# Opinions on sump design



## Neylandboy (Apr 12, 2011)

Hi there! I would be interested in views /opinions/ideas on a sump design I've put together. This is my first sump for my biggest tank yet! so all remarks welcome!
Cheers
;-)


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## SinCrisis (Aug 7, 2008)

whats the expected flow rate? 

Also why 2 heaters? I have heard of heaters being placed in 2 places in a tank, for even heat distribution, but never side by side. You might get more use out of it if you ran the second heater closer to the pump since running them side by side means heat loss through the next levels of media wont be reheated until after its gone through the tank and back down. Also if your flow rate is high, the water wont heat up as much if theres only heat being distributed in one area since water can only pick up x amount of heat in a certain amount of time.

The separate lids are a good idea.

Are you making this from scratch out of acrylic?


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## zof (Apr 23, 2010)

Looks pretty good, I would have to agree with the heater comment, I would defiantly put the heaters in a lower flow area such as the return area of the tank so they have time to actually heat the water in the system, two might be redundant in such a small area .


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## bearwithfish (Sep 29, 2009)

yeah the heaters should be spaced IMO also.. i like the two covers but would suggest an over all cover also to further reduce evaporation from this set up... one last part if you are using filer socks the wool really does nothing for you other than slow things down..i would get rid of one or the other ... perhaps a remove the socks (i am not a fan of them) and put in a small stand for the woll to drop on to and leave that space open ..... i really like the use of every material in there other wise and i live that you can have a spot for carbon should you have a need to use it!!!


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## Neylandboy (Apr 12, 2011)

The two heaters are only really as back up as I have an inline heater on the return to the aquarium. There will be a space of about 10" between the two heaters anyway. Once water is up to it's temp, it will not make any difference where they are, as long as the flow around them keeps going. The socks are to make it easier to clean detritous as there will be on off taps on each inlet to the sump so I can isolate each sock. The filter wool really is only there as a back up to the socks, in case of overflow. I probably will put an extra cover over the whole tank. It'll help keep noise down as well.


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