Sump design - can I make any improvements?

[Oughtsix]

From the way I look, there is no way the bioballs can be in a W/D setup while the sump is running as the tall second baffle means water need to rise up in the first chamber (high enough to submerge the bioballs) before being able to overflow into the second chamber.

+1... you have a wet filter, not a wet dry filter!!!! You are running your bio balls submerged... you might as well not have them!

Let's talk sump strategy for a moment. I like wet/dry sumps for two reasons:
1) Easy maintence.
2) Incredible oxygen exchange.


These are the two concepts I keep in mind when I design a sump. The other factors I look at when designing a sump is how are the commercial sumps designed. Most of the commercial sumps I have looked at appear to be excellent filters!!!! They really only have one major down fall... $$$! So I would recommend looking at the commercial wet/dry filter sump designs and mimicking their design.

So here are the design queues from commercial sumps I would recommend designing a DIY wet/dry sump around:
1) One big chamber for bio balls.
2) Mechanical filtration before the water hits the bio balls.
3) Easy access to the mechanical filtration.
4) Easy access to the pump for maintence.
5) Room to add heaters.
6) If for salt water room to add a protein skimmer... for freshwater delete this option.
7) Let the wet/dry bio balls handle the bio filtration and don't mess with submerged bio media... it is not as efficient.
8) Large empty volume to handle flood capacity from the tank in case of a power outage. (the Bio ball chamber is perfect for this).
8) My personal sump design preference... put air stones under the bio balls to keep a constant supply of oxygen rich fresh air surrounding the bio balls.

My recommendation would be:
1) One large compartment for bio balls and 1 small compartment for the pump.
2) One baffle to contain the bio balls and keep them away from the pump so you can remove the sump easily.
3) No overflow baffles to raise the water level in any compartment.
4) Mechanical filtration
...a) Use a filter pad on top of the drip plate to catch all of the debris.
...b) OR add a compartment for filter socks and have it overflow to the drip plate.
5) Run the water level in the sump at around 2 inches above the bottom. This will give you the DRY in wet/dry. It will also give you the majority of the sump volume to handle the overflow from the aquarium during a power outage without the sump flooding.
6) Forget about bio rings and ceramic rings and submerged media. Let the bio balls do what they do best!

So, make one large compartment with an egg crate on the bottom and a baffle on the side to contain the bio balls. Put a drip plate above the bio balls with a filter pad on it.... Done!


Here is the design I like most, two easy to change filter socks, a large bio ball chamber and a pump chamber. This manufacture has adjustable overflow weirs that aren't needed.

Saltwater wet/dry with room for a skimmer:

Simple:

 

[cheekychops]

Thanks everyone for feed back and advice - greatly appreciated.

I am doing some calculations to make sure sump have enough space incase of a power failure. I am planning to have twin standing durso pipes. Would it be ok if the lower pipe is 2" under the water level?

Cheers.

 

[cheekychops]

Bump!! can anyone advice about the water level question?

Also, I have changed the sump design a bit, and have come up with another one, now I am stuck trying to decide which one to go for!!!

 

[Jc1119]

I would suggest reducing the number of baffles and look very hard at lowering the level of the baffles. With tall baffles, you have a high water line, and that reduces the amount of overflow you have for the tank to drain in the event of a power outage. I would also suggest that less is more when it comes to baffles.

However, if you are keeping the baffles, I would suggest a raised baffle as the last one (closest to the pump). This will allow the water to flow under and eliminate the bubbles from water splashing over the last baffle.

Personally, I think you will find your design to be a nightmare to clean. There will be an accumulation of detritus, and it will be a pain to get out of all those small chambers.

^^^ this


I think you'd be very well served to check out some sump designs that utilize filter socks and the least amount of baffles possible.... Preferably none. Nothing wrong with sponges, but socks are very user friendly and filter extremely well depending on your micron rating.



The 75 gallon sump I built for my last tank fluctuates about 2" from on and off, with no baffles and a pair of socks. Very easy to clean and maintain. Simple too. It's the one in my sig.

I've used baffled wet/drys in the past. Now that I've set up a few without any, I'll never go back. I also run both sumps with submerged media and wet/drys with bioballs. Submerged media(Pond Matrix, Substrat pro, etc) in laundry bags is WAY more user friendly than bioballs. Personally, I'll probably never setup a bioball system again. Maintenance is easier with submerged and you need less sump space because the surface area of submerged media is far greater than that of bioballs. Efficiency differences between the two medias is negligible at best.

Your design will work, but over the long haul I think a simpler design will pay dividends.