Trying to figure out this sump thing! :-o

[SouthBayPhoto]

Hey all,

I'm sure you all have guessed that I'm pretty new to this stuff. Hehehhe. I do currently have a 46 bow that is up and running saltwater and it's doing well (no corals). Well, for my early Christmas present, I got a 90g (48x18x25) setup with a drilled built in overflow (drain only) and it came with a Lee Mar 40g sump (28x12x18) and a Mag-12 1200gph return pump. On my 46g I'm only using a HOT filter (Tetratec PF300), UGF w/2 Penguin 1150 powerheads and a Seaclone 100 protein skimmer (also using that in it's HOT setup).

So, with my 90 gal, I've read that using a sump would be a good thing. However, I'm trying to figure out how the heck to set it up (the sump itself). Since I won't be using the HOT filter from my 46 and I also want to put the protein skimmer into the sump, I don't know how to set up the sump correctly so that it filters properly. Don't I need to put bio balls and such in the sump? Oh, most likely (at least right now) I'm going to just be running fish and live rock in the tank. Once I "pump up" my lighting system, then I'm going to consider corals, if possible.

Attached are photos of the sump and the parts that came with it. Oh, there are also 2 white plastic eggcrates as well that I forgot to include in the photos. One is as big/wide as the one section of the sump and I can lay it down onto the lower ridge (see photo) of the sump. The other eggcrate is much smaller and almost looks like it would stand up and go against the side panel of the sump that has the 4 large holes in it. I don't know if that means I'm supposed to fill up this large section with bio balls for the filtration or not. Then there are the two pieces of white fiber. I'm not quire sure where they go. Plus, if I do fill up the one section with bio balls, does that mean my protein skimmer goes into the small section? It also appears there is a section (in the small part of the sump near the bottom) for the baffles to go in there (although I don't have any currently).

Plus, if I'm not supposed to run any bio balls and such in the sump, then how am I going to filter the water if I'm not putting a HOT filter and/or an UGF. (I'd like to run sand in this aquarium) Would I have to get canister filters? :-(

Seems as though all of the sumps I've read about have 3 compartments or more. Mine only has two. One is about 80% of the sump length and the other is 20%.

I know I probably sound like a totally green idiot , but any help would be truly appreciated.

Regards,
Mat

[BinaryReefer]

That is because your "sump" is really a wet/dry filter.

[SouthBayPhoto]

Ok...then should I start looking up wet/dry filter configurations on how to run it? Plus, can you put a proteim skimmer in the wet/dry filter or can you only do that with a sump?

[BinaryReefer]

You can if you dont use those dividers. The only problem I see is not having any baffles to control water level, you would have to figure that out. You could prop your skimmer up on something until it is at the right level?

[SouthBayPhoto]

I could have baffles made and then put them in. There is a place here in Vegas that makes acrylic tanks and such. I forgot the name off the top of my head, but I'm sure they could make the baffles and then I would have to put them in place. There are like "holders" on the sump (in the small 20% area near the return bulkhead) that I could put the baffles in. It almos looks like it's made for baffles.

Only problem is, if I did that and used part of the main sump for my skimmer, then where/how do I put in the bio balls to filter the water? That's the problem I'm running into, now that I think about it.

I don't think it's going to help much if I just run the drain line into the sump (not going over any bio balls or anything) and then just running my skimmer in the sump, having the water then go over the baffles and then through the return pump/line back to the display.

I was hoping to have some sort of filtration going on. Does everyone mainly rely on biofiltration and no mechanical/chemical filtration at all? I guess I'm just not used to that idea yet. LOL Like I said, on my 46, I have bio going on in the filter (the sponge that is in my filter), but I also have mechanical (the filter itself) and chemical (the activated carbon in the filter cartridges).

I guess I'm just lost. I don't want to not use the sump, especially since I have it to begin with. Would be a waste. So that's why I'm trying to figure out how I'm supposed to run it. If I have to have it modified, then I'll get that done. Only other thing I can do is run it as a wet dry and then stick the skimmer in the small part of the sump, but it's so close to the return bulkhead that I'd be afraid that all the bubbles would go straight to the return pump. Because if I ran it like that, there is no way to put the baffles in.

[BinaryReefer]

You dont want bioballs anyways. They can become nitrate factories. Most reef keepers these days use strictly bio filters like LR and protien skimmers. Some FO and FOWLR tanks still use mechanical filters.

I just run a skimmer.

[SouthBayPhoto]

Merry Christmas all!

So it's probably best then to just add baffles to the thing and a divider into the main compartment so that I can put in LR and run it that way, eh?

Also, is it not good to place the skimmer in with the LR? I would imagine I should place that into a separate compartment...maybe the same one the drain is coming into?

[BinaryReefer]

Yep, different compartments would work best. I would have it go...

overflow > bubble trap > skimmer section > LR > return

If you plan on doing all this though...and it looks like the sump has room, have the LR section a refugium as well. Are you planning to do a reef tank?

[SouthBayPhoto]

Wasn't planning on doing an all out reef tank at the moment actually. I would like to have a couple of corals in the tank. Haven't looked into which ones as of yet. I think it'll mostly be fish.

However, with the sump only being 28" long and the one divided section is already set at 7", I'm not sure I'll have room to run everything. Darn thing looks big initially, but now that I'm trying to "break it down" into sections, it seems pretty darn small.

Plus, since it's 18" high (to the very top), how high should my baffles go? Plus, if I get this thing compartmentalized should I have them put the dividers all the way to the top and leave some open on the bottom (that's how the first compartment is currently set up with the wet/dry) or should I have them put the dividers all the way to the bottom and only go up so high towards the top (maybe 15" so that it leaves 3" open at the top?)?

Sorry for all the questions, but I'm sure this is a one time deal and if I don't get it right, I'll be stuck with something I can't use.

[SouthBayPhoto]

I was lookin' at the sump and had an idea. I'm wondering if this will work. If you look at the one photo (second one I posted) and can see the tank, then here is what I'm thinkin' (ya, scary thought. )...

On the right side (in the photo below), can I have the drain line go into that compartment and there is where I would also place the skimmer. Now, as you can see, there is a sectional piece of acrylic there, but it only goes down about 3/4 of the way. I would have another piece sealed in there, so that it would be a piece from the floor up to the top. However, the top part of this piece already has 4 large holes drilled into it (You can see them if you look really close at the photo). Is it possible to run the drain line & skimmer on the right side of this divider, then let the water fill up and flow through the holes into the left side of the sump section, where I could then place a refugium on top of the egg crate I have and/or a piece of drilled out (several holes) acrylic. I'd probably mainly just have live rock because I couldn't really put sand and such down unless I put a piece of filtering material under the sand so that it wouldn't go through the holes, but then that might not be a good idea.

Anyway, then I could run my return pump under that (where the water from the refugium drains down into it) and then out a bulkhead and then into the return lines back to the tank.

Might that work? I've included a crude drawing of what I'm talking about to kinda help express my idea. (remember, I'm a photographer, not a drawer. )

Would this be a possiblity?

[BinaryReefer]

Check this out, you will get some good ideas. Marc (melev) is where I got most of the ideas for my sump!

Scroll down on left for designs.

Melevsreef.com | Acrylic Sumps & Refugiums

[SouthBayPhoto]

Cool. I saw that site before but couldn't remember where I found the link at. LOL

Thanks!
Mat