DIY Sump/ Refugim

[ATP123]

Hi, I have a 75 Gallon tank in my shed and I was thinking of making a stand and a canopy for it and I've done that so now I'm thinking of building a sump/refugim. So this is my plan.

1) water flow through bag
2) water flow through bio balls
3) water go under bio balls and to the next section
4) water go through skimmer
5) connected by pvc pipe to another 10 gallon
6) Firs section of new 10 gal. which is a refugim
7) pump water back to tank.

Will this work?

Thanks,

 

[Chichas01]

Hi, I have a 75 Gallon tank in my shed and I was thinking of making a stand and a canopy for it and I've done that so now I'm thinking of building a sump/refugim. So this is my plan.

1) water flow through bag
2) water flow through bio balls
3) water go under bio balls and to the next section
4) water go through skimmer
5) connected by pvc pipe to another 10 gallon
6) Firs section of new 10 gal. which is a refugim
7) pump water back to tank.

Will this work?

Thanks,

It can work but:

• Why the bio balls? I would ditch them in this section as they don't really provide any benifit here. Unless you hvae something in mind for them here? You could substitue LR rubble instead.
• Your drawing shows the flow going into the fuge at the bottom of the fuge. You will want to move it up to the top so it does not interfere with your sand bed. That is, if you are putting a sand bed in the fuge.
• Any reason not to use just one tank to fit the whole setup?

 

[ATP123]

It can work but:

• Why the bio balls? I would ditch them in this section as they don't really provide any benifit here. Unless you hvae something in mind for them here? You could substitue LR rubble instead.
• Your drawing shows the flow going into the fuge at the bottom of the fuge. You will want to move it up to the top so it does not interfere with your sand bed. That is, if you are putting a sand bed in the fuge.
• Any reason not to use just one tank to fit the whole setup?

I wanted bio balls because they remove the bubbles, but i didn't think of LR.

Yeah, I should put the pipe a little bit higher

The reason i wanted to make it two tanks is because I don't have a bigger tank that I'm not using other than a 10 gallon. So if some one has a 20 or 30 gallon tank or a 10 gallon let me know

 

[Chichas01]

How much room is under the stand?
Also, Petco has there $1 a gallon sale coming up this month I think. Offer is good on all rectangular AGA tanks up to 55 gallons. I got my 30g sump and 20g fuge tanks from the sale last year.

 

[ATP123]

How much room is under the stand?
Also, Petco has there $1 a gallon sale coming up this month I think. Offer is good on all rectangular AGA tanks up to 55 gallons. I got my 30g sump and 20g fuge tanks from the sale last year.

49x19x30

There's a $1 a gallon sale?

 

[Chichas01]

Yep, every August. I think it's the last week of the month. Call your local store and they can confirm the date.

You could do one of the 50g or 55g tanks under the stand and section it off with glass panels to get what you already are thinking of. The 55 is 48"L and the 50 is 36"L.

One thing to consider is the type of skimmer you might want and the footpring it takes up. That will determine what you really need.

 

[ATP123]

the skimmer's going to be a nautilus te which is currently in my 125

 

[aquariumdebacle]

Put the bio balls (if at all) in an upflow after the skimmer and before the return pump to eliminate microbubbles. Put the skimmer after the refugium and make it a size bigger. The refugium should remove chemical waste, not add food to the system. They don't add food, even if they are upstream from the display. Food must be added by the owner and then removed by the filtration system. Preferably a good sized skimmer and regular water changes. Every other filtration system is a waste mover, moving it from one area to the next and not actually taken out until cleaned. Same with the refugium, waste removal only comes from algae pruning and sandbed removal.

 

[Chichas01]

the skimmer's going to be a nautilus te which is currently in my 125

Here is a great site to give you some ideas on what will work best for your system. TONS of info here and all kinds of pics.

http://www.melevsreef.com/allmysumps.html

 

[mcdonaldjosh7]

how do you put compartments into a regular tank?

 

[poakley723]

Glue in deviders of glass or plexi using silicone. I held mine up with CD cases to give them about two inche clearance off the bottom.

 

[mcdonaldjosh7]

Glue them in with silicone

ok thanks. i am going to build one for myself

 

[nsamouroux]

Just keep in mind that if you use acrylic dividers in a glass sump, they will absorb water and expand to some degree. If you wedge them into the tank and don't allow some space for the size change, when they expand they can blow out the sides of your glass tank / sump It's more of a problem with extruded acrylic pieces, but even cell cast acrylic will absorb water and expand slightly. I learned the hard way a few years ago and ended up exploding a 20g tank that I was trying to modify.