Possibly moving to a prefab trigger emerald sump

[pdiehm]

Looking seriously at getting an emerald 39, but there's some questions I have in regard to my current setup

Problem #1: The emerald 39 comes with 1" bulkheads. My current BeanAnimal drains are 1.5" out of 1" bulkheads. I'm left with 2 options.

Option 1: Attach 1.5" pvc to a 1.5" to 1" reducer at the sump intake but I also need to reconfigure the drain path. My drains are on the right side of the tank, the emerald 39 intakes would be on the left side of the box. I would have to cut apart my drains and reroute with a horizontal run, placing the gate valve near the sump to eliminate issues with the horizontal run.

Option 2: since I would have to redesign the drain configuration, just change the piping to 1", leaving the open channel at 1.5". Would need to replace all 3 bulkheads in the tank, and redo the plumbing entirely, but would be able to do it cleaner, and wouldn't take but a few hours to redo the plumbing configuration.

Having said that, I'm not running out today and dropping $500 on a sump, but perhaps if they are on sale on Black Friday, maybe. Even then, it's not something that would be occurring immediately. I'm leaning more toward the emerald 39 than the Ruby 36e for 2 reasons. first, the 39 is 15" wide, vs 18" and fits better in my stand. second, i like how the refugium area of the 39 drains into the return section, vs the ruby elite where the refugium area dumps into the skimmer section.

Problem/Question #2: My tank is 120 gallons, and powered by a Sicce 5.0 return pump as of 10/19. Is 1" drainpipes sufficient to keep quiet? Or remain at 1.5"?

As time goes on, I am seeing a multitude of things I should have done differently. Some I can correct, some I can't.

 

[certain_code]

I am also in a similar situation. My 20 long DIY sump is a little smaller for my recently upgraded 80 gallon. I am thinking of running cheato and don't really have the space since the sump is on the smaller side currently. I am also running a more standard overflow with only one drain and one return. Been hesitant to pull the trigger (no pun) on getting one.

What I would say is convert everything to 1.5" plumbing. It's a do it once and then forget about it kind of situation. I don't think you can go wrong with either option really though. Things will just look much more uniform and you will have a wider flow range on your return if you go .5" up on your plumbing.

In terms of noise, you should be fine with either as well. It is hard to say without knowing your setup full (manifolds, noise prevention, etc) but you should be all set and if anything you would want to maybe go with a larger pump and run a separate drain back into the sump with another gate valve to control flow back into the tank.

As always in this hobby, plan for a size or two larger with equipment so you have more flexibility. Sounds like with either plan though you should be all set.

 

[pdiehm]

i think I'm going to leave things as is. and emulate the Ruby 36 elite design with my own. The cost is a 40 breeder, and some glass baffles.

Just estimates, but the idea is this:

Water drains into an area, boxed in by glass, similar to the elite 36, but without the socks. Fills up the box, goes over a 9" baffle into the skimmer area. Goes over a baffle and under a baffle to the return area. From the return it goes back to the tank with a T to a refugium area in the back. the refugium area flows back into the return section via 13" baffle.

Rough measurements are:

Refugium is 23.75" long x 9.75" wide x 13" high. The wall next to the drain section is 14"
Return is : 23.75" long x 8" wide x 9"H.
Drain area is: 12" long x 8" wide x 9" High, the wall shared with the refugium being 14"
Skimmer area is: 12" long x 9.75" wide x 9" High.

Pieces of 1/4" Glass: 4.

Estimated refugium gallons of just under 14 gallons, and roughly 8.5 gallons in the return section.

I may redo the drain pipes, if anything to make things a little neater, but once I get home, I can work on the final dimensions. Won't be green or red, but will get me (at least in theory) something similar to what I was looking at.

I could also probably make something similar to the elite 39, where the water comes in, to skimmer, then through to a refugium over, under and into the return.

 

[pdiehm]

I am also in a similar situation. My 20 long DIY sump is a little smaller for my recently upgraded 80 gallon. I am thinking of running cheato and don't really have the space since the sump is on the smaller side currently. I am also running a more standard overflow with only one drain and one return. Been hesitant to pull the trigger (no pun) on getting one.

What I would say is convert everything to 1.5" plumbing. It's a do it once and then forget about it kind of situation. I don't think you can go wrong with either option really though. Things will just look much more uniform and you will have a wider flow range on your return if you go .5" up on your plumbing.

I already have 1.5" piping.

 

[certain_code]

I already have 1.5" piping.

Apologies, misread quickly at work.

DIY is always going to give you closer to what you want in terms on configuration and it is what I am currently running. Unfortunately, I never really do well when working with glass and, although functional, it's not really my ideal set up and there is some trivial dialing in I need to constantly do. Not to mention it nearly overflows when the return pump is off :mad:

DIY will certainly be more cost effective as well. You likely will have a hard time getting the adjustable water height and filter sock holders built in but those are really just nice to haves anyways.

Good luck and document your build. Reef2Reef can always use some more sump build ideas and it seems like you have it planned out quite nicely.

 

[pdiehm]

i just mocked up 2. doing it how i described above, gets me just under 12 gallons of fuge space.

mocked up one, drain/skimmer -> Return -> Fuge got me 15 gallons.

Drain/Skimmer area: 10" long x 9" high. I may make a drain box, where the water goes under into the skimmer area...not sure yet (6.8 gallons)
Return: 10 x 10 (7.8 gallons)
Refugium section: 15" wide x 13" tall (14.8 gallons)