Sump and Skimmer questions

[sgrien]

Ok. Please try to bear with me, this is going to be long...
I am in the planning stages of a new reef setup and I'm trying to get
a handle on some plumbing concerns. Before I ask a potentially dumb
question, here is my plan thus far:

75 Gal. AGA with their new "MEGAflow" overflow rated at 600 GPH.
Old 45 Gal. AGA to be used as sump/refuge.
Considering Red sea's Berlin classic in sump skimmer with RIO 2500

I've done considerable research but my head is spinning with all the
possibilites.

My questions:

1. Considering I will have approx. 5' of head for the return, and to
not exceed the 600 GPH overflow rating, it looks like I will use a Mag
7 as a return (rated at 420 gph). The Rio 2500 is rated at 748 gph.
Does this configuration pose a problem since the skimmer will have a
higher flow rate than my return?

2. The sump will be partitioned into 3 sections; overflow from tank
area, refuge area, and return area. Into which partition should the
skimmer be placed? before or after the refuge? and how much space
should I plan for the placement of the skimmer? will the output of the
skimmer just dump back into the same partition?

3. As far as baffles are concerned, where will I need them? Before
refuge, after refuge or both?

Thanks for any help you might offer and I apologize for the length of
this post.

-Scott

[Ross Bagley]

(sgrien) writes:

> 1. Considering I will have approx. 5' of head for the return, and to
> not exceed the 600 GPH overflow rating, it looks like I will use a Mag
> 7 as a return (rated at 420 gph). The Rio 2500 is rated at 748 gph.
> Does this configuration pose a problem since the skimmer will have a
> higher flow rate than my return?

See if you can use a different pump brand for the skimmer. Rio pumps
have a nasty habit of melting down and releasing highly toxic burnt
potting material/electrical insulation/electrical parts into your tank.
You owe your tank better than a Rio.

Second, skimmers tend to provide significant backpressure to their
feed pumps. I highly doubt that the pump will be able to push its
full zero head volume through the skimmer.

Finally, there's no problem if the flow through of the skimmer is more
than the flow through the whole sump. As long as the pump->drain
locations of the skimmer don't cause an unintentional reversal of
current, this shouldn't be an issue.

> 2. The sump will be partitioned into 3 sections; overflow from tank
> area, refuge area, and return area. Into which partition should the
> skimmer be placed? before or after the refuge? and how much space
> should I plan for the placement of the skimmer? will the output of the
> skimmer just dump back into the same partition?

What's the goal of the refugium? If you want the refugium to be a
source of natural food for the main tank, the skimmer should go before
the refugium so that it doesn't skim out plankton that you want pumped
up to the main tank. If the refugium is more of a nutrient sink
(macroalgae) and/or a temporary low stress environment for fish from
the main tank, it doesn't really matter where the skimmer goes.

> 3. As far as baffles are concerned, where will I need them? Before
> refuge, after refuge or both?

I'd put baffles on both ends. Isolate the sandy bottom of the
refugium from the pumps and turbulent flow of the intake side.

> Thanks for any help you might offer and I apologize for the length
> of this post.

We don't bite (that much). Your post was moderate to short in
length, so you've got a while before you get into long post
territory.

Regards,
Ross

-- Ross Bagley http://rossbagley.com/rba
"Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature...
Life is either a daring adventure or nothing." -- Helen Keller

[sgrien]

(sgrien) wrote in message >...
> Ok. Please try to bear with me, this is going to be long...
> I am in the planning stages of a new reef setup and I'm trying to get
> a handle on some plumbing concerns. Before I ask a potentially dumb
> question, here is my plan thus far:
>
> 75 Gal. AGA with their new "MEGAflow" overflow rated at 600 GPH.
> Old 45 Gal. AGA to be used as sump/refuge.
> Considering Red sea's Berlin classic in sump skimmer with RIO 2500
>
> I've done considerable research but my head is spinning with all the
> possibilites.
>
> My questions:
>
> 1. Considering I will have approx. 5' of head for the return, and to
> not exceed the 600 GPH overflow rating, it looks like I will use a Mag
> 7 as a return (rated at 420 gph). The Rio 2500 is rated at 748 gph.
> Does this configuration pose a problem since the skimmer will have a
> higher flow rate than my return?
>
> 2. The sump will be partitioned into 3 sections; overflow from tank
> area, refuge area, and return area. Into which partition should the
> skimmer be placed? before or after the refuge? and how much space
> should I plan for the placement of the skimmer? will the output of the
> skimmer just dump back into the same partition?
>
> 3. As far as baffles are concerned, where will I need them? Before
> refuge, after refuge or both?
>
> Thanks for any help you might offer and I apologize for the length of
> this post.
>
> -Scott

After revisiting Marc's excellent site http://www.melevsreef.com
I now understand that the skimmer is placed before the refuge and
baffles will need to be placed before the refuge but I still need some
help with the other questions. Thanks Marc!

Scott

[Marc Levenson]

You mentioned head pressure in your first message, but you didn't take it into account when you were
looking at pumps.

http://www.marinedepot.com/a_ph_danner.asp

At 5', you're going to get 420 gph, if there is nothing interfering with the flow. Add a couple of
elbows in the line, and your flow is reduced even more. You might instead use a Mag 9.5 instead, and add
a bleeder line to return some of the water back to your sump if the tank can't keep up.

http://www.melevsreef.com/return.jpg

The only place you need a bubble trap is before the return, because you don't want bubbles entering the
return pump.

Marc


sgrien wrote:

> (sgrien) wrote in message >...
> > Ok. Please try to bear with me, this is going to be long...
> > I am in the planning stages of a new reef setup and I'm trying to get
> > a handle on some plumbing concerns. Before I ask a potentially dumb
> > question, here is my plan thus far:
> >
> > 75 Gal. AGA with their new "MEGAflow" overflow rated at 600 GPH.
> > Old 45 Gal. AGA to be used as sump/refuge.
> > Considering Red sea's Berlin classic in sump skimmer with RIO 2500
> >
> > I've done considerable research but my head is spinning with all the
> > possibilites.
> >
> > My questions:
> >
> > 1. Considering I will have approx. 5' of head for the return, and to
> > not exceed the 600 GPH overflow rating, it looks like I will use a Mag
> > 7 as a return (rated at 420 gph). The Rio 2500 is rated at 748 gph.
> > Does this configuration pose a problem since the skimmer will have a
> > higher flow rate than my return?
> >
> > 2. The sump will be partitioned into 3 sections; overflow from tank
> > area, refuge area, and return area. Into which partition should the
> > skimmer be placed? before or after the refuge? and how much space
> > should I plan for the placement of the skimmer? will the output of the
> > skimmer just dump back into the same partition?
> >
> > 3. As far as baffles are concerned, where will I need them? Before
> > refuge, after refuge or both?
> >
> > Thanks for any help you might offer and I apologize for the length of
> > this post.
> >
> > -Scott
>
> After revisiting Marc's excellent site http://www.melevsreef.com
> I now understand that the skimmer is placed before the refuge and
> baffles will need to be placed before the refuge but I still need some
> help with the other questions. Thanks Marc!
>
> Scott

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