fuge, sump

[sampsonndelila]

I have a store bought sump and I have a few questions about it. It seems you are the people to ask. There are two empty compartments in it, what goes in this area? I know there is a place for mud but I dont know where that is. The main tank is 125 and the sump is like 36 inches by 12 inches. I drew a pic but I cant attach it.

[coraline79]

sounds like you have a 3 chamber sump. I don't think there is an area for mud as much as there is possibly an area for a refugium. One chamber is for a skimmer and one is for a, return pump. most likely if you bought it from a store, it has a drain area, and skimmer area, and a return pump area. If it is acrylic, it can be drilled for an external return pump and you can use one of the chambers for a refugium(Live sand/Live rubble/ Macro algea w/ a light over)

[sampsonndelila]

But my skimmer and my return pump will not fit in the smaller sections but they are all jammed in the final largest compartment. I probably do need to drill it for my huge pump but for now my little submersible one is working fine.

[coraline79]

If you have a large "final chamber", run 2 drains out of your tank, one into that one, and one into the first one. Make the center center chamber your return chamber. You can slow the flow on the "first" chamber, and use that as a refugium. Leave the skimmer chamber flow un restricted. It will also help because you skimmer chamber watr level will always be constant. That is a must. I have a 10 gallon tank made by one of the members here that is setup the same way.