55 Gal FOWLR - seeking criticism

[turbo]

Hello all, again.

More than a week has passed but I've finally decided what I'm going to do for this sump and tank drain system.

For anyone who's still subscribed to this thread, recall that I had attempted to tee the two main drainpipes into a single 1" vinyl tube, which I was going to pump 100% of the volume through an old, partially broken skimmer, before having it drain into a 10 gal sump and get pumped back up to my tank.

Not such a hot idea right.....?

Anyways, after more hours and hours of reading, and consulting some members on this site, I've designed a sump for my cabinet. Since the dimensions of my cabinet are already specified, I had to get a custom tank built or else I could go no larger than 10gal due to the width restriction.

This tank I have designed holds close to 30gal, which I believe is a much better fit for a 55gal FOWLR. I've also opted to run both drains from the overflow to the sump, and not tie them together ...

This custom tank is already bought and paid for and it's being built. So it's a little late for me to change anything!! But I would love to get some feedback (from a variety of people) on this.

N.B. flow rates are approximate!! the skimmer and pump have not been purchased yet





here's the cabinet i built

[gregzz4]

Nice lookin cab

I think it was Brad who suggested before that you don't restrict either of your drains. If one gets plugged you may have a bad experience

I'd suggest you run both your drains wide open and use a small pump to feed the 'fuge

[turbo]

Originally Posted by gregzz4

Nice lookin cab

I think it was Brad who suggested before that you don't restrict either of your drains. If one gets plugged you may have a bad experience

I'd suggest you run both your drains wide open and use a small pump to feed the 'fuge

yeah i concur about both drains wide open. i don't understand the need for yet another pump for the refuge though, if it's receiving overflow water on a steady basis and draining into the skimmer dept., shouldn't that be ok???

[gregzz4]

It'll all depend on the design of your sump

[turbo]

it's designed so 50% of the overflow runs to the refuge directly, (after baffling)
the other 50% runs to the skimmer chamber

the refuge overflows to the skimmer chamber

so basically the skimmer chamber is experiencing 100% of the flow. It's the last in line before the return pump. All of the water passes by the skimmer but only half of it passes thru the refuge.

Initially I thought I would dial down the flow to the refugium and have most of it go to the skimmer chamber, but then I realized that with the size of the pump I plan on having, I can't afford to restrict any of the flow in either pipe. So it's a 50/50 split.

[gregzz4]

Sorry, I had a thought I didn't write
Slower flow through your 'fuge is better
I was thinking about you running both your drains to your skimmer section, then use a small pump to feed the 'fuge. This way you can regulate the flow if it's too much. It's possible the amount you'll get with your current design will be acceptable, but you might have to experiment a bit

[turbo]

ah that makes much more sense. lol!

i have also been experiencing some doubt that the flow rate is slow enough through the refuge. I guess I could direct both drains to the skimmer chamber and either use a small pump like you said, or possibly tee off one of the drains into the refuge.

i suppose it's best to use freshly skimmed water for the refuge, but i also want to use fewer pumps. i'd hate to see a siphon form from the refuge to the skimmer chamber, because if you combine that with back flow from the tank, they could add up to a flood. the refuge and pre-fuge chamber carry more volume than the skimmer and return pump chamber.