DIY 20 G Long Sump

Going to try my hand at building at 20 gallon long sump.
A few questions...
I have seaclone 100 skimmer. I'm going to use that until I can afford a better one. How deep does the water need to be for it to function in the sump?
ALSO!
How do you direct the outflow from the skimmer? Does it just SPLASH down in the same compartment? Or do you have to modify it so it doesn't splash salt everywhere? Does the water in the skimmer compartment need to be deep enough so it won't have to splash?
How big should each compartment be? Thinking of 3 compartments inlet with skimmer, fuge, and return compartment.
Sound right?
This is under a 55 gallon FOWLR...want to do some corals soon.

Thanks!

 

The main problem with using the seaclone is that skimmers are fairly sensitive to water level. With the HOB, the skimmer compartment will need to be kept at normal full level which may affect the skimmers efficiency, depending on the flow rate. Once you've built your sump to accommodate the HOB, you'll be stuck with using a HOB or tearing the sump apart to rebuild for an in-sump model. I'd recommend getting a good in-sump skimmer first and build your sump around it.

 

You can extend the suction tube on the Seaclone with some vinyl tubing so water level in that sense is not important. The problem is the discharge will come crashing down and be noisy and heck.

 

It shows that you can use it in a sump. It just doesn't say how much water needs to be in there. I'm sure I can rig up something to keep the water from splashing everywhere...

 

I agree with Mr. Bill that down the road you'll probably want to upgrade to a good in sump skimmer. Just a suggestion, but I'd look up the footprint of some of these and make your skimmer chamber large enough to hold one if you decide to get it in the future. Better safe than sorry


I used one of these for a week when my old skimmer broke, so I know what you mean by the waterfall splashing and being noisy. I rigged it up by facing the outlet close to the baffles. Then I took a foam pad like pictured and rested it between the top of the baffle and the outlet of the skimmer. I hope that made sense? lol

 

yes... just a temporary solution for a skimmer...
I have looked at others and their footprint size to allow room.
But back to my original question...how deep should the water be in the sump for the seaclone to work?

 

How are you going to lay out your sump? I am fixing to build a 20g long sump also. I currently have a 10g sump on my 37 gallon reef tank. I am fixing to switch to a 65g so i need the bigger sump. My sump now is filter sock section the a single baffle then refugium then bubble trap then return. My water is close to perfect no but i have been reading some forums on here and they are saying to put the return in the middle so i can control the water flow. It does not seem to be a problem now with my 10g. Any ideas?

 

Here's what I've got.
Inlet on left, then refuge, buble trap, then return on right.
Hope it works!!!

 

I took a 20 ouce plastic soda bottle and cut it like and inch from the bottom, took the wide end and placed it near the skimmer outlet and placed a filter pad in the bottle to control the bubbles.

 

I guess I'll see what mine's like. Still don't have it installed. A little stand modification going on. There's a brace in back that I need to move to fit mine in. I've braced it the only way I can...added some 2x4's at 45 degrees with metal straps to hold in place. I'm told it should be fine because the corners take the weight and the back center brace should come out without a problem!