Sump Ideas

[Bosco83]

I am thinking about building a new sump/refugium for my tank. The one I have right now is 36x12x17 30 gallon diy. This is working just fine but I would like to have more room for the skimmer section. Right now the skimmer section is where the tank water drains into, and the skimmer takes up so much room I can't even put a filter sock on. So the max room I have in the stand is 43X16X18. I was thinking the ideal size would be 40X15X17or18 so that I have a little more room to store stuff. The height doesn't matter that much I just want to be able to remove the skimmer for cleaning. I was hoping to do another diy out of a regular fish tank but none of the standard dimensions seem to fit. So any ideas or should I just leave it alone?

Thanks,
Brian

 

[Bosco83]

Ok well it looks like my only option is to make one myself. Is it easier to make a glass tank or acrylic and what would be cheaper?

Thanks,
Brian

 

[gothunder3022]

Ok well it looks like my only option is to make one myself. Is it easier to make a glass tank or acrylic and what would be cheaper?

Thanks,
Brian

This is probably the most referred to site:

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

 

[jrgilles]

i just made one from a 50 gallon breeder tank. I have a 75 gallon DT, a 20 gallon fuge (its own tank) and a 50 gallon breeder tank and I think the size is great.

From my research, it seemed a lot of people like 40 gallon breeders. Watch craigslist or the equipment forums here and you can probably pick one up cheap. I paid 50 bucks for mine.

I did it DIY and glues in 1/4" plexiglass baffles using Weldon-40 then silicone over that and it works great.

rob

 

[Bosco83]

i just made one from a 50 gallon breeder tank. I have a 75 gallon DT, a 20 gallon fuge (its own tank) and a 50 gallon breeder tank and I think the size is great.

From my research, it seemed a lot of people like 40 gallon breeders. Watch craigslist or the equipment forums here and you can probably pick one up cheap. I paid 50 bucks for mine.

I did it DIY and glues in 1/4" plexiglass baffles using Weldon-40 then silicone over that and it works great.

rob

Yea I made a diy out of a 30 gallon long tank and it works great I just wish it was a little bigger. A 40 gallon breeder tank is 18 inches wide and I only have 16inches to work with. I have been looking at all the common tank sizes and none of them seem like they will work any better that what I already have. So I think I will have to make a custom one out of acrylic.

Brian

 

[Chichas01]

can you separate sump and fuge into 2 tanks? either next to each other or maybe one above the other?

 

[Bosco83]

can you separate sump and fuge into 2 tanks? either next to each other or maybe one above the other?

I could put them next to each other but probably not one on top of the other I I have regular 90 gallon tank and stand.

 

[jrgilles]

I just built my sump. I had the fuge and sump combined in the same tank in my original design, but after lots of discussion on the forums here, I separated my fuge out and made is separate. Its just a lot to try to get into 1 tank.

I now have my fuge on a small stand I build to the side of the DT, and split off of the drain line from the DT to fill the fuge, which then overflows to the sump. All gravity fed.

 

[Bosco83]

I just built my sump. I had the fuge and sump combined in the same tank in my original design, but after lots of discussion on the forums here, I separated my fuge out and made is separate. Its just a lot to try to get into 1 tank.

I now have my fuge on a small stand I build to the side of the DT, and split off of the drain line from the DT to fill the fuge, which then overflows to the sump. All gravity fed.

Do you have any pictures?

 

[jrgilles]

Do you have any pictures?

http://picasaweb.google.com/jrgilles/AquariumConstruction?feat=directlink

These are what I have immediately available (as I'm at work right now.)

I could take a picture inside of the fuge when I get home that shows the plumbing inside of the fuge tank. Its basically a fill line (1" pvc tube that goes into the bottom of the tank) and then I put 2 bulkhead drains at the top (one for the 1" drain line, and the second is a backup drain that should never be in use, unless the primary drain clogs, a security precaution to prevent overflows.)

 

[jrgilles]

Do you have any pictures?

here are 2 pics of the fuge plumbing. The back of the tank is mirrored... It has a fill pipe (low) and 2 drains (a main and a backup for flood protection)

It taps into the tank drain line and has a valve to regulate the flow. Then gravity does the rest.

http://picasaweb.google.com/jrgilles/AquariumHardware?feat=directlink

rob

 

[Bosco83]

Looks good thanks for posting your pics.

Brian

 

[glasscabbage]

what percent of the main tank volume should the fuge be

 

[jrgilles]

From the research I've done on the web, it seems a lot of people think it should be about 15-20% volume to be productive.

 

[NWDiver]

Wow! nice plumbing Rob, very clean.
I too want a bigger sump, trying to decide if it is worth it to build something pretty out of acrylic or use a giant rubbermaid.

 

[keep_evolving]

Wow! nice plumbing Rob, very clean.
I too want a bigger sump, trying to decide if it is worth it to build something pretty out of acrylic or use a giant rubbermaid.

Late to the party here, but... Rob temporarily had his sump in a rubbermaid when he did some repairs to his 50 breeder, and it looked like it was pretty much fine. Micro bubbles weren't too bad, and since nobody sees the sump it doesn't have to be pretty.
I'm sure he could give you a better opinion of how it's going since he lives with it, but having seen the results I'm considering doing something like that myself as I plan, simply because it's cheaper. I'm still planning things out, though!

Just my .02

 

[jrgilles]

Late to the party here, but... Rob temporarily had his sump in a rubbermaid when he did some repairs to his 50 breeder, and it looked like it was pretty much fine. Micro bubbles weren't too bad, and since nobody sees the sump it doesn't have to be pretty.
I'm sure he could give you a better opinion of how it's going since he lives with it, but having seen the results I'm considering doing something like that myself as I plan, simply because it's cheaper. I'm still planning things out, though!

Just my .02

Yea, I'm using a 27 gallon heavy duty plastic container right now, 15 bucks from lowes.

It holds all the equipment, and micro bubbles aren't too bad. If you get close and focus, you can see them, but you can't see if you're a foot or 2 back from the tank.

This is possibly because the rubbermaid is completely full of live rock. I couldn't put another piece in without it coming above the water line. I'm guessing those are taking out a lot of bubbles from the drain lines/skimmer.

I want my sump back though, as it has the ATO hooked up to it, etc. This container is pretty temporary

 

[NWDiver]

I'm leaning toward building my own out of acrylic, mostly just to do it. Melev's sumps are sweet. I figure what can possibly go wrong?

 

[jrgilles]

I'm leaning toward building my own out of acrylic, mostly just to do it. Melev's sumps are sweet. I figure what can possibly go wrong?

+1

Its a fun project, you should do it