Build, or buy sump.. and then skimmer option?

[foozed]

I just brought home my new 90G AGA with overflow, and got the stand as well and it's time to start piecing this monster together, and I'm looking for the expertise from the board to help me out.

I've considered building my own sump, but figure I might as well spend some of this tax return, so I've been shopping around. I've searched hundred's of threads about sumps from the boards, but haven't found any comments on one of a few setups in particular that grabbed my attention:

Anyone have one of those sumps from MarineDepot?
The BS-1 from Marine Depot, and get an Aqua-C Ev 180 with external pump.. would this skimmer even fit in this style sump? What about baffle's for bubble elimination? I'd have to drill the side for a return.. it doesn't have one pre-drilled on the return side.

or

2- From Customaquatic.com - E.T.S.S. Evolution 500 complete PRO filtration system. Includes Evolution 500 protein skimmer, 24 inch Evo 500 PRO sump filter with bulkheads, and a Compact Auto Waste Collector. I'm not thrilled about this setup as I like the Aqua-C skimmers better..

or

Some other piece of acrylic.. drilled or not.. with a trickle plate and do some custom work?
This is where I get confused, as I have no plans, or experience with sumps.. This is my first.. and I'm sort of looking for a good solution out of box.

Any suggestions ?
(I really did want a Lifereef, but no way will my anticipation allow me to wait until July/August for delivery..)

Thanks for reading, looking forward to hearing some suggestions.

 

[louey louey]

I hear you about waiting for the Lifereef system. I decided it would be worth the wait for one of their Berlin Sumps. The skimmers are in stock and can ship the Tuesday following your order. I going to just put the skimmer in a cheap 20G high while I wait on my sump in June/July. The sooner you order you skimmer, the sooner you can get on the list.

The Lifereef system of filters look very well designed and would be worth the wait if you can afford them and can wait.

My system has been up for 16 month with a cheap wet/dry and skimmer. The skimmer is the main thing I want to replace, so I can wait for the sump.

What ever you do, get a high-end skimmer now! Otherwise you'll be like me and ordering a new one later.

Later!


My 75G Reef

 

[Anonymous]

I think about every 90 I move out the door has either an AGA 15 gallon or 20L aquarium for a sump. For the cheapest go with a rubbermaid container. It's just a box to hold water and put your skimmer and heaters. It doesn't have to be anything special. Some people like weirs to cut down on bubbles but I think with proper planning thats not necessary.

I'd just use a 20L and put an AquaC EV-180 sitting in it and you are done.

 

[DRT]

A sump should be really simple, I'm always amazed at the complexity people want to build into these things. I've always used a glass aquarium, the latest being a 20 gallon long, it has one hole drilled in the end for the pump return.

There are 3 issues that you should think through first.

1 - how is the return from the tank going to work, where is it going to go, how is going to be held in place, is there a cover to prevent salt creep, are bubbles going to be generated from a lot of splashing.

2 - will the skimmer fit. I have a Euroreef, it just fits my sump. I was originally going to use a spare 10 gallon but it would not fit in that. If the skimmer is external, how is it going to be plumbed into the sump.

3 - the return line to the pump, what size pump, what size pipe etc.

It's not rocket science, just needs a little pre-thought thats all.

Dale

 

[foozed]

So.. how does this sound:
I have a 20L. I will have a hole drilled so I can plumb an Iwaki pump to it for a return. I will plan on having the pump provide for ~900 GPH at 4ft. (hopefully the built in overflow isn't too weak..)
I will place the skimmer in the tank.. what about bubbles? Won't they be a problem?

Also.. I assume have the water entering the sump below the water line to avoid some extra splashing and bubbles..

Anything else ?

 

[M.E.Milz]

FWIW, I am having a sump built for my new 380g. The intake bulkheads (connected to the drains from the tank) will be attached to the top of the sump so that the incoming water does not have to make any 90 degree turns. Bulkheads will be added to one end of the sump for the skimmer and the skimmer pump. A bulkhead for the return pump will be added to the other end of the sump. A single partition will partially extend from the back wall of the sump to direct the incoming water towards the skimmer pump and around the outside of the sump. That's it. A very simple design. BTW, I plan to fill the bottom of the sump with live rock rubble.

 

[foozed]

Have any diagrams ?

 

[31-2c]

Some people have done very well using a rubbermaid container for a sump. Just something to think about. That way you could get a much better skimmer.

David

(I personally use an Aquaclear sump)

 

[Russ1]

This brings up an interesting point. A lot of people try and redirect the water coming from their overflow so that it goes to the protein skimmer. The idea is that they want to skim the surface water from their display tank to maximize elimination of the DOC's. But isn't all the water in the sump from the surface of the display tank? Think about it! In my opinion the main issue is bubbles returned to the tank from the sump. Empty into one end of the sump, skimmer nearby, and return back to the tank at the other end. There is no need to get fancy!

 

[jchonline]

This May help you out a bit. I built my sump for a 75G FO tank, and put 5gal worth of bio-balls in it. I used thisdesign to base mine off of. However, I have FO, so I used a trickle. Your situation may be different! Euroreef is a solid skimmer, but it needs a good amount of room. Just make sure to measure first! Good luck.

 

[M.E.Milz]

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote

This brings up an interesting point. A lot of people try and redirect the water coming from their overflow so that it goes to the protein skimmer. The idea is that they want to skim the surface water from their display tank to maximize elimination of the DOC's. But isn't all the water in the sump from the surface of the display tank? Think about it! In my opinion the main issue is bubbles returned to the tank from the sump. Empty into one end of the sump, skimmer nearby, and return back to the tank at the other end. There is no need to get fancy!

I agree, although maybe that did not come through with my last post. In any event, you can end up with a lot of bubbles in the sump from the incoming rush of water from the tank and from the skimmer output. The farther the water has to travel, and the more rock it has to pass over/around/through, before reaching the retunr pump, the less likely the bubbles will end up in the tank.

To do this, I used a partition that is sort of "S" shaped so as to divide the sump into an intake/skimmer area and an output area. The "S" shaped partition forces the water to sort of travel around the outside of the sump, instead of directly from one end to the other.

 

[M.E.Milz]

By the way, I have built other types of sumps (including wet/dry units) out of used tanks in the past. One of these designs had two partitions that ran the width of the tank (a 29g) to form 3 separate areas. The first area was the intake area, which had a constant water level maintained by the first partition. I did this because I was using a Berlin hang-on skimmer, and I did not want to have the water level fluctuating for the skimmer.

The 2nd (or middle) area contained a drip plate and bio-balls. The 3rd area held the return pumps. The design works fine, although I would replce the bio-balls with live rock.