how to make a poor wet / dry or mud sump with a 10 gallon tank filter

[xdemoncaff3in3x]

i have a 29 gallon that i want to make a wet dry or mud tank ,or etc . out of a 10 gallon....only thing i can get to fit under the stand  ,,i have canister an a hang on wet dry filter now...just want to go all out...had the pro 75 didnt work well...any help tip or plain would be great...thanks

[scott wilson]

read this article it may help out
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/volume_3/cav3i1/Baffles/baffles.htm

[xdemoncaff3in3x]

i was saying that link was what i was looking for..i looked on the net everywhere to find out if a 10 gallon sump would work....only space i have under the 37 gallon stand ...  think iam going to buy a 90 or bigger so i can load up on your rock.....  once again thanks- i will spread the word about your shop------

[scott wilson]

no problem.  What you need to do is figure out how far the water level fluctuates from return pump running to pump stopped.  Then determine the volume.  Length x width x height. This gives you the volume in cubic feet.  You can then covert that to gallons. 1 cubic foot = 7.48 US gallons. 

Now you know how much water your sump will have to hold when the pump turns off.  If it is say for instance 5 gallons you will know that your 10 gallon tank/sump can only be less than 1/2 full max or it will overflow when your return pump turns off. You have to take into consideration the displacement of water in the sump due to pumps heaters and such.

I hope this helps

[MechanicalEngineer]

I have a 40g reef tank with a 10g sump, and it works for me.  The only complaint I have about it is that I have to top it off every two days...not much room for error.

I have an inlet side where the water enters, flows down under a baffle, up over a baffle and into my refuge...through some macro algae, up over a baffle, under a baffle, and into the pump area.  I even have an in-sump skimmer in the refuge area.  I have a phosphate reactor on one side as well.  It works if you do it right.

[xdemoncaff3in3x]

any way i can get pics from yours? please an thanks------Scott I got ya i was think of that .how i had the wet/dry set up already had the water level marked ...ill have to do a sim test outside just to make sure it will do what i wanted...what size return pump are you using on the 40/10 -is it adjustable?   

[scott wilson]

you can adjust any pump with PVC ball valve to reduce the flow if needed.

[xdemoncaff3in3x]

i figure to a point you can too much youll cook the motor ?! too much back pressure

[verper]

Not on magnetic driven pumps.  Direct drive, yes.

[xdemoncaff3in3x]

got ya ...great info!