10 gallon sump

I think im going to begin my 10 gallon sump soon that ive been planning on doing for some time. I plan on getting the Eshopps nano overflow (200gph max flow rate) and a ViaAqua480 (200gph)pump as my return, website says it has max head of 4 foot which will be plenty.The ball valve on the return is to fine tune the flow rate in case its too much back to the DT.the ball valve to the ref. is so i can have less water flow into it as to not make the sand and chaeto go through the wash cycle. The baffles for the ref. and first skimmer area are gonna be about 9-10" high the second about an inch from the bottom, and the 3rd baffle about 6" high(baffles will be 1" spaced apart) Would you recommend a DSB in the refugium with chaeto or does miracle mud work best im torn between the 2? Heres a diagram of what i plan on doing. Thanks.

 

lol nice diagram.i'd like to see other responses though

 

I would do a DSB of aragonite of 4-6". Miracle Mud is expensive & I had this question about it before, but no one said it was any better than sand.

Saltwater Guy, path of water through the sump above is what I was telling you about earlier.

 

You will want a tee instead of a wye and put a valve on the side that goes to the skimmer. That way you can run a small amount of water to the refugium.

Your return pump will be putting much less than 200gph if that is its flow at 0 head.

 

thats what it says on the website. and why a "T" instead? if the ball valve is going to the ref. i can turn that till its a small amount. Only reason why i ask is because i couldn't find a "T" i found a "Y" and i dont see it being that big of a diff, but if im wrong by all means correct me!. heres the pump specs Aquarium Water Movement: ViaAqua Water Pumps

 

Sounds good, for a good pod pop. should i get some rubble rock in their as well? i guess it wouldnt hurt huh?

 

I have a 10g sump and when I brought the water down from the display tank I made it run horizontal over the sump so I could put a T going down into the fuge with a ball valve to restrict water flow. The rest of the water continues to travel horizontal where it empties down into the skimmer section, where I have baffles 1.5 inches apart (in hindsight I maybe should have gone 1 inch apart to give the return section more room, but my main concern was bubbles).

The skimmer side and fuge side dump into the middle where my return pump (Eheim 1250) pumps it into the DT.

It's pretty close to what you have there. I would put a ball valve right after the overflow box because you will have noise issues and that helps alot. I do not use a ball valve on the return line at all.

 

Yes, macro algae & LR rubble could be added as well.

I do not think it really matters if you have the OF line horizontal or not. I think the Y fitting with a valve is fine. You are only trying to restrict the one side.

 

Baffles should be about 1" or 1.5" apart. Mine will be 1", just because that is what works best for me and the space I have.

The pump will need to be your 200gph, but at 3ft. head.

 

So the pump i linked earlier would be no bueno?? im confused how 4 ft max head wouldnt be enought, its a foot above how much i actually need.