10g Sump/Fuge... I finished
- Thread starter earlybird
- Start date
earlybird
Active Member
Originally Posted by sign guy
ha ha you spelled rear
looks good, real good in fact when I get my 135 and turn it into a fuge you can come down and put it together
I appreciate that coming from you. It wasn't as easy as I thought. I had to get a few extra pieces of glass cut. I found that working in the tight space it was difficult to shove the silicone through the sides of the tight fitting baffles. Then I found a syringe that came with my daughters cough medicine that I could get into the tight space. Worked like a charm. Thanks for all your help.
ha ha you spelled rear
looks good, real good in fact when I get my 135 and turn it into a fuge you can come down and put it together
I appreciate that coming from you. It wasn't as easy as I thought. I had to get a few extra pieces of glass cut. I found that working in the tight space it was difficult to shove the silicone through the sides of the tight fitting baffles. Then I found a syringe that came with my daughters cough medicine that I could get into the tight space. Worked like a charm. Thanks for all your help.
frankthetank
Active Member
I'm learning about sumps and fuges. As I'm looking at this picture, can someone tell me what side the water comes from the DT, and which side is the return?
eugenez_21
Member
yes thats its what the ZigZag is for
jacrmill
Member
just for clarification.....the right side of the picture is overflow, and the middle is the fuge. So where are you going to put your skimmer, heater and other ugly stuff? I would think you would want to make the overflow area big enough to house that stuff. I wouldnt think you would want to skim your fuge water and pick out all your pods. Or are you able to fit it in the overflow area? I guess a HOB skimmer would still fit well. Like I said earlier, I am just trying to design my own sump/fuge and learn from everybody. Mine will also be a 10 gallon so I have taken special note of this 1.
earlybird
Active Member
Originally Posted by jacrmill
just for clarification.....the right side of the picture is overflow, and the middle is the fuge. So where are you going to put your skimmer, heater and other ugly stuff? I would think you would want to make the overflow area big enough to house that stuff. I wouldnt think you would want to skim your fuge water and pick out all your pods. Or are you able to fit it in the overflow area? I guess a HOB skimmer would still fit well. Like I said earlier, I am just trying to design my own sump/fuge and learn from everybody. Mine will also be a 10 gallon so I have taken special note of this 1.
It's more of a sump now. I've got my skimmer hanging on my first baffle in the middle section along with some live rock and chaeto. The skimmer's pump is in the first section where I've also got my heater.
just for clarification.....the right side of the picture is overflow, and the middle is the fuge. So where are you going to put your skimmer, heater and other ugly stuff? I would think you would want to make the overflow area big enough to house that stuff. I wouldnt think you would want to skim your fuge water and pick out all your pods. Or are you able to fit it in the overflow area? I guess a HOB skimmer would still fit well. Like I said earlier, I am just trying to design my own sump/fuge and learn from everybody. Mine will also be a 10 gallon so I have taken special note of this 1.
It's more of a sump now. I've got my skimmer hanging on my first baffle in the middle section along with some live rock and chaeto. The skimmer's pump is in the first section where I've also got my heater.
jacrmill
Member
thank you for your help.....I think I am going to make a sump/fuge similar to yours. Like they say, mimicry is the sincerest form of flattery, hope you dont mind. I I am going to use a 12 or 15 gallon tank, and hopefully make the overflow area big enough to hold the skimmer (it is an HOB). this way I wouldnt have it pulling water out of the fuge area. Since you said the pump is in the first section, this is how yours works isnt it? Thanks again for posting your results.
earlybird
Active Member
If I could do it again I'd lower my baffles a little bit because I have bubbles that pop and have to fight salt creep out side of my sump a little which is why I have the top on one half. My skimmer is sitting in the middle section with some live rock and chaeto but the intake pump is in the first section on the right. I'm using it as a hang on inside my sump not on the outside.
jacrmill
Member
do the holes in the baffel between the fuge and the return pump area keep the chaeto in? or do you think a baffel with glass to about the height of your holes and then having eggcrate above that would allow more water flow and keep the chaeto in? Thank you again so much for your help....i love learning from other peoples experiences, its incredibily helpful
earlybird
Active Member
Originally Posted by jacrmill
do the holes in the baffel between the fuge and the return pump area keep the chaeto in? or do you think a baffel with glass to about the height of your holes and then having eggcrate above that would allow more water flow and keep the chaeto in? Thank you again so much for your help....i love learning from other peoples experiences, its incredibily helpful
I only have the holes on the first divider on the right in picture. This just allows the water to flow under and over the baffle which keeps my live rock under there in constant circulation. In that picture I have a large sponge that I'm using right now to catch some smaller debris. Normally I wedge a piece of blue filter media between the first set of baffles at the other end of the fuge area. The chaeto will stay in that area but I do like the idea of the eggcrate and have seen others do it.
do the holes in the baffel between the fuge and the return pump area keep the chaeto in? or do you think a baffel with glass to about the height of your holes and then having eggcrate above that would allow more water flow and keep the chaeto in? Thank you again so much for your help....i love learning from other peoples experiences, its incredibily helpful
I only have the holes on the first divider on the right in picture. This just allows the water to flow under and over the baffle which keeps my live rock under there in constant circulation. In that picture I have a large sponge that I'm using right now to catch some smaller debris. Normally I wedge a piece of blue filter media between the first set of baffles at the other end of the fuge area. The chaeto will stay in that area but I do like the idea of the eggcrate and have seen others do it.
jacrmill
Member
if the water didnt flow through those holes wouldnt then would it have to flow all the way to the top of the baffel before it got to the return. that would mean all the empty space would be in the return pump area. can you have enough empty space in there so that if there is a power outtage it wont overflow? also is there enough water in there that if you forget to top off the water for a day or 2 that it wont run empty and burn up the pump from running it dry? I have a 29 gallon tank and was wanting to make a 10 gallon sump for it, but these were the problems I was running into.
only thing I thought about was making the baffel between the fuge area and the return area just tall enough to hold the sand. then having eggcrate from the top of that to the top of the aquarium to hold the chaeto in that area. that would allow free water flow, so that both the fuge area and the return area would lower with evaporation. also it would allow it to run with more empty space incase of a power outtage. But then you would have a shallow sump area. What do you think? I really appreciate you helping me with this.
maybe I should just do my idea with a 12 gallon tank and that would take care of it all....
only thing I thought about was making the baffel between the fuge area and the return area just tall enough to hold the sand. then having eggcrate from the top of that to the top of the aquarium to hold the chaeto in that area. that would allow free water flow, so that both the fuge area and the return area would lower with evaporation. also it would allow it to run with more empty space incase of a power outtage. But then you would have a shallow sump area. What do you think? I really appreciate you helping me with this.
maybe I should just do my idea with a 12 gallon tank and that would take care of it all....
earlybird
Active Member
The only area that doesn't remain at a constant water level is the section that houses my return pump. I should have made that area larger as I have to top off often. Could go a day if I had to but I drip my top off water using a tupperware container with airline tubing and a air control valve that is now a water control valve. If you make your baffles only high enough to hold your sand in you'll have sand everywhere. IMO a 10g is too small and the flow through my sump is very fast even with my baffles slowing it down.
jacrmill
Member
do you think a 12 gallon would make a difference? or would I have to go to a 15 or 16? (they would still fit in my stand, but it would be cramped).... how many gallons short of full do you run your sump? I was thinking I would have to run with 3.
what size pump and overflow do you use? my 29 is FOWLR, since so I dont have corals I was thinking about just doing 300 or 400. maybe this would prevent some of the fast moving problems you have in yours. but i hear chaeto likes movement.
when i meant making my baffel high enough to hold my sand in, i didnt mean just as high as my sand, but as high as it needs to be to prevent it from moving, sorry for the unclear statement. and with a small pump I was thinking maybe 4 inches over where the sand level is.
Thanks again, I think this has been the most helpful thread to me since I started using this board, and it wasnt even mine. I appreciate someone who has been in my exact situation before helping out.
what size pump and overflow do you use? my 29 is FOWLR, since so I dont have corals I was thinking about just doing 300 or 400. maybe this would prevent some of the fast moving problems you have in yours. but i hear chaeto likes movement.
when i meant making my baffel high enough to hold my sand in, i didnt mean just as high as my sand, but as high as it needs to be to prevent it from moving, sorry for the unclear statement. and with a small pump I was thinking maybe 4 inches over where the sand level is.
Thanks again, I think this has been the most helpful thread to me since I started using this board, and it wasnt even mine. I appreciate someone who has been in my exact situation before helping out.
earlybird
Active Member
Originally Posted by jacrmill
do you think a 12 gallon would make a difference? or would I have to go to a 15 or 16? (they would still fit in my stand, but it would be cramped).... how many gallons short of full do you run your sump? I was thinking I would have to run with 3.
what size pump and overflow do you use? my 29 is FOWLR, since so I dont have corals I was thinking about just doing 300 or 400. maybe this would prevent some of the fast moving problems you have in yours. but i hear chaeto likes movement.
when i meant making my baffel high enough to hold my sand in, i didnt mean just as high as my sand, but as high as it needs to be to prevent it from moving, sorry for the unclear statement. and with a small pump I was thinking maybe 4 inches over where the sand level is.
Thanks again, I think this has been the most helpful thread to me since I started using this board, and it wasnt even mine. I appreciate someone who has been in my exact situation before helping out.
If your stand can fit a larger sump I say go with what fits. Having the extra water volume was the most important aspect of the sump for me. My sump is 2 gallons short of full for backwash.
cj7eagle built a sump very similar to mine and he does have about 4 inches of sand in the same baffle design.
I'm using a magdrive 7 as my return pump but I have it choked back with a ball valve. It is overkill and if I were you I'd go magdrive 5 and two maxijet 400s or 600s inside your tank.
do you think a 12 gallon would make a difference? or would I have to go to a 15 or 16? (they would still fit in my stand, but it would be cramped).... how many gallons short of full do you run your sump? I was thinking I would have to run with 3.
what size pump and overflow do you use? my 29 is FOWLR, since so I dont have corals I was thinking about just doing 300 or 400. maybe this would prevent some of the fast moving problems you have in yours. but i hear chaeto likes movement.
when i meant making my baffel high enough to hold my sand in, i didnt mean just as high as my sand, but as high as it needs to be to prevent it from moving, sorry for the unclear statement. and with a small pump I was thinking maybe 4 inches over where the sand level is.
Thanks again, I think this has been the most helpful thread to me since I started using this board, and it wasnt even mine. I appreciate someone who has been in my exact situation before helping out.
If your stand can fit a larger sump I say go with what fits. Having the extra water volume was the most important aspect of the sump for me. My sump is 2 gallons short of full for backwash.
cj7eagle built a sump very similar to mine and he does have about 4 inches of sand in the same baffle design.
I'm using a magdrive 7 as my return pump but I have it choked back with a ball valve. It is overkill and if I were you I'd go magdrive 5 and two maxijet 400s or 600s inside your tank.