20L Refugium Build

I have a 20 Gallon Long Sump with a return pump and a Protien Skimmer also has a pump. My sump has no chambers yet I don't know how to make them, So i was wodering if I can get help with my chambers and my Refugium Build.(Please include pics im more of a visual person).
Thanx

 

Heres 2 links that you can watch that may help. You can also find some other designs on there as well. I hope this will help

YouTube - Reef Tank D.I.Y. Sump part 1

YouTube - Reef Tank D.I.Y. Sump part 2

 

Here's mine and some advice.

http://www.3reef.com/forums/show-off-your-fish-tanks/mmcdonald-55-gal-build-78383.html#post763942

Baffles for the refugium are easy. Mistake I made was working with glass instead of acrylic. I'll never do glass baffles again. Cut my hands, leaves sharp edges, etc, etc. Go to Home Depot or Lowe's and buy some 1/4" acrylic... much easier.

Cut the acrylic about an 1/8 of an inch less than the exact width of your aquarium and about 1-2" less than the depth. While at the store, also buy some aquarium safe 100% silicone glue. Make sure you get something with no Anti-microbials in it. Many silicone chalks have anti-fungal/microbe stuff in it that you do not want. Then glue the piece in place where you want it. Most people glue it exactly vertical. I did mine at a very slight slope = refugium\|pump|||skimmer. I did the refugium at a slant to reduce bubbles. It "slides" down the acrylic, not a water fall and it worked nicely.

Bubble trap between skimmer and pump is over, under, over with about a 1/4" under. I just put some pencils under the baffle when gluing it to hold it up. About a 1/2" between baffles. Those are vertical. THe height of the bubble traps is a function of the higher the better for more water volume, but most skimmers only want 6-10 inches of water depth depending on the skimmer. Many people sit their skimmers on a stand inside the sump to raise it. My Octo XP-2000 is extremely sensitive to water depth. Two purposes of these baffles... 1) to hold a constant water depth for the skimmer and 2) bubble trap to prevent bubbles from getting to the pump.

Don't worry if you screw up. You can razor blade cut them out and move them and reglue them with minimal effort. I had to three times... learning curve.

Hope that helped. Nice to be able to share knowledge for a change instead of always being the one asking questions....

Mark

 

Alright that helps but do you have pics that would help me more, And what would be a good design for a 20L sump?

 

Here is my 20L Sump


I have hoses instead of PVC tubes I don't know if this will effect anything will it?

 

Doing the 20L Sump/Fuge is pretty easy. That's exactly what I did with mine. I just put in one divider and called it good. Usually, you do not want to use silicone to adhere glass to acrylic, but in this case it is OK. As long as there is not an outside wall or something that will have a great deal of pressure on it, you are fine. You want to go about two-thirds the way to the top of the 20L with the acrylic sheet and top it off with a piece of that white porous plastic stuff you find in the lighting section of home-depot....come-on guys......I can't think of the name of the material. Wow.....it must be old age.

So after placing the acrylic and siliconing it into place, I used the small 12x12 chamber as the offset fuge and the rest as the sump.

Wth an offset fuge, you need to get a little creative with ball-valves so that back pressure is created and the majority of the water is diverted to the sump, while only some is brought to the fuge and processed that way.

IIWY I would ditch the hoses and start playing with PVC. It will clean things up immensely. We can go through how to do that if you have never delved into that sort of plastic-work.

Here is a frontal shot. Sump is near and Fuge is far. You can see the top of the fuge divider in this shot beyond the black filtration box (carbon).



My dirty little fuge



A little better view......



Plumbing (Right side): I have the water coming down the PVC behind the light and splitting off. The right-most ball valve is responsible for creating the back pressure that forces the majority of the water off to the left and down in to the sump. To the left, I have it plumbed to accept another overflow box, but do not use it (second pic)

 

Alright how would I do the PVC?

 

I don't get how to make the plumbing =[

 

From your overflow box, you would use 3/4th inch PVC. When you go to Home Depot or Lowes, you fill find all sorts of PVC joints and connectors. It is rather overwhelming....but with a little thought, things clear up nicely. There are 90 degree elbows, 45 degree elbows, "T" connectors....all that jazz. It is likely you will only use the 90 degree elbows and "T" connectors. And of course, the PVC piping itself. Now there is thick and thin PVC. I would use the thicker. It will stand bumping more readily if there is a miscommunication between your brain and hands when you are under the tank. Oh, yeah....the ball valves. They are probably the most expensive piece. You would need three for a one overflow system ($5 each). One on the coming directly from the overflow to regulate all the water flow, one to create back flow from the fuge to the sump and another on the sump side of the plumbing in case you want to shut things down from there. I will work on a diagram for ya so that it will be a little easier to understand.

First you need to take measurements. This is most important. Measure, measure again and when you are sure you have it right.....do it one more time. PVC can be cut with a little hand saw or a sawzall if you have access. The plastic is easy to cut. Then you sand down the end so there are no burrs (inside or out) and glue together.

The glue is a two part deal. You will only need one bottle each (8 ounce). First there is a purple primer. Very thin. It stains. Beware. After the primer is on there, apply the glue (regular, clear PVC cement) over it and put it together. Now.....you have very little time to make sure your angles are correct when you glue it. Probably ten seconds max. After that, if it is incorrect, you will be re-doing it.

When it comes down to it, this is really, really easy. Once you have done your first few connections, it will become old hat. AND this knowledge comes in very useful around the house. I repaired a gushing water leak using leftover PVC from my tank project. I was sooooo proud of myself.......

 

Wait.....do you have a drilled tank?