Fuge setup

T off the drain it is then. BTW, I will not have a pump in the fuge, probably a small powerhead to get a little flow. Drain and return will be gravity. There will be ball valves on both the drain and return so I can have good control over the turnover. So I will probably put a snail or 3 in there just in case.

I would T the drain from the DT and put a ball valve after the T going into the fuge. No need to place a ball valve on the drain from the fuge to the sump. You can regulate all of the flow via the ball valve letting water into the fuge. Im a fan of always having more drain capacity than flow into the tank. You shouldnt need any powerheads in the fuge if you do it this way.

can someone draw up what you're all thinking so us slower ppl can understand lol.

Actually it sounds like you just about have it narrowed down. Sorry I wasn't in sooner!

Here's how I have my sump setup on my 65g reef. (This was a picture about 3-4 months after the initial cycle. It was clean and new much different looking now after 2 years).

Sorry about the large image...

My 29g sump is setup with 3 sections (most common).
Skimmer-->Return<--Fuge

The DT drains into a sock in the left chamber (behind the skimmer).
Through the bubble trap into the Return chamber.
Return pump is T'd off to the right Fuge chamber. (You can see the T in the center of the image and the 1/2" pipe and ball valve going to the right chamber.
The fuge chamber height is almost the entire height of the 29g tank. It overflows back into the Return chamber.

The center and right chambers are kind of like a closed loop, as some of the water from the fuge will make it back into the fuge, but with water coming from both the right and left chambers, I have no worries.

It also serves to send pods to the DT as well as back into the Fuge. My pod population is very good, even in the coast to coast overflow

I've always personally setup the fuge to be supplied from the return line. My fear of detritus build up in the fuge most likely set me on this path. But I will say that I have seen many successful systems that drain from the DT into the fuge.

lol- your sump is spotless!!! puts mine to shame

I've got the same T in mine tho - on the return it Ts off to the fuge, very nice

Lmao! No doubt spotless. Now though, almost 2 years later it's got coraline spots everywhere and shows it's age.

One thing I will mention, and this is pretty cool.

Where the water empties out of the Fuge and cascades over the glass down to the return section. It acts like an Algae Turf Scrubber. The mix of the Fuge lighting and the water running down it causes algae to grow on the cascading area of the glass. I do clean this every 2-3 weeks to prevent clumps from sliding off into the return area and being pumped back up to the DT and the Fuge.

I never really thought too much about it and them it popped into my head one day that the action is almost identical to how an ATS works.

I'll get some pics when I get a chance this weekend and post them here.

That is exactly what I was trying to describe. Perfect fuge set up!

Originally Posted by Variko

That is exactly what I was trying to describe. Perfect fuge set up!

............perfect! thank you sooooooooo much for sharing this with us daimyo!
this is excellent reference and anyone wanting to set up a fuge can follow this.....hmmmmm....might even sticky this one

looking forward to more of those pics too daimyo

I want this!!!! How about manufacturing them.....and selling the first one to me??

The sump (or any sump for that matter) is relatively cheap to build.

The tank is a used 29g that I got off craigslist. I had 4 pieces of glass cut. 3 are the bubble trap baffles, and the 4th piece was for the fuge, and is almost the full height of the sump (sorry don't remember dimensions exactly).

Anyways, total cost was less than $50 to put this together with the silicone.

I'm going to be putting another one together here soon, and can document it. It will consist of 2 40g breeders. On will be the Sump (drains/skimmer/return) and the 2nd will be the fuge. Th fuge will sit on a pedestal roughly 5" above the height of the sump and drain to it. Actually I'll be doing a build thread once the 300g shows up sometime later this month hopefully.

I'm working on the steel stand design atm in Sketchup. It's going to be a somewhat slow build as we are possibly moving soon, so that will slow everything down.

Originally Posted by Daimyo68

The sump (or any sump for that matter) is relatively cheap to build.

The tank is a used 29g that I got off craigslist. I had 4 pieces of glass cut. 3 are the bubble trap baffles, and the 4th piece was for the fuge, and is almost the full height of the sump (sorry don't remember dimensions exactly).

Anyways, total cost was less than $50 to put this together with the silicone.

I'm going to be putting another one together here soon, and can document it. It will consist of 2 40g breeders. On will be the Sump (drains/skimmer/return) and the 2nd will be the fuge. Th fuge will sit on a pedestal roughly 5" above the height of the sump and drain to it. Actually I'll be doing a build thread once the 300g shows up sometime later this month hopefully.

I'm working on the steel stand design atm in Sketchup. It's going to be a somewhat slow build as we are possibly moving soon, so that will slow everything down.

HA! I printed up the entire thread (including color pictures) and took them home to hubby.....told 'em this is what I want for Christmas....all I got was an eye roll and then the famous line "I'll look into it" which equates to, "I don't plan on doing this in this life-time."

I might just have to enter his laboratory and DO IT MYSELF!! That will show him!!

Can't wait to see some pictures of your progress!

I am doing the same thing as Daimyo. My fuge is a 55g w/ two 3/4" drains. It drains into a 40g breeder where my skimmer, heaters, and all the other stuff I want to hide lives. Much easier to use 2 tanks and drill holes in one in my opinion. When its up and running Ill post pics.

Did you get the 40g breeders setup yet? How about the stand?

Some things have changed since last I posted in this thread. The 300 is on hold at this point, (Some life changes with the now ex significant other), and the tank is probably off the table until I get into a house.

Something I found while designing the stand, is that 2 40g breeders would not fit under a 72" tank, unless the stand was extended out further on the sides. Sorry, but that's ugly imo.

Anyways, I'm contemplating a smaller tank between 150-190g, custom dimensions of course. I will still be using the "cascading" sump/fuge setup, but one will be a 40g breeder and the other a custom built size to fit under the stand.

Once I start on all of this, I will start a build thread.

As for the stand, I now have $450 worth of 2" square steel sitting at the shop. I cleaned it all down and coated it with Phospo so it doesn't rust. I'll see if anyone locally wants a custom built steel stand

I linked the design for ya's to have a look at (and for anyone wanting to go this route in the future). You can see where I last worked on it at the return plumbing. As mentioned above, only 1 40g would fit under the tank, so I designed another custom sized tank for the skimmer and return section.

Set up looks great. Are you still moving ahead with this?

The 300g is out of the picture... for now.

I'm going with a custom 150g (52x28x25). I'll start a thread here soon, but it will be slow going as I am in the market to purchase a home now. So within the next years time, I should be in the new house, and have the 150g completed.

oh man!!! I was hoping for the big one!

I always thought a new house means you get a HUGE tank!!!!

Remember it's always easier to ask for forgiveness than it is permission

As much as I would like to continue on with a 300g, it's better to cut the cost in half or even more by going with a 150g. This is money that can be spent on the down payment for the house.

I would actually put the 150g off also, but the 65g is now overloaded with frags/colonies I purchased in preparation for the 300g. I'm sure at some point a 300g (or larger) will come to life.

I hope so, but there are more important things in life. Keep us updated!