my first sump/fuge

I'm getting a 90 gallon tank next weekend and have plans to make a sump/fuge for it with a 30L.
I have a 55 gal w/ a rena xp, red sea skimmer, and 2 powerheads. I'm trying to build a sump on the cheap for the most part, but dont want it to be a waste.
I've tried to read tons of the build threads, but i'm so much more a visual person than reading and then seeing shisty drawings.
My skimmer is a HOB version, so can I use that inside the sump?
Ugh, i've been sick for a week and can't think straight, maybe i'll repost tomorrow, but for right now if anyone has a very detailed pictoral post i'd like to see that, esp w/ all plumbing involved.
This sites great BTW, so much to read.hehe
=chris

 

you can have your skimmer HOS (hang on sump, like me) and trust me we will help you! just ask what you need to know and we'll give it our best shot, well maybe the more experianced people will, lol


Ps Welcome to 3reef!

 

refugiums should have slow flow. a sump/refugium limits the possibilities. the sump should be seperate due the the difference in water flow, equipment used, and the fact that you will clean the return sponge daily. with a combination the filter takes a beating, its best to have both seperate. glasscages.com sells cheap, but good tanks, and can easily be made into a refugium.

 

You can make things better with little mods

HI,
I have a 20 gal sump , I added a reforguim to the sump by putting a plastic shoe box i bought at the dollar store, I put 2 inches of FIGI mud in the bottom tossed some algae in it put the return on the opposite side put my skimmer in the sump, bought a cheap light a mini coral like put it over the reforguim.
Nothing pretty to look at but it gets the job done the sides of the shoe box allow snails, nudi's and pods to have access to the mud and the algae but the water flow only passes over the top this prevents mud from being stirred up.
There's all kind of really simple things you can do to improve the exporting of waste without buying all the high endpackage items, unless you have the money.
Doug



I even made a phos reactor out of a old siphon tube I had and a power head it was free to make and it works..most things can be made if you think about what it does water flow and so on. just be sure its clean to start with and never been in soap. I ve even seen white base rock cycled in 30 gal new garbge cans at the LPS and sold in a few weeks as life rock wit bits of coraline..

 

Put the return pump in the middle of the sump and T off the line from the tank so that one side of the T can feed the sump and skimmer then the other side can be choked down run to the fuge. The fuge could just overflow back into the return pump chamber. Just make sure you make enough room for water displacement when the power goes out.

 

ok

ya i saw that design, with the return in the middle. thanks. i'll try and keep a log on how i do my stuff, so if it comes out ok i should have ton's o pix..but if it comes out crappy you can see why too

 

i made 2 baffles so far, and my rock stand and drip plate.. hpoefully it all comes out ok
-=chrs

 

If not then that is how we learn....Doesn't have to be perfect just do the job it was intended for. ;D

 

my width was off, but it was oversized, so thats good. just have to shave it down a 1/16 or so.
i read yesterday that the only way to bond the acrylic toglass was just good silicon so hopefully this works and i dont have to remake everything from scratch w/ glass
-chris

 

2 days done w/ drying, one more day for full cure, then i can water test it... w00t
i think i'll follow otty advice as long as my wife allows it, get something like 900 gph, can always redivert flow into sump...
-chris