Designed sump for 370g, how did I do??

[David R]

here's a rough sketch up of how I think the sump should look;

*click to open full size*

Yeah I haven't tried Google Sketch up yet, MSPaint will do the job for now...

I like the idea of having both submerged and exposed media, and this is about the only way to do it with the low height of the tank. It will also also keep the head down for the return pump, it should be less than 90cm.

The filter wool will be in an draw that can slide out to make it easy to get to for cleaning, and when the draw is out it will leave a gap to get to the foam, which hopefully won't need cleaning so often.

I'm unsure about how big to make the compartments for the media. The tank is about 370g/1400L, but isn't going to be overstocked with huge monsters (thread about stocking etc here). I was thinking on making the chamber for the bioballs is 40cm tall, 30cm long and 48cm wide, about 57 litres. As for the submerged media (noodles, pumice of bioballs?) I'm not sure on how much I'll need. Obviously more is better, but only to a point.

The drip system is a long-term project and won't be set up now, but I'm future-proofing the sump by adding a drain for when it is up and running. For the time being, I've worked out that the water level will be about 25cm with the pump running, which leaves another 25cm for water to drain from the tank when the pump is switched off. 25cm height gives ~70L, which is about 3cm depth in the tank, so that should be plenty, I'm not expecting more than about 1cm to drain back from the tank.

So, suggestions? feedback? Scrap it and start again?

 

[cypher1024]

Why not move the drip area down into that last part of the sump over the heaters? It would mean you wouldn't need the secondary pump, and would make your system much more compact.

 

[David R]

Thats a good idea, but with the water level it would mean only half the media would be above water, and even that would be submerged when the pump is switched off.
Space isn't really a problem as the filter will be in the garage behind the tank so it can pretty much take up as much room as needed, so long as it doesn't stick out more than a metre from the wall.

If I got rid of the baffles I could make the box twice as long and have both submerged media and exposed. Will draw something up to see how it looks.

 

[David R]

like this:

Drilling the drip tray to get the flow rate just right will be a bit of trial and error, but not impossible, this design would give a good mix of submerged and exposed media, and would be a lot more simple than the first design. The question is how much media is needed??

 

[David R]

I've done a more accurate drawing of the above plan on paper, and I'm still stuck on how big to make the chamber for bio media. Its going to be 42cm high and 48cm wide, so its only the length that will vary.
30cm = 60L media
40cm = 80L
50cm = 100L
60cm = 120L

Planning on using bioballs for the above water stuff, and either bioballs or noodles for the submerged stuff.

 

[TheCanuck]

your water level is a little high. I like the first drawing.

It is over complicated but really is a great design. If you could make it happen i suggest the first one. Why be traditional?

 

[bomber]

I like this sketch. Now put it to use.

 

[David R]

your water level is a little high. I like the first drawing.

It is over complicated but really is a great design. If you could make it happen i suggest the first one. Why be traditional?

The water level in those pics isn't to scale, but based on the level I run in my current sump using the same pump anything under about 25cm deep can lead to the pump making a whirlpool and sucking in air.

I still like the first one from a design point of view, but the cost of the second pump and more difficult construction makes me lean more towards the second one.

 

[Scorponok]

The first one will be too noisy with the bioball chamber splashing water back into the sump.

Go with the second one but fill everything below water level with ceramic rings and above water bioballs.

 

[David R]

The first one will be too noisy with the bioball chamber splashing water back into the sump.

I probably should have mentioned that the sump will be on the other side of a wall in the garage, so noise isn't a problem.