My stupid sump plans & questions

[ReefingRelapse]

So the title says it all. I've never built a sump before. But Im wanting to put a 5.5g refugium underneath the stand of my running 32g biocube and make a diy overflow above. Im wanting to make a diy overflow over the 3rd chamber of the tank. Im wanting to put baffles in my sump aligned in corners for more chaeto space/ visual appeal

 

Does this overflow idea look like it'd work? Or should I just suck it up and buy a damn overflow box?

 

Any ideas what size I should do for drain and return? And pump size?

 

How should I set the baffles in the sump for optimal performance & minimal air bubbles?

 

Probably have a million more questions but that's it for now. Please excuse the toddler-like drawings

 

 

[ReefingRelapse]

Also I plan on using this in addition to the current biocube pump system in which the rear chambers will be for filter media & skimmer

[JBM]

With a return section that is that small, you will run the pump dry very quickly. 

 

Meaning, all your Evaporation will be noticed in the return section. As designed, you will probably also encounter micro bubbles & dead spots in the sump. 

 

Try for a more traditional sump. 

[ReefingRelapse]

3 hours ago, JBM said:

With a return section that is that small, you will run the pump dry very quickly. 

 

Meaning, all your Evaporation will be noticed in the return section. As designed, you will probably also encounter micro bubbles & dead spots in the sump. 

 

Try for a more traditional sump. 

Thank you for the input, after 2 weeks I thought this was dead. Lol. l'll probably just run the existing biocube chambers for awhile and see how that does. Not sure it's worth the work unless a tank is designed for a sump or hob overflow box

[JBM]

1 hour ago, ReefingRelapse said:

Thank you for the input, after 2 weeks I thought this was dead. Lol. l'll probably just run the existing biocube chambers for awhile and see how that does. Not sure it's worth the work unless a tank is designed for a sump or hob overflow box

 

Extra water volume is always worth the trouble. 

 

I had a nano cube 29, ripped the rear wall out and threw a hob overflow. It went to a 5g bucket that was a makeshift wet dry. 

 

Where there is a will there is a way

[ajmckay]

Agree that extra water volume is pretty much universally a good thing lol...    As well as the fact that such a small return pump chamber will run dry quickly.

 

For the sump I would try to get a 10g in there if possible.  Gives you a lot more flexibility and also a 2 or 3 gallon refugium isn't going to make much of a difference in nutrient export.  A 10g would possibly allow for a decent amount of macro to be housed as a % of total system volume.  Still is probably on the light end though.

 

For the drain, there are a variety of really clever designs - and many of them can be done DIY as well which is nice.  Personally, I'm not sure I trust a HOB style overflow though.  That's just me - I'm sure there are plenty who trust them but in that case I would at least feel more comfortable getting a commercially made unit that's been thoroughly tested and purpose designed.  If you create your own overflow you'll likely need to spend a bit of time customizing whichever design you go with.  Ideally you would drill a hole in the bottom or the back.

 

Now - if you're looking to add a refugium for reasons other than pure nutrient export, then you could consider one of the HOB style ones.  They're super simple to set up and pretty safe too.  It can be a great place to cultivate interest in macroalgaes as well as a place to grow mass amounts of copepods and such.

 

Keep thinking about it though.  Don't rush to make a decision as it's best to have a thorough plan laid out to keep the time, effort, and money spent to a minimum.