Sump build

Well my 75g is almost up and ready to be plumbed, I have a tx holey rocks overflow which is 2 1inch drains. My sump design is to overflow to the skimmer area---return/middle---fuge on the right. I was gonna feed the fuge with water by T off the return to control the flow. Now ive seen it many times with successful systems and now im reading people are just T off the overflow.

Lol my question is whats the verdict, T off overflow or T off return.

 

There is no black or right. Everything is a compromise. You just need to know what you want.

Ideally, the fuge and skimmer should be fed raw water from the DT. That gives the skimmer something to work with, and feeds the fuge. By t'ing off the return, you use skimmed clean water, and then the return pump and then the fuge and then the return pump and maybe the display tank or maybe back to the fuge. The pods need to make it up to the display tank. I have not asked them personally, but I'm sure they would rather just go through a pump once.

The only problem with t'ing the drains, is that you just need to do it in such a way that the line to the fuge stays flooded and you can control the flow, and the rest freely flows to the skimmer section. Putting a valve on the skimmer drain is not a good way to back it up to the fuge.

Like say if you drain ever goes horizontal.... taking it off the top would only send air to the fuge, off the bottom will send water. Just t'ing off a vertical run will send an inconsistent flow to the fuge cause all the air in the drains. It's a minor problem and can be worked out any number of ways, it just needs to be considered. Consistent flow to the fuge, free flow of everything to skimmer.

 

T from the overflow. You get raw water so the fuge will export more nitrate and phosphate plus you will have more food for pod growth. Valve the line to the fuge after the T.

 

k guys ill redesign my plumbing, and make it raw water to fuge