plywood sump for my 300

[rotccapt]

hi all im about to dive into my 300 gallon build and i am working out my sump design. this is my first wet sump, my last sump was a wet/dry drawer filter. due to the fact that my stand for the tank is also going to be a dresser my real estate for the sump is limited.

so i will be using the leftover plywood from building the tank to build the sump. the outside dimensions will be 12.75 inches wide, 66.5 inches long, and 19.25 inches deep. the sides will be made out of 3/4 inch plywood. the bottom of the sump will be a solid piece but the sides will be made up of two pieces with a 4 inch board overlapping the seam. all the baffles will be made from 1/2 inch ply.

for mechanical filtration i am planning to use two 7 inch diameter filter socks im thinking 100 micron should work. next section will be where i have my heaters, im not quite sure they will work there but i can try it. then there will be my pot scrubbers and a chamber for crushed coral or aragonite to help with ph buffering. after this chamber there is another set of baffles which is where the seam on the side of the sump will be then the pump. i might add some foam to this last set of baffles as a water polisher but not sure yet.

so what do you all think of the design?

 

[creativityasaweapon]

This will work, but your last two baffles will keep the water level too high and your scrubbies will be submerged. Those set your operating water level, just drop 'em a bit and you're golden as far as I can tell. If you need the last baffles that high to keep the ply seam together, I would opt for ceramic instead of scrubbies. They'll do a better job at bio when they are submerged. Hope this helps a bit.

 

[rotccapt]

i though that scrubbies were better fully submerged i know a lot of people use them in canisters. the other thought i had was k1 media. i might also put some floating plants in that section to help with nitrates

 

[creativityasaweapon]

Nope, scrubbies do best in a wet dry environment. They'll work submerged, but you won't be getting the best out of them. k1 is great as long as you can get the water flowing enough to create movement in the media. This is pretty easily done with large air pumps. If you went that route, plants wouldn't work well considering the amount of flow through that section. Can you drop those last baffles down at all?

 

[wow_it_esploded]

Scrubbies will work fine submerged. They have plenty of surface area and that surface area is available no matter where the scrubbies are. They are inexpensive, easy to find, and do not require cleaning (maybe a rinse every year, but that's it). Ceramics, however, are expensive as hell, and require cleaning because the small pores of the media that determine the effective surface area of the media clog quickly with dead bacteria and waste.

Scrubbies are perfect. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

 

[creativityasaweapon]

Ceramics are definitely expensive. As far as the scrubbies go, all I was saying is that a wet-dry environment is a bit better for bacterial growth on them. But they will definitely work. I have a sump where mine are mostly submerged and everything has been perfect. There are just "better" medias for different setups.

Any updates on the sump?

 

[wow_it_esploded]

I would argue that scrubbies are better media than ceramics in sumps because of the fact that their surface area will not be all but lost in 1-2 months on the job.

 

[rotccapt]

thanks for the info on the scrubbies, but i was looking around and i am leaning towards poret foam. i know it is expensive but it will replace all the scrubbies, and the filter socks and simplify the build. also since my sump is only 11 inches wide i can use the 13x19 sheets which are cheaper. so im thinking about using a 4 inch block of 10ppi and a 2 inch block of 20ppi. im thinking that i could also create a plant section to help with nitrates. from my research most people dont have to clean the foam for at least 6 months which is another plus.

so what do you think i will draw up a new sump soon.