new member... sump questions

[hqgc]

Hello;
I am new to the forum and have been reading the forum for some time so I decided to register.
I am in the process of setting up a 150 gallon (aquagiant) with dual overflows and an aproxx. 50 gallon sump. Plumbing this tank turned out to be quite an affair. It all comes together in a package from china (or japan,not sure) with the plumbing included. The package came to be set up for inch and a half supply and one inch return. Turns out the grey pvc it came with was not your standard sizes. one inch (25 mm) was actually 28 mm and the inch and a half was the same conversion. Impossible to find fittings.
It did not come with enough of the bigger pvc so i decided to buy all new standard pvc from North America so I could Durso it.
Then came the next problem...... the holes it came drilled with were not big enough for the appropriate bulkheads. The one inch line was drilled out at an inch and three sixteenths and the inch and a half was drilled out at inch and 5/8 's.
the answer.. a silicone factory!
Anyways..... it is running and leak free. Now I am after suggestions for what to put in my sump. The tank will be a FOWLR predator tank.The sump has 4 small chambers starting at the supply and then one longer one where the pumps are. I am very interested in setting up a refugium but do not know if this sump is the right configuration.
Also been noticeing that the new trend is moving away from bio'balls.
Any suggestions would be great.
H.

[Dale]

Hi H.

Is it possible to take a pic or draw the sump using paint (or something)?
I have some thoughts but I'll wait to see if you have a pic.
________
K1200RS

[hqgc]

here is something very similar to what i have. Except I have 4 baffle areas that are 6 inchs and the final space is 16 inches.
sump4.jpg

[danny zubot]

First off, if that were my sump I'd squish those baffles closer together, so as to provide more space on the right hand side. Then you could easily add a refugium.

I'm also assuming that you will be running an external protien skimmer?

[hqgc]

I am not really able to but the baffles closer together. I know that they were "designed" to hold media because they have horizontal strips of glass to hold egg crate.
I haven't decided what to do with the protein skimmer yet.
H.

[Dale]

Hi H.
It's a bonus that you know how you want to stock the tank - this will determine what systems work best.
Everyone has their own favorite methods so you may get different views which may seem confusing, I've always found it best to try to understand the reasoning behind the advice.
A predator tank will have a lot of food and waste going through the overflows so the first stage should be mechanical filtration. You can either put a filter sock over the overflow pipe or put matting or a sponge in the first part of the baffles (something that can be removed and cleaned regularly). This removes the waste so it doesn't need to be processed. Some folks might not think this is necessary but all that food will have to otherwise be broken down to its end form - nitrates and then you have to figure out how to remove that.
Because your tank is a predator tank and much of your waste will be protein based you should invest in the best skimmer you can afford. This should be the primary filtration system you use (besides the L.R.). You can add a macro algae refugium if you wish but most fuges can't keep up to the demands that a predator tank will place on them (the macro won't remove nitrates fast enough).
It doesn't matter where you place the skimmer but the return from the skimmer should feed into the sump before your bubble trap (series of baffles). This will remove the bubble produced by the skimmer.

Well that's a start anyways. What are your thoughts so far?
________
buy glass pipes

[hqgc]

Thanx for the input.
I think I am going to put filter sox over the over flow pipes and then run it into some large crushed coral. I will follow the advice further and invest in a decent protein skimmer.
I am also going to put in a 'fuge just to help out. Now to figure out what kind of macro algae to go with.

[Dale]

Hi H.

Here is a pic of two good choices for Macro algae. Chaetomorpha sp. (green) and Gracilaria sp. (red)
They grow well under CF lighting (screw in spirals and really well under T-5 fluorescents. The advantage with these two types of algae is that they do not revert to a sexual form and spread their spores throughout the tank.


________
Aprilia MX125

[hqgc]

What is cf lighting?

[Canadbis]

Compact Flourescent