Sump and Plumbing for my 535. Need help

[mrrobxc]

Hi Guys. I decided to start a new thread specifically for sump questions on the tank I just scored. It’s a 96x48x30 acrylic tank that came with a 125 gallon sump with outside dimensions of 72x20x20 made from a glass Visio tank. The sump is not drilled currently.

I have several questions and I’m sure I’ll have even more as set up time comes around.

Right now, I’m wondering what kind of flow rate I should be using for the pumps. The tank currently has three holes drilled into the top back of the aquarium with 2” openings. There are no overflows. I’m assuming two of those holes will be for the drain pipes. I’m wondering if I’ll need to drill a forth hole somewhere to have two returns. Not sure.

I’m planning on having two return pumps. I’m wondering flow rate per pump and what brand you guys would recommend. Jebao has come up a lot in my searches. Opinions are welcome.

The sump will sit in the bottom of a 36” tall stand and the water will pump up to the top.

My next question is about the setup of the sump itself. Previous owner placed some baffles but they don’t seem to be placed correctly. The right two chambers are separated by a piece of glass with an inch opening at the bottom and a couple inches opening at the top from the rim. It would seem that water would just flow through the bottom of these two sections and go straight to the return pump. Not sure if that’s how I should keep it. I’ll post a pic of the sump at the end of this thread.

- what type of media do you guys recommend? I’m debating between standard matrix and filter foam or doing a mix of filter foam and k1. Also, why do you prefer one or the other?

- if I do have to remove and redo the baffles, how should I place them depending on the choice of media recommended above?

Lastly...at least for now, should I be running 2” piping throughout the system?

Sorry for sounding so lost. It’s probably because I am. DIY is not my forte.

All hell is appreciated. Thank you.

 

[mrrobxc]

First pick shows the three holes drilled with bulkheads. Holes are 2” in diameter. Weird that all three are just right of center at the top.

Second picture shows the sump. Notice the baffle separating the right two large chambers. Doesn’t seem right. Maybe I’m tripping.

 

[nzafi]

I have always used biomax but have become a fan of poret foam and marine pure. Neither cheap though. When I was planning a sump I was thinking of using two marine pure blocks of 8x8x4 surrounded by poret foam.

 

[mrrobxc]

Hey guys. Spent a lot of time reading up on various types of setups and wanted a simple setup that works.

Can you guys let me know if this simple setup taken from Swiss tropical is effective? I’m wondering if K1 would make a good replacement for the Poret aqua cubes in the middle.

I’m wondering if I should remove all the baffles currently in the sump now and use port foam blocks as walls separating the chambers instead.

Swiss tropical sump picture is below along with a pic of the current sump. Thanks!

 

[JK47]

Great thread, this will be fun. If you go the K1 route, it’s a commitment with air to keep it moving. Also your baffle have to not allow for the K1 to slip through. They are hard to beat but need to be set up right.

The lesser cost route is to leave the baffles, order a bunch of pond matrix or other bulk submerged media. Use the largest chamber for filter socks.

The overflows are going to be a bit noisy if you go overkill with flow. Your returns can go up and over. I like to drill the roof and use a bulkhead on top. Easier to make a siphon break

 

[JK47]

For flow rate I would try and stick to 4K or less of you want the overflows quiet. The less flow, the more quiet it will be. You can get some nice submersible pumps in the 2k range like Laguna or DC models.

 

[JK47]

View attachment 1297955

The easiest setup to leave the baffles as is:
(right) filter socks. It looks like you can put a couple of the long ones in there.
(Middle) bio media submerged
(Left) pumps/heaters

If you go K1 you will need to modify the baffles and invest in a decent pump.

 

[mrrobxc]

Great thread, this will be fun. If you go the K1 route, it’s a commitment with air to keep it moving. Also your baffle have to not allow for the K1 to slip through. They are hard to beat but need to be set up right.

The lesser cost route is to leave the baffles, order a bunch of pond matrix or other bulk submerged media. Use the largest chamber for filter socks.

The overflows are going to be a bit noisy if you go overkill with flow. Your returns can go up and over. I like to drill the roof and use a bulkhead on top. Easier to make a siphon break

Thank you @jk 47.

When you mentioned to keep the baffles the same and add filter socks to the big side, were you thinking of something like this?

 

[mrrobxc]

Sorry for these ghetto drawings. I don’t have any cool software to make diagrams and figures this will have to do.

Below is the same picture as above with the inclusion of some Poret foam sheets of different porosities to aid in keeping the tank crystal clear. I’m thinking I can include those for even more mechanical after the socks.

Also would like to include some pothos over the middle chambe holding the bio media and also over the area between the Poret Foam I included and the middle baffle.

Would this work?

 

[nzafi]

I would not use poret foam as mechanical. You can get filter socks that go well below the 100 micron level I believe, but most folks stick to over 100 micron otherwise you are changing them too often.

I have only used poret foam for a HMF filter. If you want it to stand up by itself, you will have to go with 4in thick poret which is going to be incredibly expensive you are planning on using it as a wall in your diagram. I think it will cost you like $300-350 for just the foam.

Second, poret foam is very dense and holds a ton of water. If you are planning to use as mechanical it is going to be insanely heavy and difficult to clean out a 24in x 24in x 4in block of poret because of how heavy it is. You will not want to be doing this often.

If you really want your tank water to be crystal clear you would be better off going with a smaller micron sock and then changing them very frequently as they will get blocked. I think some folks go with up to 4 large filter socks.