180g Sump

[crashinc25]

Picked up an acrylic 180g today. It looks bad; it's cracked (fixed and holds), it's crazed, & it's just not pretty.
It's going to be used as a sump.
So... I would like a sump/refuge combo for SALTWATER. I also want enough room for pumps or a skimmer, or reactor or whatever.
Here is the tank. How would YOU split it up?

Thanks in advance,
Rob

 

[amehel0]

my design is based on a low tech system. so no calcium kalk sul phos reactors or any other type of equipent. just a skimmer and light. for the sump make sure that slkimmer is last in line so as to leave all tha yummy crap for the bioballs and fuge.

 

[crashinc25]

Do the compartment walls need to be specific heights/distances from the floor/ceiling?
20% Bio / 25% Water Treatment / 35% Refugium / 20% Return? or just 25% each compartment.

 

[dmopar74]

ive always heard to have the water to go through the skimmer before anything else, otherwise your bio is just going to breakdown crap that couldve been removed ahead of time by the skimmer, causing higher nitrates.

 

[amehel0]

ive always heard to have the water to go through the skimmer before anything else, otherwise your bio is just going to breakdown crap that couldve been removed ahead of time by the skimmer, causing higher nitrates.

skimmer removes majority of bad and a few goods. fuges only remove bad stuff. the idea is that the fuge will eat up majority of crap so the fuge benefits and grows more alowing better filtration the skimmer needs less maintainence.

 

[crashinc25]

So fuge before skimmer? Do I need a skimmer with this size sump?
Any time-tested results for refugium contents?

 

[amehel0]

skimmers remove something no ther filter system can do in such efficiency and that is proteinous matter whichh usually turns into ammonia nitrites and nitrates. but it also removes a few good components. which is why more and more people are using seriously large fuges which dont remove good stuff and if used on large skale do same thing a skimmer does.

 

[crashinc25]

I assume that mean I don't really need a skimmer.
Here is my design so far.
Comments or changes are welcome.

 

[amehel0]

yes but skimmer is there because most people dont have 4x4x2 fges packed with caulpera and people that live in cali (i assume ca is cali) arent aloud caulpera. fuge isnt just live rock fuge need thickets of caulpera which remove the stuff not jsut the lr. and id have a skimmer for back up.