New sump ideas:

[bad coffee]

I'm building a new sump.

The one I have now would work great if i had more room under the tank. (it's 15" tall)

My new sump will have more room to work, an attached filter sock holder, and room for a bigger skimmer (goodbye deltec mc500!)

here's the first draft, I'm trying to keep it to a 22x16" footprint. The main section is 12" tall, and the filtersock 'tower' is 14"

Any suggestions?

 

[bad coffee]

Oh, the water flow is kind of an S shape. it comes in the upper left corner, and goes through the baffles in the back center. The return pumps will be on the right.

I'm also going to make the baffles removable, if possible.

b

 

[masterswimmer]

The water flow in your design looks like it goes into your sock tower, towards the front (where your skimmer will be) then over>under>over your baffles and around to your return pump chamber.

I'm still thinking about efficiency and use of space. Let me ponder it for a bit. Looks decent at first glance though

R

 

[masterswimmer]

I like the fact that you put a second (smaller) hole in the sock tray to accommodate overflow from the sock. You know for sure it'll clog and overflow the sock while you're away on your 'overnight' trips

R

 

[bad coffee]

yep. I had this whole 'extra chute' design then realized an extra 1.25" hole will do the same. . .

B

 

[Deep Dive Coral]

i like your filter sock as well.... also what program did you use to draw out that design.. also how does your filter sock sit in the holder if you dont mind me asking.

 

[masterswimmer]

also how does your filter sock sit in the holder if you dont mind me asking.

Notice in this link the rigid ring at the top of the sock. That sits in the circular cutout.

swimmer

 

[bad coffee]

I use vectorworks 9.5 It's about 10 years old. the new version (12.?) is $2200. That's why I haven't upgraded...

The filter sock just pops in and pops out. No clamping, screwing or tying.

Friction is your friend.

B

 

[C8H10N402]

with the filter sock do you really think you need the bubble trap? I run 3000gph thru 2 socks and never see bubbles, valuable real estate in those traps, brown beans for all!

 

[masterswimmer]

with the filter sock do you really think you need the bubble trap? I run 3000gph thru 2 socks and never see bubbles, valuable real estate in those traps, brown beans for all!

Skimmers produce huge amounts of bubbles (hence the name foam fractionators). The filter sock is before the skimmer (flow wise) and the bubbles can easily make their way back to the return pump without the bubble trap.

And I TOTALLY agree with you about the real estate being exceedingly valuable.

Sorry for jumping in here........I kind of forgot, this is Brett's design :banghead:

swimmer

 

[bad coffee]

I don't really need to put anything else in the sump. Skimmer, two 150W heaters, and two pumps (which will both fit in the section on the right,) are all I need in the sump. I'm building the skimmer, so I can keep the dimensions to fit my design. As for other equipment that could be in the sump, there will be 2 TLF media reactors hanging on the sides.

B

The baffles will be removable for cleaning. If I find out I don't need them with the 1500gph flow going through the sump, then I'll leave them out. I'll get back about 1/2 of a gallon water for my return section. No biggie.

 

[Deep Dive Coral]

I build custom sumps for friends and I feel you definately need the bubble traps. This was the first time someone asked me to put a filter sock holder in for him so that's y I was asking. I think you will definatly loose flow with the "s" shape design. But If that's the way you want it and like it then that's the way it will get done. LOL. As for removeable baffle's its really very easy to do. Pm me if you need some advise on how to do it the easiest way. this is all JMO.

 

[bad coffee]

Thanks for the offer. I'll pm you with any questions.

I don't understand what you mean by "lose flow." water goes in, around and out. No real difference from an aligned sump. There will be a little more friction because of the added corners, but it won't really matter. Once the pumps are turned on, the water will find it's level in each section, and that will be that. am I missign something?

B

 

[bad coffee]

Change you baffels to under/over. Bubbles that exit the skimmer will go to the surface. The way you have it you will suck them in to the return section. Under first will have a better chance of not pulling bubbles the the over exit will put them near the surface to not be pulled in by the pump.

this point actually makes a lot of sense to me. since my plumbing will leave my skimmer over on the left of the front section, I think this might really work for me.

What I might do is add one baffle so it's under-over-under-over.

Thoughts?

B

 

[NYreefNoob]

i only used 2 baffles in mine and get no bubbles, 1 over and under on the next, the bubbles will either pop or float after going over the first baffle

 

[NYreefNoob]

i might add that this type of flow will be a actual faster mvement in water as well as to help keep any debris on the move

 

[kimoyo]

What type of skimmer are you building? Smaller bubbles have a harder time finding the surface because of their small volume. IME, becketts create extremely tiny bubbles that just don't want to float to the top and just need time to bounce up there. Its why I don't like bubble traps, I think sizing your sump's water volume for the bubbles and water speed is what makes the difference. Most baffles are permanent so its not possible to see if the trap makes a difference. Maybe try one under baffle.

On the removable baffles, I've seen people use strips to hold them in place or I would just router a channel for them to slide in and out. They don't need to be watertight.