saltwater sump

[foureyedfish]

hello me and my wife have had 55 gallon saltwater tank for a little over two years now and we are trying to tackle putting together a 3 chamber sump with the pump going in the middle (all bought at FJW) i have everything to get it started but with no clue in what we are doing.so since everybody here is friendly and knowledgeable
we were wondering if anybody living in the spring area would be willing stop by to help us out. thank you beer would be provided..Phil

[soymilk]

I wouldn't mind helping but that's a far ways out for me. Is that spring or spring branch?

Why not post pics here? I'm sure the guys on here could help you out. If you could please post a picture of the sump. Most retail sumps are not made to hold the return pump in the middle. Are you planning on using hoses or PVC?

I'll try to dig up a picture of my sump.

[foureyedfish]

I wouldn't mind helping but that's a far ways out for me. Is that spring or spring branch?

Why not post pics here? I'm sure the guys on here could help you out. If you could please post a picture of the sump. Most retail sumps are not made to hold the return pump in the middle. Are you planning on using hoses or PVC?

I'll try to dig up a picture of my sump.

the sump is designed to to hold the pump in the middle. it is three chambers with the middle chamber holding the pump. im using pvc with a ball valve which connects to rubber hose to the quiet one pump 3000. it is not drilled so i am using a overflow box with micron sock

[foureyedfish]

the sump is designed to to hold the pump in the middle. it is three chambers with the middle chamber holding the pump. im using pvc with a ball valve which connects to rubber hose to the quiet one pump 3000. it is not drilled so i am using a overflow box with micron sock

i post pics it is a custom acrilic sump

[soymilk]

Seems like you got everything figured out already. What questions or problems are you having?

[foureyedfish]

Will try to post some pics. Last night, when hooking it up, we had water racing out of the return, so we extended the return, adjusted the water flow by the ball valve and drilled holes in the return extension to cut back on the power of the return. The tank became SO cloudy when we turned it on from the sand in the refugium of the sump... so we let the tank clear up last night and today. The left chamber is empty - pump in middle with the water from the tank on the right with the live sand/live rock and chado. (forgot to add heater, so going to get one before turning it back on due to temperature of water) I guess the question is - now that we've adjusted the return flow - it seems to be okay but now the fear is keeping the water level in the right side and the water in the entire sumpe doesn't seem to be 'moving' like we assume it should be (especially on the left) ... We have had our tank for well over a year and the sump as literally thrown us for a loop. No leaks-- we're running pvc from pump (with rubber tubing from pump to pvc)... on the refugium we have our micron sock with tank water going into... The problem is the sand issue into the tank...I tIMG_0295.jpghink we have that resolved w/ the flow adjustment back into the tank... pictures to follow if i can figure that out! Thanks so much for the advice/help!IMG_0293.jpg

[soymilk]

Can I get a picture of the whole sump. I hope I don't come off as pushy or offensive but I think it's wired up wrong. I can't tell for sure unless I see a pic of the whole sump.

First thing first, the return pump is pretty dang strong for your tank. It's pushing like 750gph, you only need like 300-400. I'm guessing since you've had the tank up for a while, you've should have already had powerheads and etc for in tank water movement. 750gph seems a bit excessive to me. I would use a mag3.

Secondly the return pump should not be sitting on sand. It'll suck sand up and throw it into your display. I don't use a filter sock, my theory is that anything that falls into the sump will be good food for the fuge. Also if a fish goes in your overflow box, better chance of it making it out alive if you don't have a filter sock.

Just my 2pesos, hope this helps.

[soymilk]

Is your sump like this? That's what I see from your pictures. I'm at work at thats the best I can do from here.

[RocketSurgeon]

What part of spring ? I'm n humble.

[rage]

Let me make sure I understand your setup.
3 chamber sump.
1) Your main tank drains water into the right chamber.
2) The return pump is in the middle chamber pumping water back to the main tank.
3) The left chamber is the refugium, where the flow is quiet.

My take:
You should not need to throttle your return. You need to size your return pump appropriately depending on the size of your drain.

eg, a 1" drain is good for ~600 GPH, your return pump output should be less.

You want quiet flow in the refugium because that is where you keep things that require quiet flow. eg. chaeto, pods, sand ...

You prefer sand, rock ... in the refugium and not the other chambers so they don't get blown around so much.

[RocketSurgeon]

There are 3 parts to the series below:

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-01/gt/index.php

Here is another great site:

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

Lastly, there are several threads here:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1913199&highlight=bubble+trap

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1911629&highlight=bubble+trap

[soymilk]

Let me make sure I understand your setup.
3 chamber sump.
1) Your main tank drains water into the right chamber.
2) The return pump is in the middle chamber pumping water back to the main tank.
3) The left chamber is the refugium, where the flow is quiet.

I dunno but in the picture is seems like theres only 2 real compartments. The overflow drain empties into the refuge on the right side and the pump sits in the fuge area. There is a baffle there but it doesn't seem to connect at the bottom so this is not a true separate compartment. But I'm not sure since I really can't see it.

Left side was not used, according to his post. If it's like how my picture is then the return pump should be on the far left side.

[foureyedfish]

IMG_0302.jpg

[foureyedfish]

IMG_0305.jpg

[ATTACH=CONFIG]4711[/ATTACH]

[soymilk]

From your drawing, I can only see 2 real compartments. The baffle on the right doesn't go all the way down so it doesn't count as a separate compartment. It doesnt isolate the fuge from the return. Unless you want to take out the fuge area and start over, I would just add a bit more water and put the return in the far left.