Reefroom ‘A’ Continued: The Sump

OK, lets talk about the second major component of this build; the sump.

There are infinite ways that you can design a sump. From a tub bought at WalMart, to an AutoCad-ed model out of starfire glass! Your options are endless. So for me, it had to be a well thought-out concept that will incorporate many ideas learned through my shortcomings and experiences.

There are three major ideas that were brought together during conceptual design. I wanted a sump that will service 3 tanks; Frag/Holding, Main Display, and Second Display. I also required that it needed to be extremely efficient at nutrient export, utilizing many methods that are available today. And finally, it had to maximize space and water travel within the footprint.

So… how does the design look like? Well here is a blueprint.

Just like the rest of my builds, the sump is made out of 1/2″ thick cast acrylic with support braces. Its dimensions are 60″x55″x15″ for a rough total of 200 gallons. There are six compartments in the design: overflow, mechanical filtration, live rock area, benthic zone, refugium, and baffle/return. Here is a snapshot of these areas:

So how does it all tie in? It is all about directional flow. This design not only maximizes the space given, but it also allows the water to be channeled through different filtering areas. By accomplishing directional flow, you are also maximizing contact with these filtering agents, thus increasing water quality. Name of this design? I like to call it the Canyon Sump Design, or CSD for short.

In the next picture, you will see how water is being channeled.

At first, the water overflows into the first compartment. This overflow will service 3 tanks, so it needed a lot of room. That water is then being directed at the mechanical filtration. This area will include a skimmer, carbon and phos media reactor (for now). From there, things flow into the first live rock section. The plan is to accumulate around 150 lbs of live rock specifically in that area. Furthermore, the flow will push water into the benthic zone area. If you haven’t been familiarized with this form of filtration, please read Steve Tyree’s cryptic zone methods or his Gradient Concept. Nevertheless, this area in this sump is going to have a high population of turnicates, sponges, filter feeders, worms, and many micro-fauna.  From there, we will filter our water through the second set of area of live rocks. Couldn’t get enough? No. If it is up to me, I would have tonnes of rock in my system. Continuing, the baffle area will remove the bubbles (if there are any, since the travel time to this point is very long), and then returned back into the display tank.  And if that all wasn’t enough, there is a 100 gallon refugium that is going to culture the best macro algae that you can find. It will be a breeding ground for seahorses, pipefish, pods, shrimp, and a haven for delicate soft coral species.

So are you ready to see the actual pictures? Well here you go….

The last picture is a cardboard box version of the sump…… or not.

Now onto the compartments:

Overflow

Mechanical Filtration Area (and return for frag/display 2 tanks)

100 gallon refugium with one inlet and two outlets (where the bulkheads are). The back of that one pane is painted black to diminish light penetration from the refugium light bulbs. That is where the benthic zone is.

Benthic zone

Second live rock area, baffles, and return area

Now onto some pictures of the complete sump:

Don’t mind the green tape. I was welding the braces at the time

So there you all go… the sump, or the CSD. If you have any comments or questions, please post them here. Also if you enjoyed this post, surscribe to our blog by entering your email address below.

My next post will be discussing the makings of.. THE BIG BERTHA… or whatever we figure out to call it (our display tank). Until then, happy reefing reefnecks!