How to build a diy sump

[fishybizzness]

I currently have a 55 gal dt with a reef octopus BH 1000 hob skimmer and a cannister filter. I just got a 40 gal breeder from a friend and I'm thinking of doing a diy sump. Is the 40 going to be too big?

 

[Larry L]

IMO you can never have a sump that's too big - more likely you'd regret making it too small and not having enough room for everything you might want to eventually put in there. The more elbow room you have, the easier it will be to do maintenance on any equipment that's in there, and the more likely you will be to actually keep up with that maintenance. Plus you'll have a bigger total system water volume and therefore potentially a more stable setup.

 

[Ryan115]

I currently have a 55 gal dt with a reef octopus BH 1000 hob skimmer and a cannister filter. I just got a 40 gal breeder from a friend and I'm thinking of doing a diy sump. Is the 40 going to be too big?

It all depends on the size stand that you have to put it in. If it is a remote sump, then no issue.
For the most part you cant have a sump that is too big for a DT.

 

[Ryan115]

IMO you can never have a sump that's too big - more likely you'd regret making it too small and not having enough room for everything you might want to eventually put in there. The more elbow room you have, the easier it will be to do maintenance on any equipment that's in there, and the more likely you will be to actually keep up with that maintenance. Plus you'll have a bigger total system water volume and therefore potentially a more stable setup.

Yeah, what he said...

 

[fishybizzness]

I plan to upgrade to a SC 120 at some point next year. Would the 40 be big enough or would I have to get a new sump?

 

[Pife]

I plan to upgrade to a SC 120 at some point next year. Would the 40 be big enough or would I have to get a new sump?

It could be big enough. I depends on where you put your siphon at.

 

[fishybizzness]

Please explain

 

[Ryan115]

Sump size really only has a few factors that are a must to consider.

1. Can it hold enough back-flow for when the main pump turns off?
   • This can be accommodated with baffle height and with minimizing back-flow from DT.
2. Does it fit all of the equipment I want?
3. Does it fit where I want it to go?

 

[don_chuwish]

40B is a great size to work with for DIY sumping. I love the kit I got from @TaylorPilot for my 120G.

 

[fishybizzness]

Thanks for all the great advice! Any thoughts on baffle height and placement? Being new to this, I'm trying to get it right the first time so I don't have to do it over.

 

[Mandelstam]

There are as many sump designs as there are reefers probably lol. And they are all a matter of taste and of how you want to run your tank. Do you want a refugium? Are you going to run a bunch of reactors that you want to place in the sump? What's the footprint of your in sump equipment? Are you going to run an ATO?

A good basic design could be made up of three sections. Drain section with room enough for a sock or two.

Skimmer and equipment section with a static water level of around 9" maybe.

Return section with the return pump. Depending of if you run an ATO or not you could make this bigger or smaller. Smaller means top off needs to be made more frequently but also that any water level sensors will react on smaller volumes of evaporated water from the system which means smaller fluctuations in salinity.

If you want a refugium a good place is at the opposite end from the drain section and have it flow over into the return section.

A bubble trap can be placed between the skimmer section and the return section.

 

[Ryan115]

Thanks for all the great advice! Any thoughts on baffle height and placement? Being new to this, I'm trying to get it right the first time so I don't have to do it over.

Generally the higher the better, higher baffle equals more water volume. As long as you leave room for back flow. The other consideration is the depth that the skimmer needs to function optimally. You can always put the skimmer on a stand, but just make sure you don't get too tall and then cant get the cup off, or the skimmer out for cleaning.
For extra redundancy on the system, I also like to calculate the extra capacity in the DT and make the return section smaller than that.
So if for some reason the drain line gets blocked, I don't end up with water all over the floor.

 

[Radman73]

I use a 40b for my sump and it holds the back flow from my 220DT and 75Fuge both. Trick is to drill siphon breaks at the right heights. Preferably two of them per back flow line.

I'm fortunate that at the time I was planning my sump I lived near a cousin who owns a glass shop. I sketched out my design, sent him a list of sizes that I'd need, and he cut them from left over pieces. Even polished the edges for me. Check with local glass places. My primary and secondary drain into a small section which overflows into a filter sock compartment, it then flow under a baffle to the skimmer section, through a bubble trap to the return section.

 

[fishybizzness]

I'm going to build a small stand behind my dt because the sump can't fit in my dt stand. I'm currently running a reef octopus hob skimmer and will be until I upgrade later next year. I'm trying to fit as big a refugium section as I can. I'll probably baffle off a section for an in sump skimmer and just leave it empty. I currently have tunze nano ato and will probably be using that in the sump.

 

[fishybizzness]

I also just ordered a lifereef hob overflow and a MagDrive 7 return pump.

 

[jeffrey holloway]

Good choice, Jeff at Lifereef got me on the right track about protein skimmers a couple of yrs ago. I run a RO Various 6 wide open on mine. Great Skimmers

 

[fishybizzness]

I'll have to remember that. I'm just trying to learn and get experience before I upgrade. I really like how willing people on this forum are to help noobies like me along the way!!