ughh, sorry. i meant i don't really know what i am going to do in general..i found a 20 gallon long tank for my sump and the RO/DI system that i posted was sold. i was so mad. now i have to save up my money to get this one that is on ebay (yeah i know, don't trust them) and i said that too, but it is from bulk reefers and they are just selling it on ebay. it's brand new and it's 130.00. or i might just have burks or richard order me one (if that's ok) i have 50.00 right now, but i don't know what i am going to do for the other 80 dollars..when i do get the RO/DI system i am going to set it up in my basement's sink. but i'll just have to lug it upstairs haha.

oh, when i do get my tank for the sump how do you think i should set it up? i was thinking maybe in the first part i would put carbon or something in there and the second part being my refugium and the final section with liverock...i saw it on reefcentral but i didn't know if that would be ok. what do you think would be best??

thanks

IMO.... there is no one "right" way... depends on what you are trying to accomplish-- most sumps usually have 3 "areas"-- skimmer, refugium, return... although there are many variations on this basic theme... some custom sumps have a mixing area for calcium reactor effluent or other things.

I personally just occasionally run carbon using a filter bag containing my media-- I hang the bag so the water enterinng my sump flows through the bag.

You can put rock in a refugium... if you put some in the return section you might "kill" off some of the life as this is typically where you add your make up water for evaporation and/or chemicals.... the level in this section is the low point of the sytem and will drop as your water evaporates.

Here is a basic sump system made from a 20 gallon long tank... www.melevsreef.com/acrylics/sumps/glass/

There is at ton of other sump info at the above site-- if you click around you will learn a bunch more then I could go over in this post.

I personally don't use a series of baffles but just a single divider for each section (3/16" glass cut at lowes)-- since I run relatively low flows for the sumps I've run, I've never needed them as microbubbles really aren't a problem if you keep your sump flow low.

My old sump was about 20 gallons with a 29 gallon refugium (seperate tank) draining into this... my total flow was about 250 GPH...

My current sump is my old 135 g tank (in my basement)-- 3 chamber... skimmer on left, 50 gallon refugium in center, return section on right-- about 90 gallon water volume running about 700 GPH through it-- I have a little bit of microbubbles where the water enters the sump... they disipate before they get near my return pump-- they do cause a slight salt creep problem though... I also plan on adding my old 29 gallon fuge as a fuge to this system too.

For you... if this is your first sump then you might want to set up a tank mock up in your garage or basement and test it out. with freshwater.. if it is not to your liking you can always cut out the old caulk with a razor blade and move your baffles and try again...

If you have room you could alway add a second fuge--- I've even seen some "display" fuges around

If you have any specific questions just ask.. like everyone I have an opinion on things. My methods may or may not be any better then others... once again, there is no one right way..

HTH...

ok, well i got a 20g long tank yesterday fpr my sump, but i don't know all of the stuff that i need... i know that i need sand and algae for my refugium and plexiglass or whatever to divide it up into sections...but what else??

thanks

Overflow

PVC piping, bends, glue, etc

Return pump (Rio 2100+ would work)

Plexiglass/acrylic

Sand

Macro Algae

Light (clip on reptile style with a daylight bulb 5500k+)

ok.....do you know where i could get this stuff?? i know to get the plexiglass at lowes and i found this person on craigslist that is selling macroalgae for $10 a bag..but where should  get everything else......i don't know when i am going to get it because my dad is going back to school this week and he has to spend alot of money on his stuff and my school fees and stuff cost alot...so i don't know when i could get it.

thanks

I can spare some chaeto (for free) if you need it-- I have a giant blob of it in my fuge.

Everything else costs money-- PVC fittings/primer/glue don't cost a whole lot-- but it can add up

Plexiglass will work but silicone caulk bonds better to glass-- Lowes sells 3/16" thick glass panes and they can cut it to size for you.

For that sized sump I personally would go lower flow then the RIO 2100-- for 4 ' height that will put out about 360 GPH which is kind of alot for that sized sump (IMO).

I like low flow-- and would probably go with a mag 2 pump which will move about 125 GPH at 4 feet of height.

For that flow you can run 3/4" PVC  for your plumbing or even a combination of PVC and 3/4" ID vinyl hose--- this is also available at Lowes/Home Depot/Menards... Lowes is the only hardware store I know that still cuts glass for you.

However you go for the sump, I urge you to test it outside before you install it... you will want a reserve volume in the sump (for the water in the pipes that will drain down when the pump shuts off) so don't make the dividers go all the way to the top of the 20 gallon tank.

ok, thanks. i don't really know how to put it together once i get everything.....well kinda, but not all of it. i know how to do the refugium, but what about the pumps? where do i put them? and what does PVC mean?? is it like a portable vaccuum cleaner? haha

thanks

bump.....

The pump would go in your sump/fuge at the very end of it to pump the water back into the tank.

PVC is the white piping you see on a lot of tanks. Cheap, easy to work with.

Most of the parts can be found on eBay, Craigslist, here, and the local fish stores.

i know this might sound weird..but if i brought my tank into OT with all the stuff would you and richard help me set it up? i could pay you if you want...i just don't want to mess it up haha

thanks