Thoughts and Suggestions on a Combined Refugium/Sump…and Pumps – 01/07/07
Hi Crew!
<<Hiya Doug!>>
I've been in the hobby just a few months now, and am excited to step up from my 20G to a 120G!
<<Neat! Bigger “is” better>>
I'm planning for mostly FOWLR, but may add more inverts/corals as I slowly gain experience.
<<Mmm, then do keep this in mind when making your stocking selections…you will want to collect “reef friendly” specimens>>
Here are my current plans:
- 120G tank, 48x24x24", acrylic.
- Stand 40" tall, 9" canopy.
- 2 corner overflows – each with 2" inner diameter bulkhead at 20" height.
<<Ahh, very good…I see you’ve been reading!>>
- 2x 1" inner diameter bulkheads for return from sump.
For a sump/refugium below, I'm thinking of a standard 55G tank following your diagrams.
<<”Standard” glass tanks work quite well as sump and/or refugium vessels…and are a whole-lot cheaper than the purpose-built retail alternatives. Add a few baffles, drill and install a couple bulkheads (when/if necessary), and you’re “golden”…with money saved/ready to spend on other areas. My own system incorporates a modified 55g tank for a refugium, and a modified 75g tank for a sump>>
- Skimmer: AquaC EV180 w Mag 7 pump.
- Aiming for 15x water flow gives 1800gph.
<<Indeed…but I expect you will find that trying to process this much water volume through a 55g sump will be problematic>>
- Two sump return pumps, internal Eheim 1262s (want it to be quiet),should be about 1600gph at 5" head.
<<Very good pumps…and the “redundancy” of two pumps for your return can be a lifesaver, literally. About a year ago a faulty GFCI tripped and shut down the return pump on my heavily stocked 500g reef system (was off more than nine hours before discovery). The ensuing anoxic condition resulted in the loss of more than $1200.00 worth of livestock (fish and corals). Let’s just say “lesson learned”… I now have two return pumps on separate circuits for this system>>
Questions:
1. Is that too much flow through the refugium?
<<Yes… A couple to a few hundred gallons per hour is generally sufficient for a refugium. Obviously, utilizing “separate” vessels for sump and refugium make plumbing for the differing flow rates a bit easier>>
2. If so, would it work well to use just a single Eheim for the sump return, ~800gph, with an internal powerhead like a Tunze Stream in the tank?
<<800gph through the sump would be easier to accommodate (and a LOT less noisy), and some creative work with the baffles could provide a “raceway” to allow the full force of the flow to circumvent the refugium section on its way from the skimmer chamber to the pump chamber, while allowing you to divert a few hundred gph to the ‘fuge…if you choose to keep with a single combined vessel. I still like the idea of two return pumps…perhaps a couple Eheim pumps of lesser size…>>
Then maybe reduce the drains to 2x 1.5"ID?
<<A pair of 1.5” drains would handle a flow of 800gph quite well, with a healthy safety margin>>
Your thoughts and suggestions are very welcome!
Thanks,
Doug
<<Is my pleasure to assist. EricR>>

Rack system with individual sump style prefilters for fish room ingenious or idiot  12/16/07
Hi Crew Merry Christmas,
<And to you and yours>
I have quick question about rack systems. Since my pursuit of the fish hobby rests on my wife's tentative interest I have decided to try a rack system as an addition to my fish collection. The reasoning behind this is my wife has a particular taste in fish. Box fish, Cow fish, Cucumbers, Octopus, Nudibranchs, seahorses, and other special needs, and system crashing animals.
typically when doing rack systems the tanks all flow into one big reservoir. Now the design I am thinking of doing is using all drilled tanks, but with the outlets drilled into the back wall about an inch from the top and two inches from the corner.
<Okay...>
with the return line at the opposite side. now instead of having the drop directly into the reservoir I am considering using individual pre filter sump boxes for each tank, five gallons each with live rock then carbon just prior to entering the main reservoir.
<Neat idea>
I have considered this because with CERTAIN Nudibranchs, sponges, cucumbers, box fish, Sea apples and the like can release toxins that can wipe out a system as experience has shown.
So as a precaution I figure this will help. Of course I will be using a commercial protein skimmer in the receiving portion of the main reservoir. Does this seem like a good idea? or will it not matter if something goes awry? Thank you for all your help crew.
<I do think this is a good idea... make sure and situate these intermediate sumps where you can service them... Bob Fenner>

Adding sump/Fuge to a nano -12/14/07 Dear Mr. Fenner & Crew, <Hello again Pearson> Below, you will find my previous correspondence for reference. I couldn't find the original emails, so I just copied them from the FAQs. <Ah, good> I wanted to thank you again for your input, and to let y'all know I finally went ahead with this project. A few nights ago, I successfully drilled and plumbed my JBJ Nanocube 12 gallon tank to accommodate a 15 gallon sump/refugium. While I have never drilled a tank before, nor done any kind of DIY projects related to aquaria, it turned out to be pretty straight forward. There were a couple of design considerations I took into account that may be of use to someone else considering doing something similar. <I thank you for sharing your experiences, observations> I decided to plumb the return line into the display portion of the tank, and the drain line in the last chamber of the rear section of the tank. This way, the rear section functions as an overflow of sorts, and still causes water to flow through all three rear chambers, so they can still be used to house LR rubble, carbon, a heater, or whatever else you might have back there. I also made sure to line up the return bulkhead with the location of the existing hole in the rear wall of the display tank where the stock MaxiJet pump outlet was, so I could take advantage of that hole, and not have to drill a new/larger hole. This also allows me to return to the stock configuration if I ever need to. I would only have to seal the bulkheads, and place the MaxiJet back in place. <All sounds/reads as reasonable> The benefits of this experiment are already evident. I'm using a Mag 2 as a return pump. Flow in the display is increased, and at the same time temperature is decreased. I now have plenty of room in the sump for growing macro, a DSB, more live rock, one or more media reactors (Phosban, carbon, what have you), an automatic top-off system, room to fit a decent skimmer, without having to resort to one of those tiny nano skimmers, not to mention the increased water volume and system stability. <Yes> Attached are a couple of pictures for reference. If you feel any of this might be helpful to others, please do post. <I will definitely do so> A great big thanks to everyone at WWM for all that you do for the hobby and hobbyists, and for helping me work out this project. Pearson <I REALLY wish that a couple friends/crewmembers here would crank out a title on "Aquarium Engineering"... such a work (DIY, mathematics...) with good graphics could/would help so MANY folks. Thank you again for sharing. Bob Fenner>

Outstanding.