Sump/Fuge design approval? 55gal

J

jacobzking

Here's what I came up with, I just wanted to run it past you guys before I ordered glass, etc....

Tank is 48" long, 18" tall and 12" wide.

-I plan on just dumping a hose in to the intake over the skimmer (i gave my self a little extra room for the skimmer (18") but it needs at least 12".. I might reduce that area a little
-the first baffle will be 10" to keep enough water for the skimmer, second baffle will be a 12" tall piece of glass raised about an inch off the floor (total of about 13" tall. SHOULD I MAKE THIS A LITTLE TALLER SO I CAN KEEP THE SUMP MORE FULL, TO ALLOW FOR EVAPORATION UNTILL I GET A TOP OFF SYSTEM?
-then another 10" baffle
-then a 20" fuge section (few inches of DSB, some live rock and culerpa)
-lastly a 10" baffle that leads to my return pump

I want the fuge in the middle so I dont have to mess with extra plumbing, a T, valves, etc.

Any problems with this set up?
 
Personally I would have the first baffle at 11 inches so that the water falls into the bubble trap then the third at 10 and the last one at 9... JMHO... But if u have the 1st at 10 for the skimmer then 9 inches for the third and 8 for the final baffle
 
Ok, will do. Also, when I add water and water evaporates changing the water level... The only part that would fluctuate in water levels would be the first section, right?

I just don't want water to evaporate and cause the return section to quit getting water pushed in and have the pump run dry.
 
To be clear, the area that will show visual change due to evaporation is the return section, as Brett stated. Not the first section. You will need to manually add freshwater to replace what has evaporated daily, if not twice a day.

Making the middle baffle taller won't help in any form. It will simply be a wall. You can make all your baffles the same height, and lift the middle one 1.5" off the base of the aquarium.

Keep in mind how much water your skimmer is designed to stand in. If it is supposed to be in 8" of water and your baffle is 10" tall, you'll need a skimmer stand that is 2" tall to get it at the right depth.
 
I usually put the baffles closest to the pump as well. Not sure it really matters either way though.
I would also make the skimmer section around the size needed for the skimmer so not to waste space.
If you have an auto top off then a small return section is not bad but i usually like to have my return section as big as possible with in reason so that if my top off water runs out I know it will last a over a day with out running dry.

I also left you a message this afternoon.
 
BUILT :) wasnt as hard as i thought, got the 1/4" glass from that place in The Colony (hurricane glass.com) for $41. I used the Aqueon aquarium silicione ($20 for 2 little tubes). everything is installed and ready to go. the silicone says wait 48 hours before adding water, so I'll give it a shot in a couple days. i put all the baffles in last night and everything feels pretty sturdy.

i've got a 15" area for the skimmer, 18" for the fugue, then 9" for return. I plan on doing an auto top off ASAP.

for the fuge, I guess just toss about an inch of miracle mud in there, then add some live rock and culrpa/chaeto mix with a light... is that it?
 
It's off how I met ur mother lol... He says legendary alot... I misspelled it the first time lol
 
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