ive now got my tank (400 litre, 90 g ish), now the next thing to do is build my sump and im a little confused. ive seen so many diffrent designs and configurations etc that im a not sure how to go about it so here are a few questions that ive been wondering about.
1) size, does the size of the main tank reflect on the size of the sump (i know bigger is better but im a little short on room, well kind of)
2)im going to be using live rock and sand (well a mixture of live and base and let the lr seed the base rock) and a protein skimmer, do i have to have any means of mechanical filtration such as bio balls to filter the solids from the water
3)baffles, how are they arranged to minimize bubbles getting back into the main tank and also which order should the different sections be arranged ie skimmer, fuge, return pump or can the pump and skimmer be in the same section etc etc
4)what would i be best using the refugium for, im not going to be growing any corals, well not yet anyway, ive read posts about people growing algi and seaweed to help breakdown ammonia and nitrites etc, what would do this task the best and what lighting (if any) would be needed to grow it.
5)i have a juwel 400 and cabinet the middle two supports would need sections cutout to house the sump, but the cab would then need reinforcing in the middle (refer to question 1), thinking about it the side would also need modifying to slide the sump in/out. i was just wondering if anybody has the same tank and cab and has done this and if poss post some pics (pretty please) as i really dont want to build another unit due to money restrictions.
6)flooding problems? i take it the system can only flood if you overfill the system and then have a power outage and all the water flows to the lowest point??? (the sump). is this true or are there other ways to cause a flood and if so how can you prevent it.
phew.
sorry if thats a lot to ask, but i cant find all the info im looking for, ive found lots of info on what they are for etc but not how to go about setting it up, im quite capable of building it myself but just need to know how to go about it and hopefully get it right the first time.
there may be some more questions that i cant think of at the moment but i think that will do for now.
thanks xxxx
1) size, does the size of the main tank reflect on the size of the sump (i know bigger is better but im a little short on room, well kind of)
2)im going to be using live rock and sand (well a mixture of live and base and let the lr seed the base rock) and a protein skimmer, do i have to have any means of mechanical filtration such as bio balls to filter the solids from the water
3)baffles, how are they arranged to minimize bubbles getting back into the main tank and also which order should the different sections be arranged ie skimmer, fuge, return pump or can the pump and skimmer be in the same section etc etc
4)what would i be best using the refugium for, im not going to be growing any corals, well not yet anyway, ive read posts about people growing algi and seaweed to help breakdown ammonia and nitrites etc, what would do this task the best and what lighting (if any) would be needed to grow it.
5)i have a juwel 400 and cabinet the middle two supports would need sections cutout to house the sump, but the cab would then need reinforcing in the middle (refer to question 1), thinking about it the side would also need modifying to slide the sump in/out. i was just wondering if anybody has the same tank and cab and has done this and if poss post some pics (pretty please) as i really dont want to build another unit due to money restrictions.
6)flooding problems? i take it the system can only flood if you overfill the system and then have a power outage and all the water flows to the lowest point??? (the sump). is this true or are there other ways to cause a flood and if so how can you prevent it.
phew.
sorry if thats a lot to ask, but i cant find all the info im looking for, ive found lots of info on what they are for etc but not how to go about setting it up, im quite capable of building it myself but just need to know how to go about it and hopefully get it right the first time.
there may be some more questions that i cant think of at the moment but i think that will do for now.
thanks xxxx
