30 gal reef tank...Sump question

[Hodges]

I have a 30 gal reef tank and I am wanting to make a sump for it. My question is how big should I go? And I am on a budget. What is the cheapest why I can do this?

Thanks

 

[ck-fisher]

im making a sump for my 29g and im getting a 15g for the sump everything that i needed besides the stand pluming return pump and overflow and tank cost me around 125-150$


its not as big as i wanted my sump to be but with the stand beings small and my tiny pocket budget its a pretty good sump


know this really dosnt help much but jsut trying to give a little price rang

hope this helps

 

[Dr.Nate]

you actually can make a sump on a budget. You can even use a rubbermaid container for a sump.

I got most of my info by browsing through the DIY sump section on this site.....lots of great info there.

The most expensive thing will be the overflow and the return pump--although if you're a real DIY'er you can even make the overflow yourself!

 

[vsnsofadrgn]

im doin the same on my 29, actually just got the sump started yesterday. i think all said and done, about $150. the pump and overflow, as mentioned, are the most expensive. i used a 10 gal due to space constraints. works for me tho, i get all the ugly stuff out of my tank, and even will do a small refugium in a month or so!

 

[melosu58]

And your tank will thank you for the extra water volume. I agree check out the DIY section.

 

[Ziggy953]

You could easily use a 10g tank from walmart. (about $10) get some 1/4" acrylic from home depot or lowes have them cut it to fit your 10g (you will need to measure before you go to lowes or home depot) a little silicone (also sold at walmart in the pet section) and there you have it an instant sump and can even have a fuge on it. I used a 10g along with my 75g wet/dry for a long time before I got the 20g that I have my fuge in now. I split the 10g into 2 sections return and fuge. Water poured into the fuge and then flowed into the return zone through a bubble trap and back it went to the tank. It worked well just wasn't large enough for the tank it was on. I thnk I had maybe $25 in the whole thing. HTH

 

[mnestroy]

Yah the actual container/sump itself isn't the costly part, u'll prob spend more on a return pump than a container/glass tank.

But in any case, get as big as you can fit... if you got room under your stand for a 40galon then do it

Theres no rules saying your sump needs to be smaller than your display (that i know of).

 

[20 20]

15 gallon sump/fuge I made for my 29 gallon display...

That was a year and a half ago, lots of chaeto and coraline now.

 

[beachbumin]

anybody tried to make their own overflows?

 

[Dr.Nate]

anybody tried to make their own overflows?

somebody has done it before......

see
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=87612&highlight=overflow

and
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=87700&highlight=overflow

and
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=78556&highlight=overflow