Requesting help with building my sump

[jbjints]

Hello:
Although my user info states that I have been a member since 2003 I have never before built a sump but I am requesting help with the design of my sump. I am going to use a 40 gallon tank (high) for my sump.

Could someone please steer my in the right direction as far as what I should use to make the baffles, how high they should be, and what is the proper way to set up the different compartments in the sump?

Any help you could provide would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

Joe

PS I did use the search future and I have read other forums etc. but I am still hoping to get some more details on the sump build.

 

[KathyC]

I can tell you that if you use a glass tank, you do need to use glass baffles

Check here for a TON of info on sump building:
http://www.melevsreef.com/allmysumps.html

 

[ming]

and baffle height is usually dependent on how high you want the water level in the sump, which is usually based on skimmer water depth recommendation.

 

[olliefb]

if you want pm me your email addy and i'll send you a pic of my diy sump..

 

[wonderballz]

Check out my tank thread. I built mine using plans from The link Kathy posted.

Here's one pic

 

[jbjints]

Check out my tank thread. I built mine using plans from The link Kathy posted.

Here's one pic

I like the sump. I may be buying Fortunato's Marineland Skimmer Model 100 and I believe that if I went with a setup similar to yours that the skimmer would fit perfectly too. Thank you for sharing and i am going to read the thread that Kathy posted in depth when i get home from work.

Thank you,

Joe

 

[wonderballz]

Just get the footprint for the skimmer that you are going to use, so that you can measure the skimmer section appropriately. I didn't take that into account and had to shoe-horn my H&S skimmer in there.

It's in there diagonally, but the cross brace on the top of my stand is close to the top of the collection cup. I was lucky to "tetris" the skimmer in there.

 

[seldin]

As Kathy said check out Melev's Reef, great website for sumps, etc.

http://www.melevsreef.com

A great tip, is when looking for a return pump, don't use the sump to pump high flow back in tank. This creates a lot of micro bubbles and use separate flow by pumps such as a Koralia or Vortech, etc.

Also, make sure that all water from sump will flow into skimmer before returning to display tank, etc.

 

[jaa1456]

Check out my tank thread. I built mine using plans from The link Kathy posted.

Here's one pic

That sump never overflows during a power outage?

 

[jaa1456]

Heres my sump I had built for 100.00. The middle chamber will be my fuge though

 

[wonderballz]

That sump never overflows during a power outage?

No. I test periodically by shutting off the pumps and seeing how high the flow goes. I have my drains and inlet tubing close to the water line in my tank to cut the siphon early.

 

[TheDumbSter]

sump

tht sump is amazing... can't belive it for $100.00

Heres my sump I had built for 100.00. The middle chamber will be my fuge though

 

[kaOzGrUnT]

If you need physical help, I can come over and help you plan and build.

http://www.manhattanreefs.com/forum/tank-threads/78783-new-90-gal-reef-mix.html

 

[fallenlordz]

here is a pic of my 10 gallon sump (used acylic for baffles) - small but suits all my needs

 

[LaurieC]

A great tip, is when looking for a return pump, don't use the sump to pump high flow back in tank. This creates a lot of micro bubbles and use separate flow by pumps such as a Koralia or Vortech, etc.QUOTE]

I'm tagging along because I'm in the process of putting together a sump out of a 55G glass tank. I don't follow Seldin's comment and would like to understand--where does the pump go then to get water from the sump to the dt? I thought there needed to be a pump in the return of the sump?

Thanks!

 

[bigdog1428]

Hey guys ,, I had a fellow member help me from here,, Rkaragozler I went to his house and we built it together (actually he did everything) lol he put the refugium on one side and the sump on the other side with the return in the middle. This way I think is better bc u have 2 separate flowing sides right into the return ,, hope this helps


Sent from my iPhone using Reefs

 

[bigdog1428]

Pic of sump


Sent from my iPhone using Reefs

 

[bigdog1428]

Pic


Sent from my iPhone using Reefs

 

[125reefer]

also when u design the sump make sure you leave the water low enough to handle the return pump going off AND the skimmer.i know someone who designed a sump and he shut the pumops down and it was perfect 1/2 from the top the water stopped.then he put the skimmer in and when everything shut down the sump overflowed because of extra water in skimmer

 

[masterswimmer]

A great tip, is when looking for a return pump, don't use the sump to pump high flow back in tank. This creates a lot of micro bubbles and use separate flow by pumps such as a Koralia or Vortech, etc.

I'm tagging along because I'm in the process of putting together a sump out of a 55G glass tank. I don't follow Seldin's comment and would like to understand--where does the pump go then to get water from the sump to the dt? I thought there needed to be a pump in the return of the sump?

Thanks!

Laurie, we'll be talking more about this in conjunction with the Vortechs we discussed. What Larry means in his post is that the amount of water flowing through your sump/skimmer should not be high flow. Instead of using a high flow return pump, which forces the water through your sump too fast for the water to have spent much time in the skimmer chamber, it just flows past it and returns to the tank without having been processed through the skimmer.

So, don't oversize the return pump in order to create flow in your tank. Use a smaller pump to do that in your sump. Then utilize a high flow powerhead, such as the VorTech MP40w ES to generate the high, random, wavelike flow within your display tank.

Hope that helps a bit more,
R