(upbeat music)
- Hey, it's Thomas here
and today we're gonna be taking a look
at the CR-44 edition Sapphire Sump from Trigger Systems.
I'm not ducking down this time,
I'm just gonna,
yeeeaaaahh, yeah.
Ha, I'm obviously not gonna leave this here
but, sticking with tradition, right?
If you're looking for a beautiful spacious sump
that's made in the USA, is super quiet,
offers two types of mechanical filtration
that you can swap between,
an adjustable baffle to match the water depths
to the needs of your protein skimmer and other equipment,
a generous refugium section, probe and tubing holders
with some other handy tricks up its sleeve,
then check out the Trigger Systems, Sapphire CR-44,
it's basically a bigger upgraded version
of an already really awesome sump design.
Trigger Systems has been creating some
of the nicest sumps out there for nearly 20 years
with features like full top braces
that have rounded flame polished edges,
quiet water entry systems
with a variety of formats to suit
your particular style of reefing,
whether you wanna keep it simple,
or like to get techie with it.
This Sapphire series is one of the most feature rich designs
from Trigger Systems, identical to their Emerald series
but with beautiful translucent blue acrylic accents
instead of green,
they fall on one of the most popular sump layouts
in a simple and effective way.
The water enters the sump,
passes through mechanical filtration,
flows into a skimmer section then into a refugium section,
passes through an adjustable baffle section
that doubles as a space for filter media
and ends in the return section.
I've personally been using them for years
and they are to this day
still one of my favorite sump designs.
Between the quiet water entry system,
interchangeable mechanical filtration plates
and the beautiful fit and finish,
it's really no wonder
why they've made their mark on the hobby
and continue to be a very popular sump
amongst the reefing community.
This CR-44, however is a bit of an anomaly
amongst the Sapphire lineup.
While it shares the same blue theme,
layout and general features,
there are a number of really nice touches
that make the CR-44 special, setting it apart from the pack.
The Sapphire series comes in four standard sizes,
a 20 inch cube, a 26 inch, a 34 inch and a 39 inch
while the CR-44 tips the scale
at 44 inches long with Rumi 14 inch by 15.5 inch skimmer
and refugium sections
ending with a seven inch by 15.5 inch return section,
and total water volume of 43 gallons.
When it comes to color the CR-44
shares the same beautiful deep blue top brace
and baffles to prevent light spill
from the refugium section.
But instead of clear panels all the way around
it has light blue panels on the sides and back
and an opaque white bottom,
which looks really nice and helps dilute the view
of the back of the aquarium stand
and any tubing or cables behind the sump.
The water entry system is nearly identical
with the same quiet entry design that works really well
with Herbie and Bean Animal style overflows
and has interchangeable plates
for either a trio of filter socks or a coarse foam pad.
But unlike the standard models
the CR-44 has a low profile polycarbonate lid
instead of acrylic and a removable drain plate.
It also comes with an extra blank drain plate
if you wanna customize it for any particular style
or size of bulkhead.
The CR-44 also has a movable bulkhead for the backup drain
with two positions
outside of the regular water entry system,
so that if water backs up in the overflow
you'll be able to hear it trickling into the sump
and you'll know it's time to check for blockages
or make adjustments to your gate valve.
There is also a movable bulkhead in the return section.
For those who either want to keep their soft tubing
in place or hard plumb their return to the sump
and then have soft tubing from the bulkhead
down to the pump.
Like the other Sapphire sumps
the CR-44 also has an adjustable baffle
with a laser engraved water level indicator,
so you can set the water height in the sump
between seven inches and 9.5 inches
to match the operating depth of your skimmer
or other equipment,
but instead of black egg crate in the media section
between the baffles,
the drip plates on the CR-44 are acrylic and low-profile.
The Sapphire line also has a probe holder
in the skimmer section for up to four probes,
and four dosing tube holders in the return section,
the CR-44 takes it a step further by using push fittings
for the dosing tube holders,
followed up with black quarter inch tubing
that goes down into the sump
and for the cherry on top,
also has adjustable clips
for keeping cords and cables neat and tidy,
which is a really nice touch.
You've probably noticed that I have this CR-44
sitting next to my Reefer 300 XL
and that's because it's my choice for this system.
I wanted a large external sump with lots of space
to be able to fit all kinds of equipment
right out in the open where it's easy to film
and show all of you.
Having had such a great experience
with my previous Emerald sumps
I knew the Sapphire line would not only work well
but fit my blue and orange theme
and the CR-44 just kicked things up a notch in the best way.
Before plumbing up the CR-44 or any sump for that matter,
it is extremely important to really think about
how you're gonna plan out that plumbing,
what's gonna go into it, where you want things to be,
because once you do it especially if you're hard plumbing,
it kind of stays that way.
And you can save yourself a lot of trouble
by watching this video right here on the get ready for it,
29 most common mistakes people make with plumbing.
Ryan and Randy go over all of them.
You probably wouldn't have thought there are that many
but there are probably many more.
These are just the ones that people make the most often.
And I don't want to make them, so I'm gonna go brush up.
And if you're in the process of plumbing
or redoing plumbing or, you know, planning a tank,
that that is ooh,
it's best video I've ever seen on this subject,
check it out.
(soft music)