DIY Acrylic Sump - Need input

TinpanVA · Apr 16, 2015

I picked up a 60 gal cube and stock stand a few weeks ago, been looking for sump options and not finding much out there. I did pick up a small 20 gal sump from a guy in the local club, but by the time I add the skimmer, build a wall to control the water height, I only have enough room for the return pump. I had envisioned a space for an ATO storage, and a space for live rock. So now I'm giving serious thought to building my own sump. Problem is I've never done that before. Previous tank was a biocube so no working knowledge of sumps to pull from.
I measured the stand and I think a 21x21x15 sump will fit nicely, but again, not really sure. I'll attach a sketch of what I'm thinking because I tend to babble.

I'm doing a full siphon drain on both the pre-drilled 1" holes in the bottom of the 60. I have already drilled the back wall for the return. I'm dropping both drains into a narrow area that will fill up and wash over a section that has a 4" filter sock. There a hole at the bottom that will allow the water out, but I also have a lip at the top just in case the sock gets clogged that will spill over into the next section. Right now the next section is for the skimmer, but not sure if it should be for the live rock or not. Not sure which should be first. The idea here was not to dump directly into the filter sock to make it easier to change out, and also to keep the end of the pipe below water level for noise control.

Basically from there, wall height drops for the live rock section and drops again into the return section.

Couple of questions, 1) does each section need to drop down to keep the water "flowing"?
2) I didn't draw in baffles or bubble traps, are they recommended?
3) How tall should the filter section be? Never used socks so not sure.
4) Is it worth all the time and trouble to gain a 10x13 section for live rock? I could just use the 20 gal sump I have now, and buy a small 10 gal tank for the ATO water. I'm really just doing all this for that one section for the live rock.

View attachment 60 Sump Ver 2 Model (1).pdf

thejuggernaut · Apr 16, 2015

A sump is pretty complicated for your first acrylic project, especially if you want full features like a filter sock holder. I would probably use the off the shelf tank as my sump and get some glass cut to make my baffles, then DIY the ATO to a custom size to fit the space. You could build it really narrow to fit the space (20X16x6) and still get a little over 8 gallons. I would think that if you put a coulple of vertical baffles inside it that run almost the height of the tank, you could make it out of thinner materials without it bowing too much. Does that make sense about the baffles?

Also, usually in a drain system, you only have 1 full siphon. The 2nd drain has to be able to pick up the slack and account for any variation in flow. If they are both tuned as siphons, if the pipes get a little growth in them and it slows your drains down, they will flood.

TinpanVA · Apr 16, 2015

Yeah, technically only one will be full siphon, the other as an emergency drain.
I hear ya on the acrylic project being complicated for my first. I don't mind big projects, but if there's a simpler way I'm all for it. That's why I'm looking for options.

Problem I'm having is finding something off the shelf, other than the 20gal I have now. Any feedback on whether I'd actually get a benifit from a pretty small section for live rock in such a small sump?.
My original plan was to make a custom stand that would house a 40b sump. But I got such a good deal on this tank and stand I just rolled with it. So now I need a new plan. Lol

KorD · Apr 16, 2015

I wish you lived closer... I built about 40 custom sized acrylic sumps for people here in our area cheaply.... mostly the cost of a few cigars and the cost of materials.
are you using a standard 20gal tank for the sump? here is a picture of one of the crazy ones I built for my stand... I was working with VERY LITTLE room.. scroll down a little through the build and you will see it. it even has a drawing but not sure of the measurements.
This will give you an idea of another way to set it up.

https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/member-tanks/196519-kords-3-4-gallon-build.html

baffles are good for slowing down the water movement, but bubble traps are not really needed if you plan on having chateo in there. it will stop the bubbles IMO

thejuggernaut · Apr 16, 2015

I think a rolling ball of cheato under some high output red LEDs would do better for you than a little rock. Maybe build an ATS. I think either one of those would give you more bang for you buck. The lighting would be same for both. Stay away from lower powered CFL. They do work, but with limited space, you need something more efficient.

Download a free copy of sketchup and get out a tape measure and plan it out. The more you plan, the better it will work, and the easier your maintenance will be.