Custom 20G Long Sump: Design Feedback Wanted

[motortrendz]

I have a 20l under my tank right now..
I have actually removed panels after the face bc I realized it looked good but wasnt functional for the skimmer I utilized as well as being able to get in there and clean it out.

 

[Reef-junky]

Had got a 50 gallon tank for free so I made a sump out of a 20L then ended up upgrading to a 75 so I went with an external skimmer.

 

[caas1496]

Did you ever get all this figured out? I am looking into building my Sump here in a bit and love what you did but hate when you don't know the ending

Some progress has been made. I tweaked the plumbing on the drain from the frag/fuge section and now it pulls a full siphon. The next steps are to plumb the display and the sump together. I have been dragging my feet on this but will hopefully be getting it done soon.

The leak test was sucessful. I had realized about halfway through assembling the sump that I hadnt done a leak test on the tank.... I got lucky and there were no leaks but that could have lead to a whole lot of wasted work.

 

[rioreef]

Sump looks great. How about some updates

I built my sump with a 29g tank with glass baffles and have my fuge past the return like you and I am happy, nevermind any naysayers about your design.

Feed mine off a T'd return with a valve on it. Fuge just overflows the baffle back into the return. The sump is 18" tall and the fuge baffle is at 17" (no worries about overflow). This give me a deep fuge at 12x6x17 and the chaeto fills it. It has been running like that for 15 years!

I did make a tubular chamber out of #7 plastic mesh (disk of it for the bottom) all secured with a few zip ties and put in the fuge along with a small powerhead to get more circulation of the lower water upwards. Keeps the chaeto at bay and only have to clear the pump intake about once a month of a few bits of chaeto.

 

[Reef-junky]

Get rid of the miracle mud.

 

[Broodude]

Anyone have a designer plans for using a 40 breader?

 

[Reef-junky]

Anyone have a designer plans for using a 40 breader?

Not sure why design plans are needed to put a couple of baffles in. You don’t need a bunch of fancy stuff in a sump. Media can go anywhere. You don’t need a holder for the drain pipes from your overflow. You can buy a sock holder to just drop in your sump and a holder for hoses.

 

[Broodude]

Not sure why design plans are needed to put a couple of baffles in. You don’t need a bunch of fancy stuff in a sump. Media can go anywhere. You don’t need a holder for the drain pipes from your overflow. You can buy a sock holder to just drop in your sump and a holder for hoses.

I’m a newb man forgive me only been in the hobby 1.5 years an I’m running a cube now. This stuffs a lil foreign to me right now.

 

[Reef-junky]

I’m a newb man forgive me only been in the hobby 1.5 years an I’m running a cube now. This stuffs a lil foreign to me right now.

There are two common sump designs. The size and height of the first chamber is set by your skimmer. The return section should be as small as possible (you can easily get the pump out). You want your ATO to do short top offs. The height of the other baffles doesn’t matter to much just make them as high as you can with out the sump over filling. Make sure you have enough room for back flow if the power goes out.

 

[Broodude]

There are two common sump designs. The size and height of the first chamber is set by your skimmer. The return section should be as small as possible (you can easily get the pump out). You want your ATO to do short top offs. The height of the other baffles doesn’t matter to much just make them as high as you can with out the sump over filling. Make sure you have enough room for back flow if the power goes out.

Thanks brother! I knew the concept an everything but u broke it down perfect! So for the skimmer section I want it essentially big enough for my skimmer and filter socks?

 

[GK3]

Some updates to the design. I am now planning to run a separate pump to feed the frag/fuge section. I picked up a Syncra Silent 2.0 & 1.0 as my two pumps (main return and frag/fuge). I also changed my mind about the type of heater I will be using. I now have a Neotherm 200W heater so I changed my heater mount design to accommodate it. There have been a few other small tweaks such as a cutout in the first lid to provide clearance for the filter roller.

Who is going to cut all of the material (acrylic?)

 

[Reef-junky]

Thanks brother! I knew the concept an everything but u broke it down perfect! So for the skimmer section I want it essentially big enough for my skimmer and filter socks?

Your skimmer will come with a recommended water depth you can however make that baffle higher if you raise the skimmer up (you can make a platform out of egg crate). Give the skimmer a few inches of space from the baffle.

 

[Reef-junky]

Filter sock holders are cheap. There is debate as to if you should even use them or not. You can also use filter cups. The advantage of the cup is you don’t have to wash and dry it. If you don’t stay on top of cleaning a sock or cup though then you can end up with problems that’s where the debate comes in. Some people think it’s better to keep everything suspended (add a small power head to the sump) and let the skimmer take all the crap out.



If you want to spend a bit more money pick up something like this.

 

[Reef-junky]

Tube holders are also pretty cheap. I would wait for the $1/gal sale at Petco and pick up a 40 breeder for $40. Then depending on the cost go to a glass place and get baffles cut or pick up acrylic if it’s cheaper.

 

[George Lopez]

Technically ther are 4 types of sumps if you count no fuge and triton method

I made a modified triton out of a 30 gallon

Before you design your sump you're going to want to decide on what equipment you want to store in it, that will dictate your chamber sizes and what design you can go with

 

[Reef-junky]

Technically there are endless designs to sumps depending on the size and shape of the tank and how much money you want to spend. Then you could get into running two sumps or even more then two tanks off of one sump ect ect. I have a 20L and 10 tall with an ATS on top of the 20.

 

[code4]

Love it all!