Sump Design

[Limi310]

Since this is my first attempt at building a sump (or anything having to do with plumbing) I wanted to post my design and get some feedback.

The sump will be made from a 37gal tall tank filled to about 16inches. The incoming water is going to flow into a corner compartment, then overflow into the refugium part of the sump. Then water will flow through a series of baffles into the return. There will be extra room in the return section for things like heater, and carbon if I need to use it, etc. I'll be using an HOB overflow rated at 600gph for water going into the sump and a mag 7 for return.
Also in the refugium section I was going to silicone a small eggcrate grid on the side for a mangrove holder.
I'll probably get a clip on shop type light.
My main reasons for having a sump is to grow macroalgea and increased water volume and flow.....so I am debating on if I should add LR rubble to the sump or sand What would you do?

I'm not the best at paint....but here is what I am picturing:

One more question.....I have the Aqua C Remora skimmer....wondering if anyone has modified it to go inside a sump. It won't be able to HOB of the sump because of the lowered water volume. Worst comes to worst, I'll just have to hang in on the display.
Thanks for looking Please comment opinions.

 

[Lorna]

Limi.....I also have a remora hob and I think I can modify it to an urchin.....You just need a longer flex tube so the pump sits down in the water. I think you may have to upgrade the pump so it doesn't lose anything. I have a mag 3 on my pro and I may up it to a mag 7 and get the larger collection cup. The only issue I think maybe the height under the cabinet....but I will let you know......(mine is currently still hanging on the display) I hate to get something different unless I could sell it for what an Urchin pro would cost....or at least close

 

[Limi310]

Same here...I've only had the remora for about 2 months......because 2 months ago I didn't plan on doing any of this...lol. The only differnce I noticed between the Remora and the Urchin (from a photograph) besides the longer flex tube is where the water comes out...so I was thinking in theory it should work. (and upgrading the pump makes sense). I definitely would like to hear how yours goes.

 

[Brack-Man]

HEHEHE... just cant stand it can you ...got to build you a sump. *celebrate . The one thing I learned about sumps is that you need to have a fairly large return section, thats where most of your evaporation takes place, so the larger the return section the less topping off you'll have to do, in a sense you'll have more forgiveness on top offs.

As far as the LR rubble goes, more LR= more filtration, so I would put some in there, right now in my 10gal sump thats on my 20gal tank there is about 5 lbs of LR plus the macro-algae and the DSB

I'll have a new overflow built before the weekend if you want/need it

 

[Brack-Man]

Ok Limi these are thge pics I promised you last night...How to install your water inlet section into your refugium....*celebrate

First off is the supplies I used on this project: acetone to clean the glass with before assembly (rubbing alcohol will work too) a small carpenters sqare, a glass cutter, but since your probly gonna get your glass cut somewhere dont worry bout that part, a Sharpie marker to mark the glass with a rag, GE Silicone 1 for Windows & Doors, and some masking tape..Oh yeah and a tape measure .

First couple of pics are the supplies:

The silicone:

Let these set-up for about an hour before proceeding to the next step.



Next I cut my glass to the sizes I wanted, I didnt take any pics of the cut glass, why you ask, hehe, its glass and its clear doesnt show up very well in pics . I cut my pieces like this 2@ 4"x14" and 2@4"x4". I cut them these sizes due to the depth of the water thats going to be in the refugiuim side of my sump.

Put 3 pieces of tape down the long side of 1 of the larger pieces of glass, see pic below, and set aside, then run a bead of silicone down 1 of the long sides of the other larger pieces of glass. This is the edge that will be attached to the other large piece of glass.

Pic of silicone bead:

Then attach the 2 pieces of glass and use the tape to hold them together:

Repeat this process with the other 2 pieces of glass:

 

[Brack-Man]

Ok, the next step, apply a bead of silicone on the 2 sides and the bottom of the smaller pieces of glass and attach to the bottom corner (your choice) of your sump.

Pic of attached corner piece:

Let that set-up for about 15 minutes, then what I did was to stand my tank on end to put the other piece in, it keeps it from sliding down while the silicone cures. Then run a bead on each of the side edges of the other pieces of glass and attach it to the corner of the tank. When doing this leave a gap of about 1"-1 1/2" between the top and bottom pieces.

pic of what I'm talking about:

Notice I stuck a water bottle into the opening, I did this in order to hold the glass in place while the silicone cured.Let the silicone cure for about 30 minutes to an hour before setting the tank back up right, after setting it back up right remove all tape and PRESTO you have a finished product, well after you clean it that is, but wait a day or so before cleaning it.

Finished product:

Overall full "tank" shot:

 

[saltwater4life]

Looking nice! when do you think it'll be done? because i wanna see pictures

 

[Limi310]

Very Nice!!!! Thanks for the visuals. I'll probably start on it next week since I'm on vacation