New tank design graphic ... Tell me what you think...

[fkshiu]

You've obviously put a lot of thought and work into your plans, but perhaps you're over-thinking things a little bit.

Wouldn't you be able to achieve exactly the same results, but only have to use a single sump/fuge and a single return with melev's plan F?

http://www.melevsreef.com/acrylics/sumps/f/sump_f.html

Aside from the complexity, the main issue I see with your plan is that you would have two tanks draining into your sump in the event of a power outage. The result is that you'd have to have a lot of empty "safety" space in your sump to absorb this water leaving you with precious little water volume in your sump unless it's very big.

[Megalodon]

Thank-you my fellow local hobbyists. Your advice has been wonderful. Please keep it coming.

My CorelDraw trail will expire in about five days, so I'll keep trying to post as many revisions as I can.

[Megalodon]

OK, bare with me here, the legend is now all over the map alphabetically. If I do another revision I might run out of letters, LOL.

Version 4 Legend

A - 3/4" PVC over-top return manifold
B - Strainer overflow w/ 1" drilled bulkhead
C - 1" PVC drain pipe
D - 3/4" PVC return pipe
E - 1" PVC drain pipe @ 90 degree angle
F - Refuge return chamber
G - 10-gallon refuge
H - DIY stand (to hold refuge above sump)
I - 1" bulkhead w/ hose attachment
J - Refuge main overflow drain tube
K - Drain area with filter bag
L - 20-gallon Sump
M - Baffles, first at 1.5" and the next at 1"
N - Eheim 1262 return pump
O - Refuge Light
Q - 1/2" PVC refuge feed
U - 90 degree PVC elbows that swivel
V - 1/2" gate valve (teed off return pipe)
W - Back-up refuge overflow output tube
X - AquaC EV-180 protein skimmer
Y - 1" gate valve

Changes... X, U, V, W, and Y have been added.

M, the baffles, has the first baffle 1.5" apart instead of 1" like the rest, to allow more opportunity for bubbles to escape.

E, is now at a 90 degree angle, to allow for U, a 90 degree joint that brings the pipe into the stand area and to another swivelling attachment. Tell me if you like the drain going directly to the refuge better.

K has now be altered. The glass separation has been removed to provide more room for the protein skimmer, and a filter sock was added to the drain

F, the refuge return chamber, is now smaller, as it doesn’t need to be so large. In fact, it might not need to be there at all.

W has been added in case J gets plugged. I won't bother putting that in the baffles because it's ever needed, pods are the least of my concern.

V and Y are gate valves instead of ball valves to allow greater flow control.

Q is now fed from the return instead of having a separate pump

Also, the return pump area in the sump has been enlarged considerably.

[Megalodon]

Originally Posted by fkshiu

You've obviously put a lot of thought and work into your plans, but perhaps you're over-thinking things a little bit.

Wouldn't you be able to achieve exactly the same results, but only have to use a single sump/fuge and a single return with melev's plan F?

http://www.melevsreef.com/acrylics/sumps/f/sump_f.html

Aside from the complexity, the main issue I see with your plan is that you would have two tanks draining into your sump in the event of a power outage. The result is that you'd have to have a lot of empty "safety" space in your sump to absorb this water leaving you with precious little water volume in your sump unless it's very big.

Over-thinking in this case is good. I'm getting plenty of feedback and am therefore able to tweak it in ways I hadn't previously considered.

I'd have an all-in-one sump refuge but the trend now seems to be having them separate. I'm not doing it to be trendy or anything but I can tell you that I cannot fit a large all-in-oner in there as the centre braces are in the way.

I'd also get larger tanks for sumps but those are the dimensions they come in. Maybe I'll look into having custom sizes made.

[mark]

Your design is somewhat similiar what I've done.

I have a 20g refugium sitting to the side and slightly above my 75g sump. I run two drains (Dursos) with one split between the sump and the ref, with the flow directed to the ref via a valve. The ref flows to the sump from a 1" horizontal bulkhead to the sump on the skimmer side of the baffles.

Comments from mine
-I'm flowing ~1000gph split between between 2-2" drains. They're quiet but nothing like a system I heard (Skimmin's) where he had ~2000gph with 2 Herbies (1.5" mains, 1" buckups) Silent, plus there was no gurgling in the sump. I would suggest plan your display for a Herbie and the loudest thing in your system will be the pumps.
-refugium feed, I'm splitting a drain, doesn't take flow away from going back to the tank and what a lot of this is about is maxing flow in the display. A negative is you'll collect a bit a detritus but at least for me it's really not a problem.
-refugium drain, I was surprised how little mine flows. Always see 600 gph for a 1" but turned sideways and without any head I'm safe at ~300gph. The backup is a good idea. Do see a little scum on the ref surface so glad I've got a overflow for surface skimming.
-refugium isolation, with a second valve then just throwing in a heater and a HOB filter (and maybe moving LR to sump) it's a QT tank. Figure if something like ick could treat with hypo, then before putting it back on-line would just run fallow.

[Megalodon]

Version 5...


A - 3/4" PVC over-top return manifold
B - Strainer overflow w/ 1" drilled bulkhead
C - 1" Spaflex drain (left-side)
D - 3/4" Spaflex return
G - 10-gallon refuge
H - DIY stand (to hold refuge above sump)
I - Refuge overflow w/ 1" drilled bulkhead
J - Refuge main overflow drain tube
K - Drain output with filter bag
L - 20-gallon Sump
M - Baffles, first at 1.3" and the next at 1.5"
N - Eheim 1262 return pump
O - Refuge Light
Q - ½"Spaflex refuge feed
V - ½" Gate valve (teed off return)
W - Back-up refuge drain
X - AquaC EV-180 protein skimmer
Y - 1" Gate valve
Z- 1" Spaflex backup drain
1- Backup overflow w/ 1" drilled bulkhead

Changes...

- Most everything is Spaflex now.

- Y is now controlling both return flows.

- X, the protein skimmer, has been moved to the left.

- M, the baffles, have been moved over, and the wider baffle is one the other side now.

- There’s a backup overflow (Z and 1) now.

[Myka]

Did you check out the Herbie silent overflows? Your overflows are going to be VERY noisy.

[Megalodon]

Originally Posted by Myka

Did you check out the Herbie silent overflows? Your overflows are going to be VERY noisy.

I thought I was doing it Herbie-style.

Maybe I have a misconception of what that actually is.

[Megalodon]

OK, I just did more reading on Herbie. He calls for the drain bulkheads to be further down with the standpipe going up close to the surface. But again, he has an overflow box around that. What should I do any different here?