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I just built a sump with almost the exact same design. However, anytime i stir up anything in the refugium the baffles on that end of the tank get sediment in between them. Not having them would alleviate that problem and free up and extra 2.5 inches of space. I also managed to put a Vertex - IN 180 skimmer in that sump (a 11 in X 18 in X 11 in partition).

ok I understand now. I think that is how I will do it.

yes this happens on all systems

Originally Posted by yiyi67

The purpose of T'ing off of the drain line to the fuge is to move dirty water through your refugium. In the past, instead of T'ing off the drain line I have used a power head to pump water from the return section into the refugium, but it's not the most power efficient nor nutrient export efficient way to do things. As your drawing is now water would just sit in the refugium and not circulate throughout the tank, thus kind of defeating the purpose of the fuge. I think the way you have it drawn (refugium, return, skimmer) is the best design out there as long as you have your drain plumbed to the refugium.

If I T off my drain to the refugium and skimmer sections then they both would overflow into the return section going through baffles and then back to the tank. Is it ok to have water that has not been through the skimmer return to the tank.

Most importantly when setting up your baffles is to make sure that the water level in your skimmer section is set to the recommended height required by your skimmer. Or design it with the ability to raise the skimmer to the height needed while still being able to fit beneath your stand.

For those of you that do not think silicone sticks to acrylic: take a piece of acrylic and a random object like a coffee mug, squirt some silicon on the acrylic press random object into silicone. let stand for appropriate time. lift acrylic and turn over, tell me what happens.

The purpose of T'ing off of the drain line to the fuge is to move dirty water through your refugium. In the past, instead of T'ing off the drain line I have used a power head to pump water from the return section into the refugium, but it's not the most power efficient nor nutrient export efficient way to do things. As your drawing is now water would just sit in the refugium and not circulate throughout the tank, thus kind of defeating the purpose of the fuge. I think the way you have it drawn (refugium, return, skimmer) is the best design out there as long as you have your drain plumbed to the refugium.

Plus alot of room for a bigger sump, than a 40 breeder it is only going to hold about 15 to 18 gals when running. Remember dilution is the solution

probally cheaper to have a glass shop just cut you some 1/4 plate to size. Silicone just acts like a stopper to hold the acrylic in place doesnt stick for @#$%.

I can also confirm that silicon (remember aquarium safe) will work with acrylic and glass. I think when people have said that silicon would not adhere to acrylic they where referring to applications like that of building an aquarium and holding pans together. When your sump is full there is not much pressure on the baffles because of the near equal pressure on either side. I was thinking of doing the same design as yours but reconsidered and went with a left to right design. My overflow has 2 drains so I will probably just move one of the drains so that it drains directly into the soon to be refugium section achieving the same goal as having a center return zone. I went with a deep sump and reason for this was so that I had as much water volume as possible. Just make sure when you power down your return you will have room for the extra water that will drain back and if you drill some siphon holes in your return and you should be fine. Oh and if I can suggest 2 things, get an auto-top off from the beginning if you can and if not defiantly make your return section a decent size. Reason being is that you don’t want your pump to run dry and be stuck like me topping your tank off twice a day as I think I am going through about 10gals of evaporation a week in my 108gal.
PS sump is a 50gal tall 4’x1’x20”

thanks I have looked at alot of the sump designs that he has on there.

So you put a T on the drain and then a gate ball valve on the side going to the refugium to control the water flow to the refugium and just let it overflow into the return section.

I thought that silicone would not stick to the acrylic

Larry,

Welcome, I'll give you my .02 c worth.

#1, Yes, Just use Aquarium Branded Silicon. The other stuff, will undoubtly have arsenic in it to prevent mold from growing on it.
#2. an inch will work for the baffles.
#3. My sump looks like your drawing above, with exception, I T'eed off of the input side and piped it down with a gate valve to the Sump, such that both the sump and the Skimmer sections flow over and into the return section.

for more info and ideas, Marc has plenty at http://www.melevsreef.com/allmysumps.html THIS IS AN EXCELLENT RESOURCE!

Ciao,
Aaron

I will start a new build thread tonight when I have access to all my pics.

I would consider a bigger sump if you want to incorporate a refugium, IMO. I have used acrylic baffles in glass tanks with no problem. Sounds like a fun build, hope to see pics.