DIY Sump/fuge completed.....almost

[returnofsid]

Well, I think I've completed building my sump/fuge out of a 29 gallon tank. I may make one modification by putting a shelf on the down stream side of my first set of baffles to create a rolling water effect in the fuge section. I might also fashion some kind of bracket to hold the tank drain line. Eventually, I'll also probably put in some kind of auto top off system. But for now, it's operational...well, once the silicon cures. Finished it this morning so might attempt water in it tomorrow evening. Probably should wait until Sunday though, I suppose.

The sump/fuge is designed to operate at a water depth of 14".
The first section will be for my skimmer and is 7 3/4" X 12".
The second section will be the fuge and is 13 1/2" X 12".
The third section is for the return pump and is 3 1/2" by 12". I'd intended to make this section 4" and am really not sure what happened...lol. I musta been looking at my tape measure wrong when I made my marks. Hmmm, and I used to be a carpenter...go figure. My return pump will still fit though....luckily!! The last glass piece in the baffles before the return pump is 8" tall.

Here's some pics. Oh, lol...you might see a small piece of PVC scrap in the bottom of the first baffle section. That was my spacer to hold the center piece off the bottom. I had two of them in there and for some reason, forgot to remove one of them before siliconing the final baffle piece. Guess it's a permanent fixture now!!

Another thing you may be wondering about is the bulkhead you see in the back of the fuge section. This tank was drilled before I got it. If you notice, there's now PVC piping going from the bulkhead to the left of the sump/fuge. The level of the hole is actually above the operating level of the sump/fuge but not by much. After I've determined the amount of water that will fill the sump/fuge in the event of a power outage, I'll decide if I'm going to just point the PVC piping straight up, or cap it...or if needed, I can use it as an emergency overflow prevention by setting a 5 gallon bucket next to the sump/fuge and allow the PVC piping to drain the sump/fuge into it. The hole is a bit higher than a 5 gallon bucket is tall so it'd work perfect for that use, if needed. K, I'll shut up now and here's the pics. The link will be to the photobucket page of my 75. It should be the first 4 or 5 pics. As always, comments or suggestions are welcome.

http://s81.photobucket.com/albums/j210/returnofsid/Salt Water/75 Gallon Reef/

 

[returnofsid]

Forgot to add that I'd also thought about maybe using that back bulkhead and PVC piping to supply water to a 10 gallon tank I could sit next to the 29 and use for another fuge. I'd have to rig up some kind of powerhead system to transfer water back to the sump though....hmmm, maybe not such a great idea...lol.

 

[Krish]

Looks great man! Hope it works out great for ya!

 

[returnofsid]

Thanks Krish, we'll know when I fill it up with water and get all the equipment in it...lol. My plans are for live sand, some rubble rock and chaeto in the fuge area. For now, I'll just hang the tank drain line into it, until I build a bracket for it. Might just cut a portion of the existing, temporary wet/dry I've been using. I'd cut some of the top off that has the bulkhead that holds the drain line. I think I could cut it off neatly and fit it into the rim of the 29....a lil' more silicon and it'd be set!! Hmm, maybe acrylic glue. I've heard silicon doesn't hold to acrylic all that well. Heck, I've got an extra bulkhead, I guess I could even use a scrap piece of glass and cut a hole in it with my Dremel. We'll see.

 

[returnofsid]

Grrrrr!! Okay, I measured my stand to make sure the 29 gallon tank would fit in there and it does...with plenty of room. It's getting it in there PAST the center brace that I didn't take into consideration!!!! Now I'm going to have to cut the center brace out, put the 29 in place and then replace the center brace. Again....Grrrrrr. Guess it's going to have to wait a few more days. In the meantime, no skimmer until I get this thing in place....another Grrrrr.

 

[Haole]

Looks great sid!
So far I only have the tank that I plan to use and I did a dry run to see if it would fit. I’ll have to take a door completely off, hinges and all in order to get it in. I wanted to use a 20 long as apposed to the 20 high that I have now but it makes me feel a little leery about taking the center brace out. Seeing that I only have a 40gal, it’d probably be perfectly fine to take it out temporarily but with my luck I hate surprises especially at the wrong moments.
Good luck with it when you finally get it up and running!

 

[theJ]

Sid, which center brace, the one on the 'top inside' of the stand or the one on the 'front' of the stand, got a pic? I had to pull my 'top inside' center brace out to get my sump in there, if you do this 'top center' brace USE SCREWS, so you can take them out again later, without having to bang on it and get the nails to come loose

 

[returnofsid]

The brace I need to remove is the one on the front of the stand. It's located where the doors come together in the middle. I'll put in 2 temporary braces about 1/2 way from the existing brace to each end wall, remove the center brace and place the tank in...then replace the center brace and remove the temp. braces. I just need to find someone with a Sawzall, and may have to buy a bi-metal blade since I'll probably have to saw through a couple nails on each end.