Sump Design

The attached drawing is my first design for a sump made from a 10 gallon tank:

It works by pumping water from the tank through a sponge, live rock, then on to the protein skimmer, heater and return pump. (heater not shown in drawing). Any suggestions/comments?

sump1.jpg

 

couldn't get the pic bigger.

 

looks good, i'd run the water the other way though,
thru the skimmer then the live rock then back, but it all will come out in the wash anyhow

 

Would this provide any advantages?

 

less crude would build up on the rock

 

yes,2 off the top of m head 1. anything that goes down the overflow won't end up decaying in the sponge/rock or atleast it would be alot less likely to make it past the skimmer.
2.if you put the return in with the skimmer you're gonna have micro bubbles everywhere,wich isn't a big deal really but most folks don't like em. running the other way around most bubbles would be stuck in the liverock.

 

Makes sense! I think I will adjust the design to put that after the sponge.Also, I will be using this for all my filtration. Will it be good enough for my 40 gallon tank?

 

with alot of lr in the tank and a good skimmer it should be fine. don't put to much live rock in the sump,if its packed tight you'll have trouble with the water levels either fluctuating or not letting water through=flood

 

Thanks for the heads up. I wouldn't want 50 gallons from the tank sump, then more water from the auto refill to pour onto the floor. Not the best way to get started!