Sump + Refugium in One DIY

Hello, everyone. I am about to attempt a DIY sump+refugium in one. I will post my process and stuff on here. However, First I would like to get your opinions on the setup. Here is a pic of my idea so far. Please comment on it. The tank I am using is a 30 gallon tank. It has the inside demensions of 35 1/2 inches in length. 15 1/2 height, and @ 11 3/4 in width.



I refugium will trickle into the sump return area. The refugium will get its water from the input from the display tank, and it will have a Ball Valve on it to reduce the flow to it. The input into the protein area will have a filter sock on it. Next, if you notice in the pic I want to put the sponge filters in the areas marked. I want to do this to reduce the micro bubbles. Also I was thinking that I can put any kind of other filter on top of this location. Sense my protein skimmer runs good around 7 inch of water The first Baffle will be around 7 inches in height. The water will then fall down onto the sponge and flow into the sump area. The same will happen on the Refugium side. The water coming from it will trickle down the side into the sponge and into the sump area. The refugium side baffle will hopefully run around 14inchs in height or less. The inside baffles closet to the return pump won't matter as much as long as they block the water from splashing, and as long as it helps to slow the water flow in the sump down.

I dont know If I left anything out but if you guys could comment would be most appreciated THanks.

 

6 or 7 inches is not very much on the area for the return pump. If you are going to have a auto top off system then this is fine but if you are not then if you forget to check this everyday you are probably going to run your pump out of water due to evaporation. I ran an area about 9" wide on a 55 gal tank and 30 gal sump and if I didn't check it everyother day it would be getting air and blowing bubbles in my tank. Not good if you leave home for a couple of days. Just something to keep in mind.

 

The thing to think about is the fact that the sponges will trap detritus etc. will eventually limit the water through the system...so you will have to constantly check to be sure the water flow os ideal and you will need to clean the sponges constantly to limit the problems associated with a clogged sponge!

 

Most built sump systems only have a return section of 5in L x 10in W . Mine would be a little bigger allowing more water storage in this section. However, I can understand where your coming from. The evaporation would reduce the amount of water in the sump, making it more apt to suck in air in the return section. However, Increasing the size of the return will only reduce the refugium. If the point of increasing the Return is to hold more water in the sump section, It is kinda pointless as The refugium returns its water to the return as well. So increasing the size of the return and decreasing the refugium would only put me at a disadvantage. Also a note is that the refugium baffle is higher then the water level the return would hold, meaning it will hold more water the bigger my refugium is. However, if you have a different view please inform me. Thanks

 

I am only telling you this from experience. So go ahead and build the fuge the way you want but you better put back money for an auto top of because your going to have problems with evaporation. Just remember your fuge should only be 1/10 of your tank volume...100 gal tank= 10 gal fuge.

 

What size return would you recommend in a 36length tank? I need about 10inch for the protein/inlet section. The rest can be what ever.

 

Your signature says you have a 55 gal tank so make the fuge 5 to 6 gal. You can use the Calculators to figure the size.

 

Actually, I am upgrading to a 110gallon. So you think to cut it safe I should make it around 10inch ?

 

Then 10 gal would be good to use.

 

10 gallon return section? How could I measure WxLxH to get gallons if so?