Sump design- feedback wanted

v1.02.

I improved on the inflow with separate Ball valves below the T. I also add rock pile towers at all of the places where there is the potential for bubbles to be added to the system.

http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/3...etupv102p1.jpg
http://img826.imageshack.us/img826/9...etupv102p2.jpg

---------- Post added at 12:42 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:41 AM ----------

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jimsflies

So your a belt and suspenders kind of guy? :propellerhead:

---

Perhaps in spirit ;-)

food for thought..

if you were to level the top two tanks, or at least reduce it, add dividers directly in the middle of each tank, you could have the skimmer in the front left corner with the water from the display entering it. water then travel to the back left tank ( through a bulkhead) = algae chamber, overflow to back right = sand bed, through a bulkhead to front right that would be where the return pump would set.
this would allow all of the water to get filtered all of the time, and would not waste any of your pod population back to the display. although it wont look as esthetically pleasing

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Flynnstone

food for thought..

if you were to level the top two tanks, or at least reduce it, add dividers directly in the middle of each tank, you could have the skimmer in the front left corner with the water from the display entering it. water then travel to the back left tank ( through a bulkhead) = algae chamber, overflow to back right = sand bed, through a bulkhead to front right that would be where the return pump would set.
this would allow all of the water to get filtered all of the time, and would not waste any of your pod population back to the display. although it wont look as esthetically pleasing

---

I have been reading a lot on design... articles like THIS and THIS... Some of the things I have read that I am trying to achieve include the following...

• flow rate through a refugium should be slower than through the sump
• flow rate through a DSB should be slower than through the sump
• Flow to DSB should not be pre-skimmed as it will remove uneaten DT food that can feed critters
• Allow the refugium/DSB water to flow back to DT without being skimmed first to allow for some Amphipods and Copepods to get pumped into the DT

[*]flow rate through a refugium should be slower than through the sump[*]flow rate through a DSB should be slower than through the sump
flow rate should be based on Length x Width x Height of the fuge. each will vary depending on these sizes to reach their maximun efficientcy[*]Flow to DSB should not be pre-skimmed as it will remove uneaten DT food that can feed critters
but it will also allow more waste to enter and get trapped the bed, that can over time become a nutrient sink, that is why many people use filter socks or skim in the first chamber[*]Allow the refugium/DSB water to flow back to DT without being skimmed first to allow for some Amphipods and Copepods to get pumped into the DT
i agree with this statement 100% , but it contradicts the above statement where it says not to skim prior to the DSB.


i am not shooting down your design, just giving different points of view, so that you will be 100% happy with your design when you go to build it.
awesome sketch up by the way !!! very impressive.

OK... you are right.. looking back at several articles, some talk about the importance of not pre skimming the DSB and some talk about not post skimming it. I guess it comes down to differences of opinion. Not sure what to do now. :doh:

On a brighter note, I picked up 2 20L tanks for $32.99/ea yesterday, and got one drilled in the top right corner with a 1" bulkhead installed. I'm going to pick up a threaded bulkhead screen to screw in to it.

OK... I keep going back and forth reading more theory, and then looking at lots of pictures of things people are actually successfully using and decided to eliminate a bunch of stuff.

- The 10 g top off tank underneath is gone and the whole rig is sitting lower now. I will still add some sort of auto top off, but I am keeping it out of the design and won't try to have it part of the stack.
- As much as I loved the idea of a whole host of critters living in a DSB, I finally gave in to the realization that I am too green to this stuff to successfully implement it. I have made the upper tank all refugium, with a thin layer of sand, some live rock, and cheto... basically the same formula I see in 90% of fuges I see pics of.
- After seeing countless setups with very little work done to control micro bubbles beyond the standard bubble trap between the skimmer and return, I began to wonder if it would be necessary to do all of the extra bubble towers. Then I visited a friends house that had similar in and out GPH and similar layout, and he had no microbubble issues. He suggested I build it without the towers, and start running water through the system. If there are issues, I can tweak it to address them before going live with the tank.
- The piping is there just to represent the flow. I couldn't find 3d models for most of the plumbing parts I am considering and made no attempt to approximate pipe size/type, valve type, Ts, etc.

So here is v1.03
http://img198.imageshack.us/img198/4...etupv103p1.jpg
http://img826.imageshack.us/img826/4...etupv103p2.jpg

On the overflow out of the refugium, you'll likely want some sort of weir as well as a bubble trap where it drops into the pump chamber.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jimsflies

On the overflow out of the refugium, you'll likely want some sort of weir as well as a bubble trap where it drops into the pump chamber.

---

Yeah... I am going to have some extra baffles of different sizes on hand and see what is needed and where after I flow test the system.