SUMP/REFUGIUM (?SP)

[sea gnome]

Hi I'm new to BB and am redoing my reef tank (a lot of money and mistakes in past). Anyways why a sump and refuguim and how do you build one? Also would like plans for top-off tank.
Thanks in advance. Rachel

[DJ88]

Welcome to the board.. [img]images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]

A sump isn't too hard to make. How much room do you have underneath your stand? An easy sump is a rubbermaid container. But the better way to go about it is IMO use a tank that will fit underneath and get it drilled. Put some baffles in it to keep the water level up and minimize bubbles. You can make one out of acrylic as well. then you can get as fancy as you want. [img]images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]




On the left is where the water comes in. This area is a semi-refugium(well not right now) then the water goes over the first baffle(this keeps the water level up high) then under the next. This forces the water down and hopefully most of the bubbles you may have stay up top and don't go into the otehr side. The right side is where my skimmer pump and the outlet to the return pump is.

I will be doing up a drawing of a new sump for my new tank shortly. Keep an eye out for it so you can get a better idea. [img]images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]

[ 16 January 2002: Message edited by: DJ88 ]

[sea gnome]

Thanks for the quick reply Darren, but I'm still a bit confused. Is there a diagram or explaination of how to build one. I looked at jl's pictures but unsure of how they work and what is the purpose. I have a large cabinet supporting a 90G tank. 4x18x18 and like the sound of a rubbermaid one (<$) than a purchased one.
Rachel

[Aquattro]

Rachel , next time you're coming into Vic let one of Victoria guys know and we can get together and show you a sump. You can get a used 25g tank really cheap and a MAG pump for the return. That way you don't need to drill it. Easy stuff.

[DJ88]

As well I'll draw ya a picture tonight. Maybe not.. look here tho..
sump drawing from reefcentral

And anytime..

[ 17 January 2002: Message edited by: DJ88 ]

[Canadian]

Sumps serve various purposes depending on what your goals are. You can use your sump simply as a place to house equipment and add additional water volume to your system. If this is your goal, then a rubbermaid container or old aquarium would suffice quite nicely.

If your goal is to also have a refugium to grow/harvest macro algae or as a place for copepods, bristleworms, etc to readily reproduce then you need to partition part of the sump so that the sand/rock/etc can be contained in one spot. In addition, if you intend to grow macro algae in your sump you'll have to make plans to install some kind of sufficient lighting system above the refugium section.

The reasoning behind the baffles is two fold: 1)They serve as the partition to isolate the refugium section (keep the sand in one spot) and 2)By having multiple baffles you can limit the number of annoying bubbles in your display tank. The baffles cause the bubbles formed from your protein skimmer and the cascading water making its way to your sump from the display tank to break at the water surface in the sump as they pass under and over the baffle. see picture posted by Darren

The reason that the pictures of sumps on J&L Aquatic's site are confusing is that they really aren't "just" sumps; they're Wet/Dry or Trickle Filters. Whithout going into great detail, a wet/dry filter on your reef tank would essentially be useless, or even worse, counter productive.

*IMPORTANT NOTE* - If you do intend to design a sump containing baffles it is paramount that you be sure to house the protein skimmer (more specifically: the pump for the protein skimmer) in a section of the sump where the water volume does not fluctuate. i.e. not the last section of the sump. This ensures that the skimmer can perform optimally.

[ 17 January 2002: Message edited by: Canadian ]

[Reefmaster]

hi rachel
we had a 90g tank that wasn't drilled and found that the costs of drilling it or adding overflows in addition to the sump were more than it was worth to us. looking back, i couldn't live without a sump. ours consists of two 40g rubbermaids that work great. one day i'd like to have a fancy acrylic sump but until then...
hey, we have a drilled 20g that i'd trade anyone for w.h.y. shane

[titus]

Hello,

I agree for not going for the wet/dry sump. For the money you are paying, might as well go for a real elaborate one, designed for real sump application. Take a look at Shadetree's sump.