Freshwater Sump

[rabbut]

Should be fine

 

[myenigmaself]

1/4" float glass is pretty much the same price as the acrylic, so that's what I'm going with. Thanks again!

 

[WoodenChair]

Ive been a fwumper as long as Ive been a keeper. Only about 5 years.

Sorry the pics are a bit crappy.

But water comes from an Eshopps 800gph overflow (not that im using anywhere near that)
Down a flexpipe into a pvc manifold which takes the place of a common drip tray
(making assembly and maintenence a breeze)
Water passes over black smaller bioballs (enough to process 50 gallons)
Water then is surged through submerged bioballs using two protine skimmer stones attached to an absurd airpump.
Water spills over the acrylic gate and into the refugium which right now is only being used to harvest java moss while the barren tank above awaits its new inhabitants.
Bubble trap then its into a mag7. (as you can see, ALWAYS use your sponge filters.)

The egg crate is just gates to keep the submerged bioballs crammed into their home and anything from the refugium from going elsewhere.

When the tank gets up and running ill add some shrimp to the bottom. amano perhaps. and double the egg crate gate on the bioball side (to keep them from getting through the gaps )

Timers are going to be replaced with actual timer strip. when i dig it up...

Remember, don't be cheap on your pipes. Yes that is steel braided tubing.

Always use a bubble trap before your filter. And if you look closely you can see i made an error and did not bring up the final refugium wall to the actual top of the waterline, i planned it as being a lower water line, i was incorrect, mistakes are how we learn. aka: s**t happens.


-Chairman Wood


EDIT: Just for funs!

Not in actual photography anymore due to it not being set up and that camera being in the bottom of a sump.

Mangrugium: Eats Nitrates, all day, everyday.

(red mangroves)

 

[three-fingers]

Remember, don't be cheap on your pipes. Yes that is steel braided tubing.

Just wondering why this is as important?
I was honestly just planning on using eheim hose on the sump I'm planning...would that be dad?

Always use a bubble trap before your filter. And if you look closely you can see i made an error and did not bring up the final refugium wall to the actual top of the waterline, i planned it as being a lower water line, i was incorrect, mistakes are how we learn. aka: s**t happens.

Completely new to sumps...not really researched them yet, what's a bubble trap?

 

[myenigmaself]

Wow WC! That's awesome

That's pretty darn close to my design. I'm omitting a bubble trap as my horizontal overflow should be operating at full siphon, so few to no bubbles should be entering my setup. One downside is the inlet pipe has to be below the waterline, so I won't have any drip/dry bio-media. I've also decided to modify my design just a little bit in two ways:

1) I'll be angling my dividers at an approximate 20% angle in a V-ish formation. This will (hopefully) make the tank look bigger, minimize the visual impact of the pump and bio-media, but still give me a window to see how things in there are doing. It will also increase the transition area between sections.

2) My last divider is going to be broken into two sections. The top being 1" long, the remainder being in the bottom. I will then space them horizontally about 2" apart, and run vinal screen between the two sections. This will prevent any debris/critters from going into the pump area, keeping it with the plants, while minimizing the vertical space lost. It should also provide a pretty smooth transition between sections.

Thanks for reminding me about sponging the pump I had thought of that before but it wasn't on my list of things to buy
Also a good call on the reinforced tubing. I think that would only be necessary on the pressurized up-flow line. How much more expensive is that?

I am planning on trying to breed ghost shrimp in the sump. We'll see how that goes.

 

[rabbut]

I tend to use ridgid PVC pipe for all plumbing where possible

Bubble traps basically are the three bits of glass Wooden Chair marks in his third picture down, and they prevent bubbles from getting to the pump as their name surgests

Bear in mind that mounting your baffles at an angle if they are taking weight will put more stress on the seam...

All the best
Rabbut

 

[myenigmaself]

Yep, particularly the acute seam that has pressure on it. I plan on reinforcing that seam (front edge of the pump divider) at the top and bottom with some rigid instrument; possibly a scrap piece of plastic with a wedge cut in the leading edge. I think doing this will ultimately increase the strength of the seams, basically wedging the divider in place. As for the first divider, I don't think there will really be much pressure on that one. It's function is primarily to direct water south and hold bio-media in place. I'll make sure I silicone it in there nice and snug, but I'm not too worried about it.

Thanks for your concern though Good to know someone is sanity checking me. Do I get to blame you when the whole thing comes crashing down? Kidding

 

[WoodenChair]

It was something like 10USD for 12 feet i believe (something like that)

The reason i like the steel braiding is because once i clamp it on there i know its not going to change shape slide off or anything.

Ive noticed after LONG periods of use those green hoses actually get a bit worn out at the end leak a little or fall off entirely. Solution: Steel braided hose and 1 inch hose clamps. especially when dealing with these mag pumps, serious pressure, and wide outlets to begin with. that's 5/8ths id tubing. Its just safer to go with the sturdy lines. (all of this, in my opinion of course)

Bubble traps do just that, they make the water from one section travel downward and around a corner to have to make it to the next section. Since air and traveling downward don't normally tend to go hand in hand this makes it very effective at keeping micro bubbles out of your main tank and out of your pump lines.



-Chairman Wood


EDIT: Hard plumbing. The idea of hard plumbing gets sold to you everyday, everywhere you turn. Fact of the matter is hard plumbing, as sturdy as it may be if you work it all properly (sealing and gluing) is NOT the most efficient option AT ALL for plumbing an aquarium.

Now i know your all saying buwahahaha is he crazy, what is this rubbish?

Thing is, every time you put a corner into your plumbing your adding resistance to the pump head. A-lot of turns before even making it up to the tank itself will severely DECREASE total pump head potential.

But but but?

Hold your horses, there's always flexible PVC. Still not that great, but a step in the right direction.

Truth is, the best option is, and always will be flexible vinyl tubing, Or thicker like tygon tubing. I have with my own two eyes seen readily available at most hardware stores all the fittings necessary to permanently phase PVC out of our tanks for good. Up to and including 3in diameter.

This site (yeah.. its a us site) has just about every piece of PVC you can imagine, and most you cant.
www.flexpvc.com

 

[myenigmaself]

Hey WC, I'm in complete agreement with you on getting rid of PVC wherever possible. I was planing on running vinyl lines to and from the tank, but I'm still going to need some PVC for my overflow assembly. It's kind of complex: threaded elbow -> threaded bulkhead -> nipple -> threaded tee (plug on top) -> nipple -> threaded ball valve -> threaded barb adapter -> clear vinyl line running to the sump. Three of those, then for the return line: clamped vinyl line -> threaded barb adapter -> threaded bulkhead -> directional fitting. Lots of room for failure there, but the backup line won't be used (often) and the secondary flow line shouldn't have too much flow, so my big concerns are the full siphon overflow line and the return line. Luckily the return line is a little simpler with fewer failure points. Keep your fingers crossed for me. My last PVC project didn't go to well: I built a 6" water bridge between two 30 gallon tanks that persistently let air in. I never got it working for more than 24 hours without having to re-prime it.

Edit:
At least I don't have to do any cementing this time around. Cementing and using a hole-saw on a PVC elbow, I think that's what did me in last time.

Edit 2:
Took out one of the nipples, I forgot I found threaded elbows

Edit 3:
Just realized that I really only need the tee for the secondary line. the others can just be threaded elbows, removing the need for 4 nipples and two tees, adding just two threaded elbows. Der.

 

[rabbut]

Aye, but if you think before doing, you can get your PVC almost strait up and that is more efficient that your fexible stuff... My SW design has a 90 degree bulk-head that I'd be using regardless of plumbing, and the pipe will go strait to it directly up, no other joints. If you plumb like this, you loose less flow from the pump than with any other type It's just a case of keeping all corners to a minimum and avoiding 90 degree bands like the plague

All the best
Rabbut

 

[WoodenChair]

Agreed rabbut.

PVC used with proper planning and in good taste can have minimal effect of pump head.

But lol, I have seen some peoples designs, some of the ways they go about adding stretches here and elbows there "To help with the flow" and its just hilarious.

I always use PVC AWAY from the tanks overflows. "short drop and a quick stop" no need to worry about anything there. Also, i always use PVC for my durso standpipes (of course).

But everything from the pump up is always done with fittings and vinyl.


Best of luck to you on your sumping.


-Chairman Wood

 

[myenigmaself]

Just wondering what make of pump I should get. The price range is unbelievable. I'm looking at a flow rate of 600 GPH, and I've seen price ranges depending on the make between $40 and $95. This is a pretty crucial component so I'm wondering if this is something I shouldn't skimp on. Are there any makes or models I should stay away from?? Is the gold standard (non-commercial) getting a mag-drive? Those seem to be the most expensive. Thanks!

 

[WoodenChair]

I use Danner Mag drive pumps and nothing else.

My dads used them for years before i was around and ill be using them for as long as danner mfg exists in NY.

They aren't whisper quiet but i don't hear any of mine and i have a mag 7.5 in my bedroom, cant hear it over water sound.

They are pricey but in my opinion worth every penny, they are extremely well made, simple and Iv never had to replace one, refit it, or even rinse it out after it was pumping straight sand for an hour. They are monsters.

http/www.dannermfg.com/ theres a link to their main page if you want to get a feel for their backround

http/www.petsolutions.com/Mag-Drive-Wate...513+C10404.aspx

And there is the link to where i purchase mine from.

Have personally owned:

3 - whisper silent, decent for a 55g
5 - Vibrates a LITTLE if you sloppily drop it in a sup and let it rattle on 3 different surfaces at the same time
7 - Same as 5. legit identical, i don't buy 5's anymore, just go right to the 7, negligible price difference
9.5 - hummmmmmmmmmmmmmmm (but a quiet one, you know the type)
12 - never owned
18 - Wow... she purrs.. but wow.
24 - waste of money at this point. Yeah, its a bit noisy, not for a bedroom or living room, fishroom pump only.

9.5 is as high as ill ever go anymore with purchasing standard danner mags.

After that, you might as well make the leap to the HY Drive series and do some real pumping.

 

[rabbut]

Pond pumps are worth a look. Eheim made their name with pumps. Aquarius Oasis pumps are good also and take the abuse of being ran dry supprisingly well

All the best
Rabbut

 

[myenigmaself]

Thanks guys. I think I'm going to go with the Mag Drive 7. I found it a little cheaper with free shipping at [URL="http/www.marineandreef.com"]http/www.marineandreef.com[/URL]. I got my tanks on Saturday and I'm dropping the 55 off to get drilled this afternoon. Should have it back on Wednesday or Thursday. Wish me luck!