Sump Design - Input/Comments

Hi...I attempted to design the following sump to go into my 135 gallon tank. The sump is 48'' long x 16'' high x 12'' wide.

Starting from the right, I have 2 - 1'' overflows from the tank coming in here and that section is going to be 8''.

Then there is a partition 14'' high ...the water will spill over into the skimmer section where an Aqua C EV 240 will be.

Then there is a 7'' partition where the water will spill over into a refugium which will be 22'' long. I will put live sand and chaeto in the fuge section.

Then there is another 7'' partition/baffle where the fuge water will spill over and go under the 15'' baffle next. That baffle starts at the top and goes 1'' from the bottom of the tank and is 1'' apart from the other baffles.

Then there is another 7'' baffle where the water will spill over into an 8'' return section. There will be an external Iwaki 100 pump for the return water. The Iwaki 100 pump will have a manifold and valves on it and go to the skimmer also and any future needs.

Please let me know what you think of this design and if it will work properly and efficiently. Any input and comments are greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

 

I think the skimmer can go into the rightmost section with the return from tank and then you can make your fuge bigger.

 

If I did that would bubbles coming from the first section effect the skimmer performance at all? I didnt know if I could do that and still be ok on the skimmer!

Also my skimmer has a water height max.....would I then lower that first partition size to meet those requirements?

 

Not sure about the bubbles, but i see a lot of people with their skimmer in this section. I know a major concern is bubbles getting to the return pump.
For the height though you could put the skimmer on a stand.

 

You are overcomplicating it, the simpler you keep it the less issues you invite. I have the same skimmer driven by my return line to keep everything running with a single pump, also, it's easier to do the fuge on the end, here are some shots of my 40 gallon breeder sump.

 

I did make a stand to raise my skimmer, in this pic you can see it before I added another 25lbs of live rock in the bottom

 

wait so you have a 48'' long tank and just made 2 sections in it? One for the skimmer and overflow from the tank and the other for the fuge and return pump?

How can I simplify my design? Just add the skimmer to the first section and make that one a little bigger? then keep the others as I have them?

 

sorry, thats an old pic, the fuge was not complete and I put my chateo in with the return pump for a few days.
My sump is 36" divided into 3 compartments of roughly 12" each.
from left to right:
compartment 1 is for skimmer and overflow outlet. I also have about 25lbs of liverock filling much of the extra space. This is diveded from the return section in compartment 2 by a 3" wide bubble trap.

compartment 2 is the return section, nothing but the Mag 12 return pump here, eventually i'll add my ato here as well.

compartment 3 is the refugium and has a 5" DSB as wel as a small rubble pile for the pods to hide in. there are several macro algeas planted as well as 5 mangroves. I added some egg crate near the overflow that my chateo sits on top of and forces all the water exiting the fuge to flow thru it first.

 

i recently made a sump/fuge for a 130 gallon tank that has worked great.

http://www.3reef.com/forums/i-made/just-another-diy-sump-idea-please-help-69019.html

 

I understand using your return pump to drive those types of skimmers that need another pump and getting rid of another pump.... the only problem with that is the recirc loop created between skimmer and return. Plus, you send some of the pods from the fuge through the skimmer loop. Not the end of the world, but if I had a blank piece of paper I would want each part to work the best I could get it to work.