Due to the size of my stand and its main door, off-the-shelf containers with the volume I want simply will not fit. I therefore came up with a plan for a 3-unit set of custom-built acrylic containers plumbed together. I've already received a good quote on them from jensalt.com. (UPDATE: Jensalt was a HUGE mistake! Click here for details.) The total voume will be about 36 gallons. This is for a 120-gallon FOWLR tank. I have a Mag 9.5 for a return, and a LifeReef overflow box.
As you can see in the attached graphic, one sump unit contains a filter sock above it for easy mechanical filtration, housed in a Rubbermaid canister with large holes on its bottom and sides. It outflows onto a drip plate atop an eggcrate container of Bio-balls which rises partly above the waterline, providing great air/water exchange. I'm using this arrangement in my 29-gallon's DIY sump, and it works very well. On it, I have a LifeReef box and a Mag 7 for a return. (Yes, it DOES turn the water over!) Also inside the first box will be my Turboflotor 1000 skimmer, fed with an in-sump 600GPH pump.
The outflow from the first box is teed, with the main flow going to the 2nd box, containing heater, any chemicals, etc and the return pump. The secondary flow from the tee goes through a ball valve to the 3rd box, which will be a refugium with live sand and live rock. I've read a lot about how flow rates through the fuge should be lower, thus the tee and valve. The outflow from the refugium goes to the 2nd box with the return pump.
In effect, this configuration makes the 3 boxes one big sump. My only concern is that the pump would drain the 2nd (return) box and the inflow to it couldn't keep up. I think I've addressed this in the design though, since the Mag has 3/4" fittings, and I'll use 1" plumbing throughout the sump. 1" pipe has 77% more area than 3/4", so it shouldn't be a problem, and the LifeReef box can handle a huge volume of water.
I'd definitely like some other opinions on this before I build it though. All comments, criticisms, and suggestions from you experts are most welcome!
Also, am I over-engineering this? Are the concerns about flow rate through a refugium simply based on not blowing away critters? Since I intend for it to be critterless, with macroalgae only, could I eliminate the valve and use the 2nd (middle) unit as the fuge, and the 3rd one for the return? A spraybar in the fuge would spread out the stream and keep it above the sand bed, but the fuge would indeed be passing 100% of the sump's total flow through it. Would this be acceptable? If so, it would simplify and lessen the cost of the plumbing.
Thanks in advance for your input.
As you can see in the attached graphic, one sump unit contains a filter sock above it for easy mechanical filtration, housed in a Rubbermaid canister with large holes on its bottom and sides. It outflows onto a drip plate atop an eggcrate container of Bio-balls which rises partly above the waterline, providing great air/water exchange. I'm using this arrangement in my 29-gallon's DIY sump, and it works very well. On it, I have a LifeReef box and a Mag 7 for a return. (Yes, it DOES turn the water over!) Also inside the first box will be my Turboflotor 1000 skimmer, fed with an in-sump 600GPH pump.
The outflow from the first box is teed, with the main flow going to the 2nd box, containing heater, any chemicals, etc and the return pump. The secondary flow from the tee goes through a ball valve to the 3rd box, which will be a refugium with live sand and live rock. I've read a lot about how flow rates through the fuge should be lower, thus the tee and valve. The outflow from the refugium goes to the 2nd box with the return pump.
In effect, this configuration makes the 3 boxes one big sump. My only concern is that the pump would drain the 2nd (return) box and the inflow to it couldn't keep up. I think I've addressed this in the design though, since the Mag has 3/4" fittings, and I'll use 1" plumbing throughout the sump. 1" pipe has 77% more area than 3/4", so it shouldn't be a problem, and the LifeReef box can handle a huge volume of water.
I'd definitely like some other opinions on this before I build it though. All comments, criticisms, and suggestions from you experts are most welcome!
Also, am I over-engineering this? Are the concerns about flow rate through a refugium simply based on not blowing away critters? Since I intend for it to be critterless, with macroalgae only, could I eliminate the valve and use the 2nd (middle) unit as the fuge, and the 3rd one for the return? A spraybar in the fuge would spread out the stream and keep it above the sand bed, but the fuge would indeed be passing 100% of the sump's total flow through it. Would this be acceptable? If so, it would simplify and lessen the cost of the plumbing.
Thanks in advance for your input.
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