Sump/Fuge Design?

I've decided I can't find what I want, so I was thinking about getting a custom one made.

Here's a rough sketch of what I'm thinking based on what I've read in the forums.

Anything I'm missing, or anything I should re-consider? Do my divider depths look ok between the sump/fuge & bubble trap? My plan would be to have the water drain into the sump and fuge area and then have the return in the middle.

 

Looks good. I would just take from the the other two and give the skimmer compartment two more inches. It get tight quick adding equipment. 14x18 will house any skimmer you want.

 

I would T' off the OF line from the display tank. You want all the nasty stuff in the fuge for filtration to take place. But if space requirement are tight then keep it like you have in the pic.

 

A thought to consider on your total system. If your total system is going to include a separate automatic top off system then I would minimize the size of your pump volume to only that required for the pump and maximize the volume for the fuge. If your total system will NOT include an ATO, then the pump volume is where your evaporative losses will be accumulated and thus you will need that volume. I guess it depends on where you live, but my system evaporates 3/4 gallons a day. Thus, I felt an ATO was a requirement. Larger tanks with greater surface area would only make that worse.

Anyway, if you plan an ATO, shrink the pump volume and maximize the fuge.

Agree with Mike on using the overflow "T" instead of the pump "T".

Hope that helped.

Mark

 

So I forget. what do you have now? My sump is similar, it's 36x18x21. I actually have plenty of room. How much water drains now when you turn your return pump off. Your numbers look good, but most of your reservoir is in your skimmer return section. Just keep in mind you need room and minimize how much drains back.

 

Wow, thanks for all the input everyone, I really appreciate all the insight.

Sounds good, I have adjusted my diagram. So now I have the overflow split to dump into the sump compartment as well as the fuge compartment.

I plan on using an ATO, based on what I've read, sounds like that's the way to go. I have 34" width in my cabinet, so I'm hoping I can get a 10-20 gallon tank in front of or behind my sump/fuge to use as my ATO. I'm also hoping I have enough room on the other side of that to eventually put a calcium reactor.

I haven't actually started my research on the ATO or footprint of a Calcium reactor, that's next up once I think I have my sump/fuge combo figured out. (See conceptual design image below. Obviously not to scale.)

I don't actually have anything right now. (Well, my tank came with the Model 4 marineland 55 gallon sump, which I'm not planning on using.) I'm in the planning stages, once I have everything designed the way I think it needs to be, I'll build cardboard models of the footprints to make sure everything will fit ok, and then I'll order the components.

For my skimmer I have decided to go with the ATB 1050a which has a footprint of 16.5Lx10.25W. So I figure as long as that will fit in my sump, I'm ok?

Not sure I follow

A major part of my problem is this is my first fish tank ever, so I don't have any experience or knowledge in the hobby to fall back on, so I've been doing TONS of reading on the forums and am relying on everyone else's info to steer me in the right direction.

 

You are doing the right thing... planning it all out before doing it.

I ended up moving the baffles in my sump three times before I got it right.

Keep asking questions, the experienced folks here on 3reef are great (I am not one of those yet), but listen to Powerman, Steve Wright and other experienced folks. They'll get you going in the right direction.

M

 

My sump/fuge finally came in. After a lot of good input from everyone I ended up ordering a custom made one to my exact dimensions from Advance Acrylics.

Haven't water tested it yet, but seems solid as a tank. Great craftsmanship and attention to detail.

Below are some images of the final product as well as my final build spec sheet.

Next up ATB 1050a skimmer.

Thanks for everyone's input!

 

Wow! That is one nice piece of equipment!

 

I have read some bad stuff on Advanced Acrylics and was wondering how your experience was with them? How was communications? Do you mind saying the price you paid total shipped? I am kicking around the idea of getting some stuff made and I am trying to find some good places to choose from.