Need advice on DIY Remote sump and cabinet build

[leighton.bingham]

Im moving my tank and looking at a much larger sump. So ill have to build a cabinet. The space including the to I have to work with is 110"Lx24"Wx9'
Here is the equipment I have a Waterbox 110.4 with a 30gal sump. The tank is approximately 48" long.

What I was thinking is buying a new sump putting it in the cabinet and then using old sump as a fuge? But not sure how to plumb all that.

The plumbing andhwo big of a sump would you get if you had that amount of space? Keeping in mind i still need space for Alk, Calc,and controller board etc...


Thanks for any help.

P.s. I know its kind of up to me but looking for some input.

 

[Formulator]

If you are going remote, does it have to have a cabinet? Do you have a closet or basement utility room you could repurpose? For me one of the biggest draws of a remote sump is the open space to work around and above the sump. A separate fuge is a great idea, again made easier by taking it out of the cabinet. I have my fuge plumbed so the drain from my display splits into my fuge and sump. I tuned it so about 20% of the drain volume goes to the fuge and 80% to my roller mat in my main sump. Then the fuge eventually drains back to the sump through a bulkhead I installed in the side. Here are some photos of my basement sump room with no cabinets, just work bench height stands I built out of 2x4’s.

 

[leighton.bingham]

If you are going remote, does it have to have a cabinet? Do you have a closet or basement utility room you could repurpose? For me one of the biggest draws of a remote sump is the open space to work around and above the sump. A separate fuge is a great idea, again made easier by taking it out of the cabinet. I have my fuge plumbed so the drain from my display splits into my fuge and sump. I tuned it so about 20% of the drain volume goes to the fuge and 80% to my roller mat in my main sump. Then the fuge eventually drains back to the sump through a bulkhead I installed in the side. Here are some photos of my basement sump room with no cabinets, just work bench height stands I built out of 2x4’s.

Love the setup. It would have to be in a cabinet because it would be in my office. If i started cutting holes in the wall my wife might start yelling and not stop. lol So I have to build a cabinet for it anyways. Just want to make sure it looks as good as possible. Was going to use 2x4's and a router and go to town.

A 30 gallon fuge and a 46 gallon sump i think it will be. The water should flow from left to right? Would there be a. return pump on the Sump and on the fuge or does the sump feed the fuge?

Let me see if i can draw up what I have and plumbing wise

 

[leighton.bingham]

Love the setup. It would have to be in a cabinet because it would be in my office. If i started cutting holes in the wall my wife might start yelling and not stop. lol So I have to build a cabinet for it anyways. Just want to make sure it looks as good as possible. Was going to use 2x4's and a router and go to town.

A 30 gallon fuge and a 46 gallon sump i think it will be. The water should flow from left to right? Would there be a. return pump on the Sump and on the fuge or does the sump feed the fuge?

Let me see if i can draw up what I have and plumbing wise

This is a top down view of my sump currently. the return is the rear of the sump and flows into the left side with two socks (carbon and GFO). Then I have my UV pump next it pushing water straight through the UV to the DT. The Skimmer is next RedSed Reefer 600. Then to the right top is the return to the DT and bottom right is empty cause its a 2 gallon ATO and I have a 10 gallon acrylic ATO. I would like to turn this one into the Fuge its 30 gallons.

 

[Formulator]

Sounds like a good plan. For the sump and fuge plumbing, the way I do it is to have the water flow from the DT split to the fuge and sump, then the fuge drains to the sump too eventually. Everything drains to the same first chamber of the sump, except the fuge drains underneath my roller mat to avoid mechanical filtration of pods from the fuge because I want them to have a fighting chance of migrating between the fuge and DT to feed my wrasse and mandarin. To do this, I just elevated the fuge slightly higher than my sump so everything is gravity driven and just have a single return pump from my sump back to the DT.

Marked up my photo for water flow visualization. Red is drain from sump and green is return to DT. The 3rd pipe unmarked is just a backup drain to the sump and there is another pipe for water changes you can ignore.

 

[leighton.bingham]

Sounds like a good plan. For the sump and fuge plumbing, the way I do it is to have the water flow from the DT split to the fuge and sump, then the fuge drains to the sump too eventually. Everything drains to the same first chamber of the sump, except the fuge drains underneath my roller mat to avoid mechanical filtration of pods from the fuge because I want them to have a fighting chance of migrating between the fuge and DT to feed my wrasse and mandarin. To do this, I just elevated the fuge slightly higher than my sump so everything is gravity driven and just have a single return pump from my sump back to the DT.

Marked up my photo for water flow visualization. Red is drain from sump and green is return to DT. The 3rd pipe unmarked is just a backup drain to the sump and there is another pipe for water changes you can ignore.

Very helpful thanky you.