10g sump for my 29g reef...input needed!

[fish_king_25]

Hey guys, so I have decided against my HOB refugium and HOB skimmer after my tank crash and I am going to put the extra time and effort into doing things differently this time, and have gone with a 10g sump/fuge instead. it is going to be a standard 3 chamber skimmer/fuge/return setup, and I have aquired

10g tank
custom made baffles (picking up today)
Cadlights Pls-100 skimmer (should arrive by the weekend)
fuge light
lifereef overflow box

I still need my lines, silicone, return pump and I believe that is it??

Can anyone give me some direction with what kind of pump to do with? and what type of silicone I should be using to glue the baffles into the sump tank. ( I was leaning towards a mag 5 because I've read so many posts and threads and it seems as if the majority of the sump community uses a mag pump lol)

I was going to do 1" PVC with a ball valve on the return side to control the flow, what do you think of this idea?

Is my thought process okay and have I forgotten anything else I may need?

 

[Raffle King]

Well if you are going with a mag 5 then the outlet is half inch no need for one inch, go with half inch pvc all the way and add in your ball valve and a union so if you have any problems with pump you can disconnect real fast and fix or clean.

 

[dirtycontour]

I think the mag5 might be overkill. A mag3 with 4' head loss will still give you more then 10x turnover.

 

[redfishbluefish]

Looks like you have a nice plan.



The silicone you want is GE Silicone I (definitely not the II)


The one thing I’d change in your plan is to drill the tank and put in a Glass-Holes overflow kit. The kit comes with everything including the drill bit to drill the glass. My experience with external overflow boxes include stories of floods.

 

[jgraz]

I agree on the Mag 5. Thats gonna be alot of pump for your system. The 3 would be great and no need to dial back. If you are going to be using the pump for other things off a manifold then the 5 would be good though. Also def take pauls suggestion and drill the tank. The glass holes kits are great and very quiet to boot.

If you are not gonna have a ATO then make sure you leave enough room in the return section to handle at least 1-2 days of evaporation, that way you don't risk running dry. The 10 gal sump i did was great but the fuge section is rather small don't expect anything more the macro in it though. The usable space goes pretty quick after you make room for the pump and a skimmer. I think the fuge section in my 10 gal sump is only 5" wide after barely squeezing my skimmer in and leaving enough evap room for 1 full day. Use the thinnest glass you can find. 1/4" baffles will ultimatly kill an extra inch of space that you will wish you had.