My first DIY sump.

[h8z2luze]

I have read a few how tos on them but i still am a little confused on where to place the 3 pieces of glass to trap the bubbles. Help me out guys. I got a 10G aquarium and had 3 pieces of 3/8" plexiglass cut to fit.

 

[ccCapt]

Something like this.

 

[h8z2luze]

I want to put my skimmer and heater in the tank too. What about something like this?

 

[ccCapt]

For the baffles to work, all 3 must be together. You want to stop bubbles coming in the sump from the tank and from the skimmer from making their way back up into the tank.
Put the skimmer in the right side and lr on the left. You can use a piece of eggcrate and seperate the lr from the area your pump will be.

 

[h8z2luze]

lol im confused now... So like this?

 

[ccCapt]

hehehe

 

[ccCapt]

LOL "Paint" masterpieces

Let me add this....the section where the lr is, that is your buffer zone. You don't want too much water in there so if the power goes out and the tank starts to drain, it will stop draining before that section overflows. The 1st section, the water will always be at a constant level. The drawing is basically my sump and the water in the LR section is about 4-6" deep.

 

[h8z2luze]

LMAO i am really laughing out loud lol. We are paint masters for sure. Guess I wasnt confused then lol. Sounds good I am really excited doing stuff yourself makes it that much more unique to you I think.

 

[ccCapt]

this is a 20 long I used....
skimmer on far right
heaters in baffles
lr rubble
pump and Phosban reactor on far left

 

[h8z2luze]

Whats the reactor? And how did you get the eggcrate to stay in one spot?

 

[ccCapt]

The reactor I use for my GFO.
You can cut the eggcrate to width and silicone it.

 

[h8z2luze]

ummm whats GFO lol. Where would i buy the eggcrate I havent seen it around anywhere?

 

[ccCapt]

Eggcrate you can get at Lowes or HomeDepot. It's used in ceilings for flourescent lighting.
GFO - granular ferric oxide
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=102460

 

[h8z2luze]

Cool I got the eggcrate I have been looking at drip filter systems or whatever and I was thinking about smething like this... Would this even help or make a diffrence?

 

[ccCapt]

That might help to keep it a little more quite. Instead of water pouring over the edge, it will drip thru the holes....not a bad idea

One thing you should note. The 1st and last baffles control the depth of the right section. Depending on which skimmer you get, the height of those may need to be adjusted. I think the ASM we were talking about only needs to sit in about 6-8" of water. If you get a HOB, the water level can be up to the edge of the trim....sort of like it was actually hanging on the tank.

 

[h8z2luze]

Ya if you look in my other thread i posted a skimmer I might get id appriciate your input on it.

 

[odessadude]

Here is a picture of my sump.

The tank is an Oceanic 135 with dual overflows and the sump is a regular 75 gallon tank that was drilled.

http://s244.photobucket.com/albums/gg8/odessadude/?action=view&current=fishtank_0007.jpg

On the left side of the tank in the back you will notice the Eheim pump. It has a pre-filter and a hose connects it to the PVC fitting in the center. From there you will see the red ball valve where the water flows up to the T fitting. From there it goes up through the overflow boxes into the tank with flexible Oceanic pipes. On the right side of the tank the water flows back down into the sump.

Also on the right side I built a high volume pump in the system(Little Giant4-MDQX-SC). When I do a water change I turn this pump on and the circulation blows all of the stuff off of the bottom, without uprooting the plants. I simply move the Oceanic pipes in the tank to wherever I want to blow stuff off of the bottom. Through valving I can pump the water through the water hose connection on the outside of the tank on the right, or just use my magnum to get rid of the extra water. This system really works well and I don't have to use a Python or such.

The system really works well and it is almost maintenance free, meaning I don't have to get my hands in the water.

http://s244.photobucket.com/albums/gg8/odessadude/?action=view&current=fish_0014.jpg

This is a picture with the back cover on. I eventually moved the Magnum on the inside of the sump area so everything is inside except for the Magnum hoses and the water outlet.

 

[fijiwigi]

I am going to do pretty much the exact same design. With a turboflotor multi skimmer and mag 7 return pump inside a 20g long tank. I was looking at home depot a sheet of acrylic is like $35.00 I am going to look around some more. My question is the height of the baffles I guess it can vary with different skimmers. The turboflotor multi I beleive as long as the pump is submerged in water its ok. An average 20g long tank is about 12" heigh I believe. Should the first 3 baffles be about 10" or so or is that too high? The last of the 3 baffles should have 1/2 teeth cut on the top to prevent snails from traveling? and then the last baffle before the return pump should be about 4" or so with eggcrate siliconed to the top of that so if the overflow stops for some reason all of the water does not pump from the refugium section and helps to prevent sand and stuff from entering the return pump zone. If any of this is incorrect I would love for someone to let me know so that I don't screw it up when I actually do it.

 

[JLatsko]

whats used from the outake hole in the tank to the sump? just a hose? I have a oceanic with the built in overflow kit...

 

[fijiwigi]

I am going to do pretty much the exact same design. With a turboflotor multi skimmer and mag 7 return pump inside a 20g long tank. I was looking at home depot a sheet of acrylic is like $35.00 I am going to look around some more. My question is the height of the baffles I guess it can vary with different skimmers. The turboflotor multi I beleive as long as the pump is submerged in water its ok. An average 20g long tank is about 12" heigh I believe. Should the first 3 baffles be about 10" or so or is that too high? The last of the 3 baffles should have 1/2 teeth cut on the top to prevent snails from traveling? and then the last baffle before the return pump should be about 4" or so with eggcrate siliconed to the top of that so if the overflow stops for some reason all of the water does not pump from the refugium section and helps to prevent sand and stuff from entering the return pump zone. If any of this is incorrect I would love for someone to let me know so that I don't screw it up when I actually do it.

Wow I actually don't remember this post. I have learned a lot since then. I decided to have a professional build my sump for me. very happy with the result. Much more money but I know I got it done right for sure.