sump suggestions/input

[Snider82]

i was thinking of changing my sump a little bit.  i like the idea of having a "fuge?"  for extra live rock (going to have extra to hide in there)
and i am trying to plan an easy change to my sump to accommodate. 

Here is the setup at the moment.   the pump section is about 12" wide and the sections are around 6-8 inch's. 


and here is what i plan on..  the fuge is on the left... is that a bad thing?   is it ALOT better to have it on the right side?



any input would be great!
Thanks

[Rybren]

I'm just a noob, but from what I've read on WWM, RC, and elsewhere, the general consensus seems to be that the skimmer should be in the first section and fed raw, untreated water.

Again, just passing on what I've read - I don't have a sump or fuge - yet 

[mikerobart]

+1 skimmer before fuge

[Snider82]

ahh,  i kinda figured that..  the above diagram has the return technically in the first part...  what i wanted with that photo is the water from the DT to dump into the skimmer zone - overflow to the pump zone... and the pump to pump water to the DT and Fuge zone.    the fuge will then overflow to the skimmer......

this would be the easiest way to modify my sump.... without pulling all the baffles out....  if its bad i guess i will have to do so.

[Snider82]

or... maby have the fuge in the middle?   then really i wouldnt have to pump water to the fuge.. it would just be part of the sump.....   

more idea's?

thanks!@

[Vincenzo.]

fuge = bad idea with live rock and sand
^it's to hard to clean out
fuge = macro algae

sump = is for live rock

[Snider82]

ahh ok.    i dont plan on using macro algae for now..... but eventually i might want to add it..   maby then ill just add a 5-10g tank beside my sump when i decide to add macro algae

[Vincenzo.]

if you have lr & sand it will get stagnant and Covered in det.


a simple question: picture this setup under your tank, and the effort it would take to clean out that area. with turning off stuff, disconnecting.


+1 to just lr

btw when you go to any of the stores or local sellers, all their sumps are under the tank, only with lr.

[Snider82]

i understand that now, sounds like more trouble than anything.    so JUST liverock down there then. (i did notice the LFS does that) 

i'v seen picture's of sumps with a fuge built in for the macro algae  i just though i could incorperate somthing like that. i dont want to shrink my pump section (heard it needs the volume)  guess ill just leave it as is and put rock only somewhere in there. 

[Vincenzo.]

if you want a trick to have lr in there (i mean in a small area)

make a egg crate table about 4-6 inches from the bottom of the tank.
put all your lr on that, and put 2 power heads in there. one on the upper half. and a more powerful one right on the bottom. so if any det settles to the bottom, it will get blown away

[Snider82]

good idea vince.  i think my section will be about 12" X12" X 8-9"H    so i make try find a cheap used powerhead to set up in there.    i will have to break up my live rock into smaller peices so i can fit more in there.

i'v been thinking about the fuge (marco algae) -  i will most likely do it in the future- 33g sump.. might be too small to do that.    ill do more research.

[Vincenzo.]

6'' in all you need for some macro. stuff the chaeto in, and it's all gravy. look at the people who use the 100's hang on back that are modded to a fuge. dont need much space for chaeto.

[Hookup]

The diagram looks good to me.  I see you were careful with your baffle heights to keep water flowing the "right" direction...

If there is a way to connect your supply line to the input of the skimmer pump, or at least aim it right at the skimmer pump input, then you'll get improved skimming by having all of your dirty water going into the skimmer first.

The skimmer section and the LR section could easily be combined as I do not see any advantage of keeping the baffels to separate them, and baffles take up space.  If, down the road you want to add some cheato to your LR section you could isolate it from the skimmer pump with some simple eggcrate.

For simplicity sake, I would put the skimmer on the left hand side and the LR in the middle, with or without the left hand baffels.  The LR itself will host copods and it's one less pump for them to flow into / thru and you certainly do not want them getting skimmed out.  This is a VERY minor detail for sure, but one I want to point out.  You'll have to consider the effort required of changing things to accomidate this minor benifit.