32 replies to this topic

[Hypanheaven]

Hey guys,

Looking for someone whos bored and wants to design a sump for me.

The tank I'll be working with is 48" long, 14" wide and 14" tall.
I would like a few baffles and a deep sand bed and maybe I frag grow out if you can fit it in.
At one end is a space for the overflow from tank, heaters and various probes and the skimmer suction / discharge as it's a stand alone skimmer. The other far end will need a space for the return pump.

Cheer if anyone can help me!!!

[aussiemcgee]

check you tube, the masa website or LFS for further plans and ideas.

Sumps are really just a site (amongst other reasons), to increase water vol. (therefore overall water qual stability), hide essential marine running equipment, house further filtration and treatments for premium water qual for the main display

This is based on my sump running a 6 x 1 x 2 and hasn't missed a beat in 2.5 yrs. I have ~ 10kg live rock rubble/ sand in the main chamber and a phosban pad in a baffle. I would love a bigger more intricate one but just dont have the room in the cabinet - see what ya reckon

 sump.pdf   13.01KB   26 downloads

[Hypanheaven]

I saw riggertron had a split sand bed length ways soo he can renew the sand with out disturbing half of it to prevent old tank syndrome , is this worth a look at?

Why the live rock in the sump? Just in tank not enough?

[Neakit]

check out here, he talks about acrylic but you can do it out of glass.
http://www.melevsree...allmysumps.html
Also deep sand beds are better if you can have them remote so if anything does go wrong you just turn a ball valve and your tank goes on unaffected.
as an example the tank on the left of the sump in the pic will be a rdsb.

Edited by Neakit, 16 June 2011 - 11:55 AM.

[Hypanheaven]

neakit whats feeding/sending back to sump in the deep sand bed? do you have an overflow arrangement or what?

[Neakit]

the rdsb will be fed from the return pump, here is a pic of the tank when i designed it. I haven't gotten around to plumb it in yet cause i have been lazy. Btw i got paul at morley aquariums to make it.


edit: The overflow is the same thats in the actual tank so its silent. Its the beananimal design with out the emergency channel.

Edited by Neakit, 16 June 2011 - 08:28 PM.

[Riggers]

I have just put a bunch of little crabs/shrimp etc into my sandbed in the sump to grow big and fat for when its occy time!

Have a little look at this article for a really detailed study on marine sandbeds, bit of a long read but has some really interesting stuff on sand........who new!!

http://www.reefkeepi...ature/index.php

Good Luck with the sump Swimfish

EDIT....can someone buy me a dictionary?

Edited by Riggertron, 16 June 2011 - 09:09 PM.

[Hypanheaven]

I think I'll just do a standard sump with dsb in the middle and have 1 divide in the sand bed length ways so it's like I have 2 sand beds and put live rock rubble etc in 1 and sand in the other and probably a small light over the rubble to promote some algea growth

[Neakit]

so your going to have a fuge and a dsb. I can't recommend putting anything on the top of a dsb cause it will slow water flow over the top of it and cause detritus to build up in the dsb.

[SIXFOOTLONG]

something like this layout?

do sizes in mm and i can add them in once you get the layout i gan do an elevation of it  sump.pdf   41.77KB   29 downloads

[Hypanheaven]

Cheers six-foot will get onto measurements. But do you think you could swap the dsb and Rubble so they are running long ways down the sump to maximize water contact with sand and rock

[Riggers]

Thats a good looking design Sixfoot Ill Knock a couple of designs up myself up myself based on a 3x18'' footprint

I treat my sump sandbed exactly like i treat my main tank (its all the same system why wouldnt I?) i have crushed coral with a sloping sandbed. I have just upgraded the lighting to a small T5 Unit and introduced some shrimp,crabs etc..In the unlikely event that it was to become "clogged" it simply bypasses the sandbed and continues through the sump.. This is purely my preference but after reading the article on sandbeds its made me think about them differently

[Hypanheaven]

Was a long read but basically says dsb are a must to assist in the cycle of your tank!

[Neakit]

they aren't a must, there are many different ways to skin a cat, one for example is to have a heterotrophic system or bacteria driven system that uses a carbon source to eat up nitrates and phosphates. One thing to consider is if you have both a nitrate and a phosphate issue you may instead want a fuge with algae. A dsb will only reduce nitrate and it takes 6 - 8 weeks to be established. So its not a short term thought. They work very well when the correct grain size is used and if you use a calcium carbonate sand it will help buffer the organic acids that can be produced in the anoxic areas of the dsb, as the dsb shrinks in height all you need to do is top it up with more calcium carbonate.

[SIXFOOTLONG]

update . what did you want me to get rid of?you will loose room in your end pump section which would be used as a growout also. happy to move it?


open it in paint have a doodle and re post it marked up how you like it .  sump.pdf   88.37KB   24 downloads

Edited by SIXFOOTLONG, 18 June 2011 - 06:11 AM.

[SIXFOOTLONG]

Cheers six-foot will get onto measurements. But do you think you could swap the dsb and Rubble so they are running long ways down the sump to maximize water contact with sand and rock

if you seal the tops you will be able to only have a 40x40 mm hole to the dsb forcing the water to be pressurized , it will be the same amount of water filtration either way that position the live rock and the dsb - i would look at trying a sealed system the only problem with this is cleaning .

once we have it how you like i will spend some time on it and draw it up properly .


"Thats a good looking design Sixfoot Ill Knock a couple of designs up myself up myself based on a 3x18'' footprint

^^ thanks ! not bad for 5 Min's work aye hahah got to love blue beam software

[Hypanheaven]

why the prefence to having the baffle horizontal not verticle?
wont be sealing the tops to much of a hassle down the track

[Hypanheaven]

Heres my model so far, needs a few tweeks and i dont know how to make it glass.....anyone?

<iframe src="http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/mini?mid=df28dca75ae685a08e7aa23344df4b23&etyp=sw&width=400&height=300" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" width="400" height="300"></iframe>

can you inbed that ^?

http://sketchup.goog...e7aa23344df4b23

Edited by swimfishswim, 18 June 2011 - 07:57 AM.

[SIXFOOTLONG]

 sump.pdf   96.28KB   14 downloads

why the prefence to having the baffle horizontal not verticle?
wont be sealing the tops to much of a hassle down the track

if you seal it you can create pressurized water flow = beta filtration

changing the water direction many times will renew the water IMO
plus it looks cool ............

see attached marked up drawing

[Neakit]

realistically unless your doing a minimalistic scape in the dt you shouldn't need any bio media in the sump, its a great place to have your chemical filtration and hide skimmer and other equipment.