Sump construction *Referrals PLEASE!!*

[parajack]

I live in Alaska and am looking for a more affordable option to get my fish room setup going. I need to build at least 4 tanks to get things going to support a 320 gal display. I'm sure there are DIY folks in the Pugeot sound area who build sumps. Could I get a referral? Acrylic stock here in Anchorage is insanely expensive.
Thanks
Jack

 

[Krish]

Check with BigT (Tom) He's probably Rf's best at building sumps and working with acrylic etc. Very nice guy and very helpful.

 

[NaH2O]

Jack - I'm not sure if you are looking to have something custom built? I had IAP (in Washington) build my custom sump, and they did an outstanding job. Shipping to Indianapolis wasn't too bad either. You can send a private message to IAPBrian or IAPLarry here. They also have a Sponsor's forum.

 

[parajack]

Thanks Krish I'll contact him if you'll give me more specific contact info

Thanks for the reply Nikki (I just finished reading the thread which detailed your 120 start up last year). Wow I'd like to think I can build the tanks myself, but the reality of the matter is that by the time I purchase and ship acrylic stock to my home I'll have invested a small fortune. The idea of drawing up the stuff and then having someone build it for me might make more sense.
Do the folks at IAP have time to sit down and go over custom plans with you, or are they too busy for that? I guess I'll give them a call or email tomorrow and see what the possibilities are. Sump, refug, ro water holding tank, frag tank, qt tank. I have great aspirations Unfortunately, I don't have extra room in my fish room for large tubs, etc.. Specifically planned and sized acrylic tanks are going to be the ticket. Thanks...

 

[NaH2O]

I sent them drawings of what I wanted and they made it to my specs. It was really worth it. I also had them make a small water box that serves as a live rock refugium.

 

[Krish]

Thanks Krish I'll contact him if you'll give me more specific contact info

You can just send him a pm (private message). Just look for his name in the members list, click on his name,and then click send private message. I'm sure he'll either respond to your pm or he'd just come on the thread and post some reccomendations for you. Hope it helps.

 

[big t]

Thanks for the referal Krish. I would recommend to go with IAP. I don't do sumps to order these days as the plastic market priced me out of the market. I work with them (IAP) now and only do skimmers.

I don't know what you consider 'insanely expensive' but I think the prices down here have gone into that catagory.

 

[parajack]

Thanks for the referral Krish. I would recommend to go with IAP. I don't do sumps to order these days as the plastic market priced me out of the market.

Thanks.... So the impression I'm getting is that when its all said and done, I'm probably better off just working up the specs and having IAP build it for me. They are as local as I'm going to get, and I get a huge shipping discount for getting the finished tanks home. I suppose I should consider all the time and probably some frustration going through the learning curve to get it done right. The project itself is already in the overwhelming stage anyway....

 

[big t]

Well we can certainly help you out w/ some drawings and whatnot. Do you have dimensions in mind for you sump. I can work up a nice 3D pic for you if you give me a idea of what you want.

 

[parajack]

That would be great Tom. I could really use some help getting past the stage where everything is just bouncing around in my head. I'm pretty confident I know what I want now, and there are only a few critical items still needing to be addressed, one of which is the sump elevation in the fish room. If you could help me get things down on paper, so I have something coherent to give to IAP if I commit to them (I've pmd them but no reply as of yet) that would be outstanding...

 

[NaH2O]

Jack - it might be faster to phone them: IAP Contact Us.

 

[Krish]

Jack, I'm glad to see you are getting some headway. I'm sorry I couldn't do more for ya, but I tried. Before you know it, you'll have everything up and running and can sit back, relax, and enjoy it. You'll definately appreciate it more in the end after all the hard work and effort is put into it... I usually do. Good luck again.

 

[big t]

The sump elevation is not real critical. As long as your top sump is lower then the lowest display then you will be good to go. The most important thing for you is going to be that your sump is big enough to hold all the water that will drain back into it in the event of power out.

 

[parajack]

Thanks Tom,
Actually, and I may be mistaken, but I believe in my situation the sump elevation could be more critical. I have an almost 30' run plus some 90s from my display to my fish room, and my fish room is the same elevation. With this in mind, If I only position the sump water level lets say 12"s below the display water level, I'm not certain that will provide me the 1000gph+ I'm shootin for through the sump with 2, 1" drains which are manifolded together into a 2" line to my fish room. It may take more head pressure to get the desired flow... Any thoughts on this? After I drill the tank, I was planning on pre-setting up the tank in the hanger with an actual 30' run of pipe to experiment, because I really don't have a clue how the flow will be.....Tenecor said, "oh you can count on 600gph for each 1" drain".. but at what kind of head pressure? They are assuming most drains run to a sump under the tank with plenty of head pressure. I've worked the calculators a few times and it says I'll have 7' of head for the return, but this doesn't help me with the drain flow....I went with the 2" lines to the fish room hoping the extra capacity would solve any flow issues I might run up against due to the long run from display to sump..
Jack

 

[parajack]

So what about IAP?? I have phoned and left msgs, sent PMs, posted on the vendor forum, etc... No response in over a week? Is this really someone I want to do business with? I mean yea, I really want to do business and get the ball rolling.... I'm not kicking tires here :badgrin: I got display, I got fish room, I got $$$$$, well maybe $, but hey, seriously, if anybody knows how to contact these folks and get a response I'm all ears...
Jack

 

[mattseattle]

Jack - They'll eventually contact you. It took me almost a month to get a response from them.

 

[big t]

Parajack, I am unsure of the elevation that you will need. I would say make sure that you have at least 3' of elevation drop. You should contact Salsaking, he has a remote sump room that has probably 25' of pipe between the tank and sump. I think that he went w/ several 1.5" pipes, but I don't know how many. I will also talk to the owner and try to help get something going for you.

 

[parajack]

Thanks Tom...
It would be really great if I could get something going in the Seattle area, as I can deal more realistically with the logistics that way and make it much more afordable. I'm not looking for a fancy display, I just want to get my fish room going with sump, and other support tanks....not a big deal. Is IAP the only game in town for what I need? Are there other hobbiests who are working on the side building sumps and stuff?
Jack