Good sump design

[McCrash]

Hello all,

First post here.

After many hours looking for information on the internet I stumbled upon this site. I would like to convert my 120 gallon dual mega-flow tank to a planted aquarium and being a former reefer I think that I may be able to change my sump to work in this situation, with a bunch of help.
As a former reef keeper I did fairly well and kept the majority of the corals and fish I acquired when starting in 2007 until a few months ago, however, due to the increased cost of the hobby and leak in my 120 with dual overflows (repair in progress) I will be converting to a freshwater system.

I have searched for some time now and have found a bunch of threads talking about sumps off gassing CO2 and how if they are designed properly the loss will be minimal. During the reading I have found very few if any design plans or pictures and those that I have found contained limited information about the CO2 loss and how well they performed in a planted tank.
My first thought was to try and use a wet/dry filter, but after researching I think that this would be more trouble to seal such a system due to the way these systems are constructed.

Can someone point me in the direction of a proper sump design for use on a planted tank. I know that there will be some gas exchange due to the built-in overflows on my tank, but if I can get a GOOD sump design at least the loss would be minimized.

Thanks in advance

 

[Laure]

Keep it simple with 2 chambers. The more chambers, the more you restrict the flow rate in the sump. Inflow chamber with all the media, and and outflow chamber with the pump. Ensure all the end pieces of plumbing is under the water level. You can install your diffuser in the outflow chamber to minimize in tank equipment. With all of that in mind, you still need to ensure decent surface movement in the tank, which may result in some gas exchange, but can be compensated for by turning up the CO2 bubble rate. The upside is good O2 exchange, which is very important.