Fairly Simple sump, suggestions?

Here is an article that might help out.

http://www.3reef.com/forums/reef-aquarium-articles-how-tos/all-about-sumps-filters-fuges-79852.html

 

If that baffle is already higher then you don't need to change anything other than moving the return area to the middle. As far as the plumbing goes that's real simple. Just put a tee in your overflow drain just above the sump. One side of the tee goes to the skimmer area the other has a gate or ball valve in it before it dumps into the fuge to control flow. The water going into the fuge isn't going to be pounding in so there won't be a whole lot of bubbles to worry about.
Your on the right track and once you get it done you'll be saying wow that was easy!;D

 

my sump setup. overflow split into the left (skimmer compartment) and right (refugium) compartments. from the skimmer it flows thru the 3 baffle bubble trap to the center return compartment. The refugium drains thru the 5 1" teeth cut in the front corner of the baffle wall to the center return compartment.
All evaporation shows up in the center compartment which has enough extra capaacity to hold up to 11 gallons of backflow during a power outage.

 

Thanks so much for all the info and examples guys! I've made an attempt to rebuild my sump design... So here's the new idea, let me know if i should change anything with the baffle height! And again, this is a 20" tall tank.
The first one is a top view, the second image is a front view.

Hoping for more good feedback!

 

good blueprint.. looks like its going to be the prototype you'll build.. as allways make it as big as you can fit under stand.. also if you got some cardboard you can make a sample box out of cardboard to see if you can fit it under sump without moving tank.. hate to see it not fit or have to tear down entire tank to slide into stand area..

 

Thanks for the advice! I actually custom built my stand to make sure it fits the 29 gallon tank on top, and the 20 gallon tall down below, and tall enough to fit the AquaC Urchin with room to remove the cup to clean the skimmate. I still have to put the doors on the stand, but i left the back of it completely open so it's easy access from the back. Its been a long time in the making haha.

I think ill still make the prototype of it from cardboard though just so i can see what things look like.

I do have a question though... When putting the baffles in for the bubble trap, how do you get silicone down in the 1" space to adhere the baffles in place? It's still got me curious how people do that lol.

-Scott

 

I havent done it yet, but I would think you could put a line of silicone inside the sump and slide the baffle into place. or they sell a long syringe type tip extension you can put on tube of chalk gun. you may need a chop stick or something to smooth out silicone once you get the baffles in place to push into cracks/edges..

 

Since the center baffle is only supported on the sides, i.e. doesn't rest on the bottom, do it first so you can run a bead down and along both sides of the baffle. The 2 outer baffles can be supported by running a bead down and along the edges and bottom. You don't need to worry about the inside bead because there's no real pressure to speak of.

 

Thanks for letting me know on that. Ill follow that suggestion! And if all else fails, ill try the syringe method hehe. But yeah I think as long as the center baffle is good, the outside two shouldnt be a big deal once the water is on both sides of them.

 

Hey guys... So I screwed up a bit when building my sump, aaannnd dont really have the funds to rebuild it... Basically i put the bubble traps on the wrong side so the return section is too big, and refugium now too small... But thats my question... Is there a such thing as too small a refugium? I figure it's about a 4.25 gallons or so now, rather than the 6+ i had planned for, and on top of that, I wanted to run a 4.5 in dsb in the fuge with a little macro algae on top, this is possible now? Or am i kinda SOL?

Advice?

Thanks in advance!