Help Me Design my sump

[nbd13]

Hey guys i need to design my sump for my new tank.

i am thinking of the demensions, 48x36x18-20 (LWH)

now i am thinking of four main compartments,

1. for where my drain pipes drop down. they are 2" pipes so i was thinking a 12x12x9 (LWH)

then this would overflow into another compartment,

2. A spot for a BK 300 internal, now the demension Madison gave me to be safe are 17x20x27 (LWH) he also said i need about 8" of water for it to be perfect.

i was thinking of making an area about 20x20x8 (LWH)

then this would overflow into another compartment

4. it will have my zeo reactors, i need 2 of them. and then soem LR to help decrease the bubbles.

i do NOT have a clue on the demensions of this compartment as this will be the last of my worries.

then this will overflow into the last compartment

3. then the last compartment will be for a bulkhead to be drilled in the side a 2" one to accomadate my sequence dart return pump.

now i was thinking it will have a 90 degree elbow on it to suck from the bottom. i am think of a small compartment maybe 12x12x7.5 (LWH)


what do you guys think?

Edward if you see this thread and haev a second if you could draw a simple pic using that VISIO thing that would be cool, if not its alright.

i just want to make sure i cover everything.

i also figure that this way i will have a big cusion for the extra water draining in a power outage.

anyway let me know what you think.

i want to make sure i can fit my BK 300 internal in there.

thanks again!

Nick

[nbd13]

Alright this is what i am thinking,



now i will give you the height of each overflow,

1. 8.5" high

2. 8" high

3. well is actually how high the baffle will be to the reutrn section (4)

it will be 7.5" high

what do you guys think?

do you see any problems?

thanks!

Nick

[nbd13]

anyone?

thanks!

Nick

[invincible569]

Edward if you see this thread and haev a second if you could draw a simple pic using that VISIO thing that would be cool, if not its alright.

Nick

Nick, Im not good with designing sumps.. Can you draw out another pencil diagram of the sump from its side instead of top down? I dont understand how the 4 compartments will have water into them. I want to make sure I get it right unless you want to use a step down water design.

[nbd13]

It will be a step down design. if you look up a post or 2 i give the heights on the baffles, the water will step down like you said.

Nick

[Detritivore]

where does the BK overflow to?

[GTR]

where does the BK overflow to?

I think it should overflow into the same chamber it sits in, otherwise some way to equalize the flow will be needed. But that would depend on the flow comming from the tank.

Nick... do you know what the volume of the water flowing from the tank in a power outage will be?
In my past designs the hardest thing to calculate is where the water level in the chambers will be. Depending on your flow that level above the damn wall could be considerably higher than you might expect. I usually make them to high but that can be fixed, to low and you'll need to add a "bandaid" sheet to raise the level.

SteveU

[Detritivore]

i drew a pic of your sump on AutoCAD, but i saved it in pdf format and i dont know how to attach a pdf file...anyone know?

[fkadir]

Nick, I think its better that compartment no.1 underflows to no.2 instead of overflowing. Face the BK pump intake towards the underflow and you will be effectively feeding the BK will 100% 'dirty' water from the tank. Overflowing will just give a chance for the surface loving proteins to escape the skimmer. Hope you get what I mean.

[nbd13]

Steve- it will overflow into the same chamber it sits in. the pump will be sitting right where "fresh" water from the tank overflows the first section (1) and then it will be sucked up byt he red dragon. the output of the skimmer will be directed in the same chamber, but towards the baffle to overflow into section 3.

does that make sense?

in the even of a power outage i am not quite sure how much water will drain, i need to talk to James about this, but i assume about 40 gallons maybe.

but i think this sump will hold more than that. i mean we are tlaking about 135 gallons full and i will only use maybe 50-75 gallons of that. so i think i should be ok, but i will make sure to ask James exactly how much will drain into the tank next time i talk to him.

Jonah- THANKS! i have no clue how to transfer it though......

any one else have any thoughts? i am just going to get this thing built locally out of 1/2" acrylic and it will have euro bracing.

what do you think?

thanks!

Nick

[nbd13]

Farish- thats a great idea!

so do i make all of section 1 go into section 2? and then have all of section 2 go into section 3?

see i was thinking of having some water go from 1 to 2 and from 1 to 3.

but i like you idea of having all the water go from 1-2 then 2-3 and then 3-4.

do you guys think i should go with what Farish says?

do you think my 2 2" drains coudl keep up with my sequence return pump? i estimate it to be about 2000 to 2250 gph of flow that i will get out of my return pump. On reef central that calculator thing says that a 2" bulkhead will do about 2400 gph.

so with 2 of them i should be alright right?

i just want to make sure that i can get water through the sump fast enough so that the return pump doesnt run ot of water.

ALSO how high should i make that first baffle so it will underflow? i mean is 4" off the ground good enough? or too much? or how high off the bottom should that baffle be?

i was thinking of making that first baffle about 12" high that way when the power went off water could overflow that baffle if needed.

what do you think? i really like Farish idea about making the water go under, but how high off the bottom should it be?

ALSO do you think that my baffle height for the rest of the baffles is fine?

i want the section with the BK in it (2) to have 8" of water in it.

i think the height of the rest of the baffles is fine right?

PLEASE let me know what i should do i suck at designing sumps, haha!

anyway let me know how high off the ground it should be (baffle number 1) and then if i should make any other adjustments.

thanks again everyone!

Nick

[fkadir]

IMHO, 1 should underflow only to 2 so that the skimmer has first claims to the dirty water. I think 3" off the ground should be more than sufficient for a 2200GPH flow considering the length of the baffle is 12". Lets see what the rest says..

[invincible569]

jonah, email me the pdf and I will post it for you. I need to see a visual of what you guys are talking about. [email protected]

[nbd13]

alright thanks, i think i mind as well make it 4" off the bottom just to be safe.

what do you think?

thanks!

Nick

[fkadir]

Too high a gap and the microbubbles from the durso will not be contained in chamber 1 effectively.