[thefatman]

ok, i've been reviewing the sump/ref plumbing design by inland reef and modifying it to give myself and my advice giver (that means YOU) a better idea of how i want to plumb everything in and any changes i should consider first.

i want ot have it all laid out ahead of time, BEFORE i go in to start buying parts.

so, todays question is... i was going to setup the TWO tanks side by side and plumb together. a 20L would be the sump/ref, and the 10g would be for the return pump (it's a submersible)

but now i'm thinking maybe i dont need two tanks, if i get an external return pump? i think that a 20l or even one of my spare 30g's would be plenty big enough to house the drain line, skimmer, and mini-ref, and then have an external pump next to it. because the only reason for using the 10g tank was for the return pump.

but now, based on that.. what affordable external pumps are out there? i paid 50 bucks for my insump cap1800. but i recall someone, maybe doug saying mag's were only 70-90 bucks.. are mags external? if so, i think i'd be better off spending the extra 20 bucks and getting that.

if i go that route, then should i still use just the 20 or 30 as the drain/skimmer/mini ref.. or should i use that as strictly a sump, and then use the 10g anyway, as strictly a ref?

the ref will be used fo macro algaes and hopefully worms and pods, etc... and if i understand things right, will havea reverse light cycle for more stabile ph eliminating ph swings.

any ideas?

 

[Doug1]

Jay first thing to decide is how much water you want going thru the various part of the sump/fuge. Then determine what pump will achieve the desired flow rate taking into account pipe size, head height and all that. MAgs can be run ext but they may be noisy or leak. Sen is cheap and strong but its huge. My Sen 900 is 3 times the size of my Mag 18. Most of the ext pumps are gonna run a lot more than beefy powerheads. Another choice is to add the flow rate you want and the gph your skimmer needs and get a big one that can be split and run both

 

[coralkeeper]

could you just use a 36" 30 gal. and a mag run internaly

yes you are correct about the reverse daylight schedule for the ref.

Just a note, have the ref. drain running past the skimmer, or as far away from it as possible cause the skimmer often picks up some of the critters

an more affordable external pump would be the Gen-X, it looks like a Iwaki only cheaper.

draw some diagrams of the sump

 

[sessydude]

Jay,

Be careful using your spare tanks.....

 

[Doug1]

Jay OK I exagerated the mag is 1/2 the size

 

[thefatman]

ok here is the drawing i worked on all night

i'm pretty sure i'm gonna be going with a sen900 for the return pump. and continue runnign the skimmer on it's own pump.

i checked out the genx, and i like that is has a boatload of power, and it's cheap. my concern is that it also LOOKS cheap. and i'm not so sure about a pump that claims to have that much power, yet is so cheap.

i'm going to go with a 10gallon for the fuge, and a 29g tall for the sump, that way i'l have a fewm ore gallons worth of space in the event of a power outtage/pump failure etc..

the 10 will spill into the 29, past the skimmer so it wont suck up bugs. the skimmer will sit in the center of the 29 and the output will be on the left side along with the main drain from the tank. the water will then moveright, past the skimmer and through several over/under bubble walls. then out to the pump, and return to the tank. at the tank i will have it split into 2 outputs on either side of the tank. the drain will also havea modified durso standpipe.

i'm going with double union ball valves before and after the return pump. and double union ball valves after the main tank drain, and after the "t" into the fuge, to control fuge flow.

there will also be a union before the sump, in case that ever needs to be removed or replaced for any reason.

for the drain from the fuge to the sump, i'm concerend about water filling the sump (as in a power failure) and then back filling and subsequently flooding the fuge. the only solution i can think of is to install a check valve after the fuge before the sump. is this ideal?

the drain line will be 1 1/4". the line to the fuge will be 3/4". the line draining from the fuge to the sump will be 1". the line feeding from the sump to the return pump will be dependant upon the pump, but assumably 1". the return line to the tank will be 3/4". there will also be 2 short pieces of flexible tubing between the pump intake and output lines, to isolate vibration.

i think that about sums it all up..

any suggestions or warnings?

 

[Joel]

nice diagram, looks a lot better than the chicken scratch on paper method I use.

 

[Buzz_Hog]

Looking good Jay....

 

[Calvinc4s]

I don't know if a 10 can be drilled like that, cause the glass is sooo thin. I'm trying to do it now with a dremel and glass etching bit. Very slow and keeping it cool. We'll see, but im expecting to see mine break.

I would also remove the check valve from fuge to sump. Then rase the fuge up to be level with the sump.

 

[thefatman]

as far as drilling a 10 gal is concerned. i know it CAN be done. i was looking over a few cusotm sump places today and they had pics of 10 gallon sumps that were drilled, and nano reefs hey had made from 10g's that were drilled.

now doing it, thats another story. i'm leaving that to the pros

i was checking out fittings at lowes today and the check valve looks like it requires quite a bit of pressure to pus hteh valve in to allow water to flow through. so yeah i scratched that option. and decided to have the fuge as high as the sump, oreven higher..

and after making that descision i was brwosing sites and reviewing fuge pics, when i noticed that so many people dont like the fuge hidden, because it can be pretty in its own right. i saw a lot of pics that had the fuge next to the tank so it could be seen. then i came across the mother of all stands. a fuge built into the front wall of the stand wit htank overhead, so you can view both!!

so as a result, here is my preliminary sketch of the new stand. this will make the fuge visible, pretty up the stand a bit, and eliminate having the fuge flood the floor if the power goes out.

 

[Buzz_Hog]

So now what does the plumbing look like inside the stand??

 

[thefatman]

heck if i know :funny: