Starting 20 Gallon Sump/fuge

Ok so i decided to finally take the plunge and start a 20 gallon sump/fuge. First off I would like to say that any advice from anyone would be greatly appreciated. I am probably going to be updating this thread from time to time as progress gets farther along. For right now I believe a 20 gallon long sump/fuge would be fine for my 90 gallon and would have the best chance of fitting under my stand since my tank has already be established for quite some time. Second, i'm in the hunt of a 20 gallon long and will be picking it up very shortly as well as buying the acrylic to create the baffles. Next, how many baffles do I need and I know i need to get the non-toxic silicone is probably what I need but will that create a sufficient bond between the glass and acrylic? My next question is what would be a a good overflow box to get? Eshopps? b/c drilling the tank is out of the question and I rather not take that route. One of my other very important questions is what do you guys think would be a good skimmer for the sump/fuge and I wouldn't mind spending up to $300 on a skimmer or around there and what skimmer's footprint would fit into a 20gallon long?
For now these are about the only questions I have till i get the tank, cut the baffles and get those put in and get the dimensions for the footprint of the skimmer I want before that baffle gets put in. Any other things I am forgetting at the moment I would great appreciate the help of you fellow 3reefers as this is my first sump/fuge and I want to try to do it all right the first time

 

no experts or anyone w/ quite a bit more experience than me to chime in on this

 

I like to do two baffles between each section. You can set them up to make the water go over one than under another. This will help kill micro bubbles.

It should do fine. Why not just use glass baffles though? You can have it cut for about $3 a piece at Lowe's

IMO Eshopps is the best. I am yet to hear a bad story about them and have had no problems with mine. The key is their ability to restart syphon without the use of lifter pumps.

I hear nothing but good about Aqua C and Octopus skimmers. I am running a Coralife and love it, but with that price range I would look for something bigger.

 

thanks for the help mikejrice...K+ for your input i was leaning towards the eshopps and was thinking about the Octopus Super Reef XP200 or the Vertex-IN180. I've read reviews on both and heard good things about both of the skimmers. As far as tubing goes for everything...what type should I should? and where could I get it at? Also, what would be a good return pump that would produce the amount of flow I need??? From what I've heard it is 5x the turnover so for a 90 gallon that is 450 so I think a pump that is around 500gph would be fine correct?

 

Anyone else? Would the eshopps pf-800 suit my needs on my 90 gallon? I have 2 koralia 3 and the skimmer i will get will be the vertex in180 or the octopus super reef xp200 so hopefully the turnover rate of all that will be ok?

 

don't start building your sump til you get the skimmer and return pump. Without those, you will not know if they will fit. Your sump must be built to accommodate their sizes. This is how my sump is setup. Very simple, yet effective way and easy to understand.


First get the return pump, skimmer and 20 gallon long tank. Then get the glass/acrylic. Acrylic doesn't bond well to glass so you have to use a lot of silicone and make sure you get 1/4" acrylic. Or you can just use glass, either or it doesn't matter. Worry about tubing last.

I would suggest pump that will pump around 800gph, after head loss, it would probably be about 500gph. That should be enough flow to keep the overflow running as well as enough flow to push any air bubbles through the U-tube if they accumulate.....maybe a Mag 7 pump? not sure on that one.

 

Alright thanks for the info....I've been doin alot of research on designs to get ideas and found a bunch of pictures but I was thinking of doing a setup very similar to one that you. Can anyone verify the recommendation of the mag 7 pump? I want to do this all right the first time so I dont end up wasting time or money on this project...i like doing this the best that I can and as well as possible the first time ; ) Also, just got done reading Covey's post on the cheap DIY overflow and I know one of the main differences between a DIY overflow and something like Eshopps is the design and price but I'm more worried about the fact of power outages and then the water getting siphoned out of the tank if i'm not around? I know Covey's DIY overflow prevents that but whats the chances of that happening with Eshopps's Overflow box?

 

Well, looks like we have the same basic set up. A 90g DT with a 20g sump/fuge. In terms of the fuge, I like it offset.....not in the center. This gives you the power to adjust water flow from slower (caulpera) to faster (chaeto). You have more control. When you set up the piping, however, it is extremely important that you pay attention not only to the valves placed to let water enter the pipe, but valves that are meant to control back pressure. They are just as important. I can provide pics to illustrate if need be. And the input into the fuge should be direct from the tank, not from the sump.

With baffles, I only have one. I divided my 20g long with one piece of acrylic siliconed to the glass. It divides the fuge with the sump. With a 20g long, and a sizable skimmer, there isn't really enough room to do more than that.....and there is really no need either. You will notice the absence of bubble traps. Bubbles from the skimmer will be a huge problem if you don't do something about it. With my set up, I opted for filter socks. They are nitrate traps, so you MUST change them out twice weekly. Period. I have one on the intake into the sump (not the fuge) and on the output of the skimmer. No microbubble problems.

Now, silicone does not provide enough of a bond between acrylic and glass to make an outside barrier stay intact, but an inside baffle is no problem at all. There is really not enough pressure between compartments to cause it problems.

So my 20g is set up so the left two thirds houses the skimmer, heater and powerheads to run the return and skimmer. The right third is the fuge. I feed the 20 with a single overflow box rated at 600GPH. It is a CPR overflow with an aqualifter to maintain siphon. The Eshopps is a good enough unit. The way it's designed, it's not supposed to break siphon once it gets going. However, it is still possible for splashback to break siphon on occation. It doesn't happen often...but it is not unheard of. If I had an Eshopps, I would still McGyver it to accept an aqualifter and have a backup plan. If you buy an aqualifter set up, I suggest getting two. One for now. One for when it goes TU. They last about a year and go under IME. They are only fifteen bucks, so no problem there......

ITO skimmers, there are several that will fit the 90g nicely. In my order of preference....

**PM Bullet-2
**ETSS 600XR
**AquaC EV-240
**Octopus NWB200

I have an ETSS 600XR old style that I picked up used for a great deal. It was a bear to dial in, but once there no problem. It took about a month of patience.

 

i went with a pf-1000 for my 55 gallon w/2x10 gallon sump. i think it was only like 10 dollars more. It has 2 drains instead of one. figure it was a little safer going with one thats overrated, and possible quieter. hopefully ill start it up this weekend, if i kind find a replacement u-tube. stepped on mine last night

 

May be a little late to chime in but I would pretty much second the above comments. Other thoughts are that you will need to add a small light ive seen cheap ones at drsfostersmith.com for like $33 or somethin its 18 watts. Also were you planning DSB, live rock, caulerpa? My fuge is bare bottom which I find more convenient for cleaning and full of caulerpa the stuff grows like crazy, I got mine at the LFS for a couple bucks. i like the idea of a seperate fuge so you can slow the flow to it but this may not be possible for your situation. Also I use the Coralife 220 skimmer and have only good experiences with it, for your setup they make a smaller model but in the skimmer game you can't go to big. Mine was like $220 i think also at drsfostersmith.com . Hope that helps