Equipment - Sump - adjustable wall

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Sump - adjustable wall

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Category: Specialized Discussion
Forum Name: Equipment
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URL: http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=74072
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Topic: Sump - adjustable wall

Posted By: dougandtito
Subject: Sump - adjustable wall
Date Posted: December 18 2014 at 9:44pm

We have an Aqueon three-chamber sump that we're struggling to understand (we're going to finish filling the display tank tomorrow so that it will overflow and start to fill the sump, so we want to be sure we "get" it before we jump in). The sump has an adjustable wall between the first chamber and the center (refugium) chamber. The instructional videos we have seen smugly say to "lift the wall to the top," but it says nothing about how it is supposed to STAY there. There are little ledges on the inside corners of the MIDDLE chamber, but the adjustable wall lives inside the FIRST chamber, so it can't rest on those ledges. Is it simply the water pressure that holds that wall up? Will we have to hold it up with our hands while the sump fills up? Anyone have any experience with/advice about this unit?

Thanks!

Replies:

Posted By: Krazie4Acans
Date Posted: December 18 2014 at 10:00pm

They normally have small thumb screws that you tighten to hold it in place. I've never seen one that just lifted up.

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My ocean.
90g (yup, won it!), 40g, 28g, & 10g Systems
PADI Advanced Open Water
http://utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=63568&title=krazies-nano-paradise" rel="nofollow - Tank Thread:

Posted By: dougandtito
Date Posted: December 18 2014 at 10:31pm

Nope -- no thumb screws or anything else.

Posted By: DMower
Date Posted: December 19 2014 at 12:50am

I located a thread on line that said the flow through the sump will hold it in place. Another person asked the same question and that was the answer.

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150 gal reef with 50 gal sump. Reef Octopus DCS-200 Skimmer. AI Sol Blues.

Posted By: Mark Peterson
Date Posted: December 19 2014 at 9:31am

Does this sound to anyone else like a disaster waiting to happen? Manufacturers make plenty of mistakes. I've seen, and fixed, a lot of those design flaws.

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Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks:
www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244
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Posted By: Krazie4Acans
Date Posted: December 19 2014 at 9:39am

I say put it where you want it and then drill holes and put some Nylon bolts and wing nuts on it to hold it. You can always move it up or down and drill new holes if it's not right. I wouldn't risk it falling over in the sump. Krazie

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My ocean.
90g (yup, won it!), 40g, 28g, & 10g Systems
PADI Advanced Open Water
http://utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=63568&title=krazies-nano-paradise" rel="nofollow - Tank Thread:

Posted By: Mark Peterson
Date Posted: December 19 2014 at 10:45am

A wall of Chaetomorpha works awesome as a bubble trap and a few small live rocks hold it in place. That's why I disregard baffles and use containers, pedestals and hangers(zip ties) to hold things in or up. The plastic box screens used for swamp cooler pumps are awesome for blocking algae from the pump intake and flipped upside down, work well as a pedestal.

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Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks:
www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244
Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member

Posted By: 1stupidpunk
Date Posted: December 19 2014 at 11:44am

I have this same exact sump and havent had any real issues with it. Let the water start to fill the first chamber and then raise the plastic divider up to where you want the water level and the pressure from the water will hold it in place. If the power goes out or you turn off your return pump it will fall down and have to be put back once water flow is turned back on.

If you really dont like it being adjustable you can take a peice of plastic egg crate (cut to desired hieght) and slide it under the lip of the plastic divider.

Posted By: Mark Peterson
Date Posted: December 20 2014 at 2:11pm

dougandtito wrote:

First: This afternoon, while getting our latest dose of water for our tank (which filled it enough to start filling our sump), we were told by our fish store guy that for our refugium we want to lay down a bed of something called Mineral Mud. I have learned and been reminded to take everything our LFS (just learned that acronym! :)) tells us with a grain of salt, so I listened with skepticism, but I do understand some logic in the idea that we'll need iron and other minerals for our refugium plant to thrive. So although we decided NOT to get the Mineral Mud, I wanted to ask in this forum whether there is any truth to the claim that we need something like that.

Second: Our sump has three chambers, with the refugium in the center chamber and a half-wall divided the refugium from the third chamber (where our return pump is housed). How full do we want that sump to be? When the pump is running, should the water in the refugium chamber just reach the top of that half-wall, or would we for some reason want the water to go higher than that? I'm 95% sure that we don't want the refugium water spilling over into the third chamber, and that we want our sump water level to be just below that half-wall when the pump is running, but I'm new enough that I don't trust my hunches and want y'all's advice.

Thanks!

Mineral Mud is a waste of money in my opinion. Here is a micro-image of the stuff that was called Miracle Mud by the company that started the idea years ago. It's mostly silica sand with some organic material mixed in. Some good clean dirt from your back yard could do just as well. Hey, in fact I've done that before. As far as I could tell, it didn't make much difference.

Utah or other Oolitic Sand at the bottom of the Refugium at 1-4" deep with Chaetomorpha growing in the water above is the best use of that area, providing more biofiltration than any other method. As long as water flows through the Chaeto, there is no need for it to tumble. Keep the Chaeto harvested regularly and if Caulerpa is wanted, place it upstream from the Chaeto, otherwise Caulerpa will not get enough to eat and will eventually die off.

As far as the Return Pump area, the pump needs to be placed in a position relative to the water level such that if the drain clogged for some reason the pump would not push enough water up that the display overflows. If automatic top-off is not used, find the level at which during a power outage, the draining water will not overflow the sump. We often use a marker to mark the running level and maximum level.

The positioning of return nozzles is crucial to avoiding a siphon down the return line which would overflow the sump. I recommend setting the top edge of the return nozzles just at the water surface so the water cannot siphon back down much before the siphon breaks.

Aloha,

Mark

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Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks:
www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244
Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member

Posted By: dougandtito
Date Posted: December 20 2014 at 2:21pm

Great advice, Mark. Thanks! I am about to start a new thread in the Tank Threads category with some photos, and of course a couple more questions--hoping the imagery might help make my questions a little easier to understand. :) One of those questions is about the sand I used in the refugium. It wasn't Utah sand, but it was Oolitic live sand we bought from the LFS. There is a spongy filter between the refugium and the third chamber, some sand has already started seeping through, and I'm wondering if we picked sand with too fine a grain and if that's going to cause us any issues.

Posted By: dougandtito
Date Posted: December 20 2014 at 2:28pm

(OK, actually, slow computer, gotta run some errands, so that new-thank thread will show up later tonight probably.)