Sump Design (Looking for input)

Because it is an open vessel. Air and water. It will just overflow out the top. It will never make it to the display.

 

You can get rid of the silly baffles and use the design I plan on using to eliminate bubbles. Some guys on here are using it including Otty and Tangster. The incoming water goes in and then it elbows with two 90's into a bigger pipe that goes back up to the surface of the water. Nice open design with less stuff in the way. People have way too many baffles and stuff when with this trick you can do it simpler and cheaper and more effective. Heres a basic of what i'm talking about and MY sump/fuge design I will be using.

 

Plenty of people make 3 sections in a 20L. No skimmer in fuge. the best way is to do a skimmer on one side and a fuge on the other with the return in the middle. Split your drain line to feed both.

 

check my pictures, I tried do downlload a drawing of my sump/refugium design. Granted it is in a 75 Gallon tank, but the same principles apply.

 

If you are using a regular overflow... Durso/Stockman... then you will have bubbles in the drain line that needs to be dealt with. How you are doing it is good, bubble boxes, rock rubble, what ever. I have no need for a bubble trap from my fuge. However.... most folks need a bubble trap from the skimmer. Micro bubbles are not a definite, but invariably you will have micro bubbles. I hate MBs. Being at high altitude, I do and it has nothing to do with my skimmer design.

It is good to plan for them. So most folks run some sort of trap from the skimmer.... sponges, baffles, what ever. Now if you also have bubbles from the drains... then that helps too. I don't have any bubbles in my drain, but I still need one for my skimmer.

 

Well thing is I'm not using a 20L I'm using a 20T which is only 24" long

 

forgot to mention the return line..............


It elbows towards the bottom so you don't suck any bubbles back to the DT. Again, Roger or Scott could better explain.

 

It's a crap shoot. I'm sure Rodger and Scott know what they are talking about.... but with a lot of flow....IF you have MBs from your skimmer.... they will most assuredly be sucked up by a return pump elbow or not. some folks then put sponges on their pumps, or sponges after the skimmer to catch them. Works.... but I hate cleaning sponges. Only thing I have to clean in my sump is my collection cup. There are a thousand ways to skin a cat. Not every method will work for every setup. Best to plan accordingly.

 

Cool... you will be cramped. The returnn only has to be as wide as the return pump, but you will lose your evaporation from there. Skimmer only has to fit your skimmer. fuge only really needs to be about 10% your display tank... so three gallons. 6 inches for fuge, 6 inches for return, 12 inches for skimmer. bubble trap somewhere.

 

What if I were to skip out on the skimmer? Or is that not good?