMAS (Northern Indiana Marine Aquarium Scociety)

[Spedward]

Thanx Chris... yeah, planned to sandwich the fuge baffle gap with two pieces of eggcrate held together with zip ties.... interesting idea on the skimmer location, but I want to keep the skimmer on other side of the baffles, to keep the water level constant...maybe the skimmer pump could be in the return section?

Oh, and yes, I've been watching the NIMAS forum here.... I think I actually replied to one of your posts about some loc-line you might have available?

Anyone else have any thoughts?

[Geoff]

i am a strong believer in the completely barren sump. the drain on one side with the skimmer and the return on the other. nothing in between except for some baffles. fuges are just something else to clean and do not do anything beneficial for the tank.

you should also think about setting up somekind of auto water top off system. the less the salinity fluctuates the better luck you will have with keeping corals and inverts.

G~

[Sndwave80]

All looks good to me. If the skimmer is an issue just elevate it.