DIY sump what u think of this?

robpsca

Member
awesome! thanks dude!
makes more sense that way as well. the water is "denitrated" LOL from the fuge. and is cleaned by the skimmer. meeting in the middle going back up clean as a whistle!
and cuts down from 5 to 3 baffles. what do we need to cut the glass with? to make the bulk head between the two tanks. how large a cut. for a 1" bulkhead. or do we need a 2 " between?
 

squidd

Active Member
Depends on flow, but a 1 1/2" or 2" would be much better than a 1"...
Hole would have to be 2 3/8" for the 1 1/2" bulkhead and 3" for the 2" bulkhead...Have it drilled or a Dremel and diamond bits...
Glass cutter for baffles is $3- $4 at a hdwr store....
 

robpsca

Member
kewl thanks for the sizes on the bulkheads.
new question. the tanks depicted above are a 20 gal sump and a 10 gal fuge. can we use 3/16 acrylic sheets for the baffles? or must it be glass? wondering since the tanks are smaller and wont have that much force on the baffles
were going this route due to size limits in the stand.
were placing these in a coat closet right next to the left side of the 55 gal.
 

squidd

Active Member
Acrylic is "probably" OK due to smaller cross section/forces, but I'm a glass on glass and acrylic on acrylic kinda guy...the adheasives/sealants work much better on the materials they were designed for...
 

dea_mt

Member
that will be a lot of flow through the refugium don't u think. aren't you worried about sand being washed out? not trying to discourage you or anything just wondering.
 

squidd

Active Member
Running two feeds from tank drain (with valves) allows you to control the amount of flow going to sump and fuge chambers...
 

dadummy

Member
I have the same setup under a 90 gallon. mag 9.5 return pump CSS 125, used two acrylic tanks 20x15x15 just small enough to fit through doors. At first I had two 1" bulkheads connecting fuge to sump, was not enough flow. Used 1 1/2" pve elec. conduit fittings and gasket material for bulkheads, save over 30 bucks on bulkheads.
My problem has been getting rid of the micro bubbles, If I were you I would try different baffles. At first I had way to much flow through skimmer area, microbubbles were flying through baffles. tried adding bubbletraps on the sump intake/skimmer output. filter floss between baffles worked, but pain in the azz to maintain.
Now I have increased the flow to the fuge and microbubbles are coming from the other way. where fuge dumps into the sump, used 2" pvc to make tailpieces to contain the microbubbles, they blew right through it. So threww in some pieces of LR which slowed the bubbles down. I have it down now to a few bubbles getting through. just enough to be a nuisance., thinking of adding more LR between baffles and making an acrylic box to go around return pump, limit the access for the bubbles. here's a couple of pics
maybe spacing the baffles further apart may help? mine are 1" apart .
wish I had the answers , i'm a newbie, hope this helps

 

squidd

Active Member
maybe spacing the baffles further apart may help? mine are 1" apart .
wish I had the answers
That's a big factor in allowing the bubbles to dissapate without being dragged thru...
If you whave the room, wider is better, 2"-3" makes a BIG difference...you don't loose anything in water volume, its just held in a different portion of the chamber....
 

squidd

Active Member
dadummy...
I'm going to assume you have the power "off" in the top pic #11...??
Because if the water level is "normally" that high....(over top of baffles) they become pretty much useless...
 

dadummy

Member
actually I just topped off. I had a few old coral heads that I threw in the fuge, raised water level up. try to keep water level just below baffles. gonna try to use some coral pieces between baffles and around pump to slow down micro bubbles
 

quads4_lif

Member
Originally Posted by Squidd
More effecient use of space....
I am going to use your design for my fuge but what size bulk head should I use comeing from my fuge to my sump?? I am useing a CA 2200 pump I am not sure what the flow is I believe it is 800
 

quads4_lif

Member
do you think I can get by with just one 1 1/4 my fuge is going to be a 10 gallon tank that I have laying around and I already have all of the stuff to do it a 1 1/4" or is 1 1/4 not going to be enough flow?
 

quads4_lif

Member
yeah I prob can not really that big of a deal I just got to go and get a couple of pvc parts and have the other hole drilled
would I be better off going with 2?
 
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