Starting With Sw

[dirtydogg]

I am in the planning stages for my first saltwater tank, I am currently building a Sump for it, but need some help with the planning of it. My tank is a 20 Gallon tank that will be assisted by a 10 Gallon Sump/Refugium.

1. The first chamber of the sump is going to contain some matter to assist with biological filtration, bio balls or something similar.
   I was planning on using something for mechanical filtration before and after the bio balls, but I read somewhere that it may not be ideal, is that correct?
2. The next step is the refugium where it will contain some sand, live rock and probably some sw plants to assist with the natural filtration, suggestions are helpful. This area is going to be as large as I can make it, to add as much water volume as possible.
3. The final are is to be the pump back to the tank, where I was planning filter floss as the final stage of filtration.

Any suggestions/tips/criticism is welcomed.

 

[Aquascaper]

[*]The first chamber of the sump is going to contain some matter to assist with biological filtration, bio balls or something similar.
I was planning on using something for mechanical filtration before and after the bio balls, but I read somewhere that it may not be ideal, is that correct?

Any Bio/Mech filtration will increase Nitrates which will make the live rock work harder to convert it. The best idea would be a simple chamber with a bubble trap to the second chamber.

[*]The next step is the refugium where it will contain some sand, live rock and probably some sw plants to assist with the natural filtration, suggestions are helpful. This area is going to be as large as I can make it, to add as much water volume as possible.

If you're planning on having live rock in the sump then you will need to add powerheads to increase the flow to about x20 to allow the live rock to filter the water efficiently. A DSB (Deep Sand Bed) will need to be researched as they are invaluable but can be lethal to the tank if not run properly. Macro algaes are always a good choice for sump additions but will require decent lighting to flourish and therefore remove excess Nitrates and Phosphates.

[*]The final are is to be the pump back to the tank, where I was planning filter floss as the final stage of filtration.

Forget filter floss as it will need changing far too often and will only serve to increase Nitrates as it will trap decaying matter such as food, etc. Live rock will act as a mechanical filter anyway, trapping particulate matter.

 

[steelhealr]

My only added comment to Aquascaper is that I DO use filter floss. HOWEVER, I am trying it 'experimentally' and I AM removing it 1-2X per week. Filter floss is cheap (actually, filter fiber). I DON'T recommend it, siding with Aquascaper, if you don't plan to remove it frequently. SH

 

[dirtydogg]

I'm not sure what a "bubble trap" is, but what I'm thinking is a chamber for the water to collect, and a hole drilled below the water line to allow water to pass to the next chamber. There by allowing the bubbles to rise to the surface.

for lighting in the refugium I was going to go with a spare 15W. Actually the light strip that came with the 20G that I'm going to replace. Is that enough light?

 

[Aquascaper]

A bubble trap is two sheets of glass/acrylic that divert the water flow under and over each sheet (water flows under the first sheet then over the second sheet) . The purpose it to catch any small bubbles in the water on the sides of the glass/acrylic so that they don't go into the next chamber and then enter the display tank.

Simply drilling a hole below the water level will not catch all the bubbles but will work to a certain extent.

 

[@ombomb]

If you're planning on having live rock in the sump then you will need to add powerheads to increase the flow to about x20 to allow the live rock to filter the water efficiently.

When you say 20x turnover, do you mean turnover of the tank as a whole, the sump as a whole or the individual chamber?

 

[Aquascaper]

Flow rate is the speed of the water flow in a given area so it will be the volume of the sump chamber that the live rock is in, at the end of the day though the faster the flow the better the filtration. My live rock chamber is about 15g and has around 6000lph (1585gph) which equates to about x100 turnover.

 

[dirtydogg]

Already had that in my design, just didn't know that it was for that.

 

[@ombomb]

Well in theory I have 1000lph, through my sump (probably less since the pump is pushing the water up), but if we assume that is it 100% efficient, then that's 1000lph through the fuge (containing some small pieces of LR) which is 20cm x 30cm x 25cm (with a DSB but ignore that for now) so contains 15 litres, which means a turnover of 66.66.

Does that sound right to you?

 

[Siamese Fighter05]

Do you have to get the balance right so that the powerhead used to push water over the LR rubble isn't pumping water faster than return pump can handle?

If that makes sense...

Dan

 

[dirtydogg]

I was going to use a submersible pump facing away from the overflow into the pump chamber. . . I think it'll work.

 

[Aquascaper]

Do you have to get the balance right so that the powerhead used to push water over the LR rubble isn't pumping water faster than return pump can handle?

If that makes sense...

Dan

The powerheads have absolutely nothing to do with the return pump It doesn't matter how fast the water is flowing round the sump, that has no bearing on what's going up and down from the display tank as it's a 'closed loop' system - an entirely separate system to the return pump.

I was going to use a submersible pump facing away from the overflow into the pump chamber. . . I think it'll work.

My 4 powerheads are setup to create a vortex in the sump so the water swirls around in a circle, the idea being the give the water maximum exposure to the live rock before it goes back to the display tank.