a sump.?

[4angel]

I never ran a tank with a sump so my initial set up did not include it. I have a 40 breeder that I have been running with only a CPR Aqua Clear and a couple of power heads with some level of success. LR and soft corals I have one SPS 2 clown gobys a blue spot goby , neon dotty and a lawn mower blenny. I have been thinking of installing a sump. (I know if it ain't broke why fix it) Well the reason been two fold. Upgrading the protein skimmer and have having a place to replenish evaporation and dosing new water and so on. Well I guess it now comes down to ideas on how to get this done. Any suggestions on how many gallons the sump should be for this size tank.? water to place in sump (start saving from my water changes), and what about a pump for return, my tank is on a 2 1/2' stand I am on a very limited budget so price dose matter
_________________
Excalibur

 

[Tremelle]

I would say go with a diy sump. You can buy a 20 gallon glass aquarium for about $30. Try to find a 20 gallon long, which should be about 24" long. Then you can go to a plastics shop and get some precut, to your specs, acrlyic. You can use the acrylic to make your own baffles at a cost of about $20. So for $50 you have a sump. You can use overflow boxes to drain water to the sump, and a submersible pump for a return pump.

 

[wombat1]

I agree, but you could even get a 10 gal and save a little. All your stuff should still fit.

 

[4angel]

what size pump would work for the return.??
_________________
Mercedes Benz 770

 

[Tremelle]

You would need to figure out how much water turnover you would like to have going through the sump. If the pump is too strong for the water input into the sump, your pump will be returning more water to the tank than is going into the sump and can cause your tank to overflow. The reverse is also true if you have too much water going into the sump and the return pump does not return it fast enough, then you have a sump overflow. So you need to figure out your water input flow per hour to decide on the return pump size.

 

[wombat1]

The reverse is also true if you have too much water going into the sump and the return pump does not return it fast enough, then you have a sump overflow

???? You want to oversize your overflow. It can only drain as much water as your pump is putting out. The pump puts out the same gph regardless of what your overflow is doing, but your overflow is dependent upon the pump for how many gph it drains. The only way you'll overflow your sump is if the power goes out and you have too much water in your system. Cut all your power and watch what happens.

 

[SPC]

4Angel, the return pump is dependent on what the overflow can handle (as has already been said). If it were me I would look at a Mag 9.5 and see if that would match up with the overflow you choose. I would also get the largest sump that will fit under your stand, I used a 20 long with a 58 gallon and it worked well.
BTW, how do your clown gobies get along?
Steve

 

[4angel]

When we talk about water turn over is this a rate which is determined by ones personal preference. I plan on picking up an overflow from a friend. I believe he had it hooked up to his Amiricale wet dry.
SPC these gobys get along rather well considering the tank size. plenty of nooks for them to call home. I have a daisy polyp rock which one hides in(pops out from in there when food is floating) the other hangs in my colt or corky finger they both are very fun to look at or look for.
_________________
Chevy Wiki

 

[Palmetto]

Keep in mind that the larger your sump is, the more volume of water you are actually handling. More water usually equals higher water quality and easier maintenance. Do you have a cabinet it will be stored in? Make the sump as big as you have room to fit. Keep in mind also that if it is in a cabinet, it doesn't have to be pretty and Rubbermaid containers will work just fine.

I personally have one of my 30-Gallon tanks running with a 55-gallon Rubbermaid Sump- that way my SPS fraglets and clams get maximum lighting from the MH and most of the biological filtration takes place in the Rubbermaid full of Live Rock.

Just some thoughts to consider.....

 

[4angel]

what were talking about here is a empty rubermaid container w/LR protine skimmer w/pump , and pump for return. What I saw from Tremelle's initial response he wrote about a baffle a divider in the sump.? whats it for why is it needed.?
_________________
Danish Forum

 

[Palmetto]

A baffle is to reduce micro-bubbles from returning to the tank via the pump. This may or may not be necessary depending on the size and shape of the sump. If you have a deep sump and pump from the bottom of it, you may not get many bubbles at all. (mine doesn't)

 

[SPC]

Posted by 4Angel:

When we talk about water turn over is this a rate which is determined by ones personal preference. I plan on picking up an overflow from a friend. I believe he had it hooked up to his Amiricale wet dry.

-Water turn over is determined by the animals one keeps. All of this water flow does not have to come from the return system but instead can be supplemented with power heads, closed loop etc...

What I saw from Tremelle's initial response he wrote about a baffle a divider in the sump.? whats it for why is it needed.?

-As Palmetto stated, the baffles are for micro bubbles. The more water you try to push through your sump the bigger this problem will be. The baffles are used to try and force the bubbles to the surface where they can disapate before they get to the return pump.

SPC these gobys get along rather well considering the tank size. plenty of nooks for them to call home. I have a daisy polyp rock which one hides in(pops out from in there when food is floating) the other hangs in my colt or corky finger they both are very fun to look at or look for.

-Yes they are one of my favorite fish too. I tried 2 in a 58 once but one of them dominated the other and eventually caused him to go carpet surfing
Steve