my FINAL sump thread

[scottayy]

Hey guys, I know I have probably about 5 threads regarding various sump stuff. This will be my final thread because I about have it together in my head.

So in here I will ask my various questions and I will post my progress as I go.

I'm going to be using a 10 gallon aquarium and a 5 gallon aquarium.
I want to put a divider in the 10 gallon and use 1 section as the inlet with a filter sock.
The second section will hold my heater and a skimmer and live rock.
The third section (the 5 gallon) will have some baffles and the return pump.

Is the order OK?

sample diagram

 

[carey]

Not sure you want the skimmer and live rock in the same chamber. Won't the skimmer eat up your pods?

 

[scottayy]

Not sure you want the skimmer and live rock in the same chamber. Won't the skimmer eat up your pods?

I thought that, but then where else could I put the live rock?
And does it matter if the skimmer eats my pods? I'm not collecting them.

 

[carey]

In my setup the skimmer is in with the filter socks. Then the next section is just LR and macro then the third chamber is my return pump. I'mnot sure where I will put my heater just yet.

 

[David S]

yeah,put your skimmer and heater in first section,you may not be collecting pods but they are good for your system.

 

[scottayy]

yeah,put your skimmer and heater in first section,you may not be collecting pods but they are good for your system.

The skimmer i could do but my heater is too big. Could I get away with the heater and rock in the second section?

 

[David S]

yep thats fine

 

[fishmonkey]

yeah, putting the heater and the rock together would be just fine.

 

[scottayy]

So overall my sump design looks good guys?
I'm really new to this stuff so don't be afraid to nitpick.

 

[paulweck]

cant u put the heaters in the first chamber of return tank to save room for lr and what not. im asking because i will soon be getting a sump/fuge and the return chamber would be a good spot for it

 

[scottayy]

cant u put the heaters in the first chamber of return tank to save room for lr and what not. im asking because i will soon be getting a sump/fuge and the return chamber would be a good spot for it

Well, it's a 5 gallon, and it has baffles, so again there's not enough room for the heater. The only room is in the section I wanted to put rock in. Unless I can lay it sideways or diagonal or something. But i like to use the suction cups and not have it touching the glass.

On a progress note, I have put the baffles in the 5 gallon It looks cool.

 

[scottayy]

Darn, neither lowes nor ace hardware has the diamond hole saw bits I need. I'm going to have to order them online. I am impatient... learning

 

[paulweck]

oh ok i see now. good luck man please let us know what u come up with i cant wait for my sump/fuge to be setup

 

[David S]

you can put the heater anywhere you like,but wouldn't suggest with the return pump unless it can lay on the bottom.

 

[scottayy]

OK, so i'm done (again) with a DIY sump.
Just attempted to drill the hole in the glass.
I did a practice drill on a sheet of glass outside. Worked great.
Started on the 10g aquarium and it shattered into a billion pieces. It must be tempered glass.

 

[scottayy]

OK, no more being fancy for me.
I will attempt one last DIY sump.. lol

I'm going to buy 3 x 5 gallon plastic containers at lowes.
I'm going to connect them with pvc pipe and sillicone
this will be my sump

 

[Hillage]

That sucks that it shattered. If it broke into a bazillion pieces then it probably was indeed tempered. I've always wanted to check, but I don't have any polarized glasses to use...

Good luck with the plastic containers! I'll be following this, so I know anything I need to watch out for when I finally get enough money to buy all the stuff I need for a sump.

 

[scottayy]

OK, got this done.

It's just 3 17L plastic containers connected with pvc pipe. The pvc pipe is 3/4" and there are 2 connecting each container. The inlet bulkhead is 1" so this should provide more than enough flow to keep it from overflowing. The second set of pvc pipes are lower than the first set, so water should flow easily from the first to the second to the third containers.

And, luckily it fits under my stand! While at the store, I measured the bottoms of the containers. Being stupid, I didn't notice they slant outwards going towards the top (duh!). Still fits though. But I will have to build a shelf inside the stand so I have places to put stuff. (always something to do!)

Now I just have to silicone around the pvc pipes and do a water test. I am thinking I won't have any problems though.

Why couldn't I have done this first? It cost me $18.

Here is a view from the back, so water flow will be from right to left in this picture.

 

[Hillage]

Looks good to me! As long as it doesn't leak I'm sure it'll work just fine =D

 

[Island_Emt]

Looks good. I used a old 30 gal tank which I divided into 3 sections.