Sump idea

[Robb in Austin]

I getting my 75g going and will be using a 30g long as my sump/fuge.

Dimensions are: 36"x12"x16". The bottom lip inside the tank is 15.75".

The internal overflow in the 75 is ~1.5" from the bottom of the trim so I'm guessing ~2" of drainback.

My skimmer is a Tunze 9010 and will need 6-8" of water ideally, though it can run in 4-10".

Here is a paint picture of my intended layout.

sump_idea_v5_20.bmp

Thoughts?

[+mcallahan]

I getting my 75g going and will be using a 30g long as my sump/fuge.

Dimensions are: 36"x12"x16". The bottom lip inside the tank is 15.75".

The internal overflow in the 75 is ~1.5" from the bottom of the trim so I'm guessing ~2" of drainback.

My skimmer is a Tunze 9010 and will need 6-8" of water ideally, though it can run in 4-10".

Here is a paint picture of my intended layout.

sump_idea_v5_20.bmp

Thoughts?

I'd match your skimmer box to the depth the skimmer likes to run in. I tried to have a skimmer on a stand and it sucked.

[caferacermike]

Does your return chamber need to be that large? I ask only because having more fiddle room in the skimmer for adjustments or cleanings night behoove you later.

Rob is there any chance you could get a slightly larger sump?

My math roughly equates your used up space as being about 18g of space being occupied with water within the sump. Now if I use my safety net of 4" of tank volume being diverted to the sump in a power outage that equals 14g. That means 2g of overflow. Now I realize that most well sorted tanks will only back siphon about 2" of tank volume but I like to have a little insurance. My sump sounds very similar to yours however my fuge is only 6" wide allowing more volume of back siphon to collect in the skimmer chamber and the return chambers plus both of those chambers are only 7" deep allowing even more water to collect in the event of a power failure. As it is now I lose about 1.5" of water due to back siphon and my sump still has 4" to go before it overflows.

[Robb in Austin]

No more room under my tank. I could go a bit longer but that will use up space I was going to use for ATO.

My skimmer only occupies a 4"x4" space so I figured I was good.

I was under the impression that having the largest possible return section was a good thing, for evap and backflow. The water will level out between all 3 chambers in the event of a power outage right?

I'm not opposed to tweaking figures if it's the right thing to do. What would you suggest tweaking heights and chamber sizes to?

[Robb in Austin]

So, I did some more research and came up with a max height of 8". This should allow 4" of overflow, which I hope I won't have, and a high margin of safety. Thanks for you help Mike.