I got my Mag 12 pump in the mail yesterday and I got all the plumbing finished last night, filled the sump and turned on the pump(woohoo). It's fun watching the water enter the overflow and and get sucked into the stand pipe. I'm sure that novelty will wear off soon but this project has been going on for quite a while and it is nice to see some progress.
I am surprised how well it is all working. I did a lot of reading at Melsreef about sump design and got a good idea of how it all worked. I bought a Mag 12 pump for the sump and glad I did. I thought it might be a little overkill but it is actually great. I can crack the valve slightly open that directs water into the refugium and get plenty of flow in there and have to open the valve that redirects water back into the sump about half way to prevent a tidal wave at the surface of the water in the main tank.
I got a bit lucky with my guestimation of the extra room needed in the sump for water to drain back from tank to sump when pump is off. After water drains back down to the sump with pump off, I have enough room left for about another 4-5 gallons(phew!). The second pic below shows the level of water in sump when running and when drained with the black lines.
Tell me what you guys think.
I am surprised how well it is all working. I did a lot of reading at Melsreef about sump design and got a good idea of how it all worked. I bought a Mag 12 pump for the sump and glad I did. I thought it might be a little overkill but it is actually great. I can crack the valve slightly open that directs water into the refugium and get plenty of flow in there and have to open the valve that redirects water back into the sump about half way to prevent a tidal wave at the surface of the water in the main tank.
I got a bit lucky with my guestimation of the extra room needed in the sump for water to drain back from tank to sump when pump is off. After water drains back down to the sump with pump off, I have enough room left for about another 4-5 gallons(phew!). The second pic below shows the level of water in sump when running and when drained with the black lines.
Tell me what you guys think.
Looks good!