Willragan
Well-Known Member
So I am doing a fish and beer coral display in a 150 cube. It will be fish I like rather than the usual reef safe fish I incorporate into my reef tanks and beer coral. By beer coral I mean cheap coral that wont break the bank if the Angel's and butterflies I am including decide to eat it. Using branch rock with flat shelves on top to hold cheap coral like gsp and xenia and zoas and shrooms just cool looking stuff that grows faster than the fish eat it. I will include a pic of the rockwork but this is about the sump really. I have been racking my brain trying to figure out what to do for the sump. The requirements of the sump are A. Dedicated sections for skimmer and fuge. B. Adequate room for fuge and some extra rock and or marine pure. C. Fit under stand(obviously). D. Reasonable cost(hopefully around $200). So there are 2 ways I could go one being a commercially made sump and the other being a homemade sump. I have 34"x34" to work with and there are some nice commercial sumps out there that are 30-34" long and 15" wide and a few of them do have dedicated skimmer and fuge sections but these cost anywhere from $400 to $600 or they don't have sections for fuge and skimmer and still cost $300-350 and some dont have socks either. So these are kinda out budgetwise. Homemade sumps suit me fine but a tank to build them with is the issue. Custom tanks are too expensive and really defeat the purpose of homemade which is saving money(if ima spend $300 on a tank I may as well buy a custom sump). So this leaves standard tanks as the option. The issue there us limited sizes. The go to tank imo for a DIY sump is a 40 breeder which makes a great sump and there are a bunch of baffle kits available for this tank. However a 40 breeder is 36x18 and where the 18 is fine with room to spare the 36 is not. I lack 2" in length so 40 breeder is out. The only size tank that is under 36" and readily available is a 20 long which is 30x12 and will fit with room to spare but just isn't big enough for the skimmer I'm using, which is a pretty good size deltec) and a fuge and socks and m1 return pump being used. I could use a 24x24 cube tank but they are also pricey or a 30x18 tank but all the standard 30x18 tanks I have found have been quite deep and also expensive. That left one other option I could come up with, build my own tank or use some other container. I am not confident enough in my acrylic gluing or silicone skills to build a tank and most other containers like rubbermaid tubs are too hard to make baffles for so these options are a no go as well. So I was stuck without a good option what the flip will I do? Then a buddy of mine said why don't you join 2 20 long standard tanks and use those as a sump? Man that's a good idea. Side by side they will be 30x24 plus an inch or so for the pipes to join them and that fits. Petco had them on sale $1 a gallon man thats only $40!!!!! Price is right!!!! Baffles: man fiji cube makes a baffle kit for a 20 long Petco brand tank that has all 5 star reviews and looks great!!!! Its $99 but comes with stockholders and everything so not bad really. I could make baffles easily enough but a double sock holder not so sure. So 2 20 longs is seeming like a perfect option but a few buds tell me that 20 gallon tanks are thin and easy to crack when drilling so I worry about that for awhile. I have drilled many tanks but they have all been much bigger and thicker glass. So I read a bunch of threads and alot are saying same thing that they are easy to crack. When in doubt I ask a super veteran friend. I've been in the hobby for 35 years but one of my buddies has been in for more like 45 years and owned a shop for years and managed countless others so chances are he will know. So I ask mybuddy Richard and he says man they are easy to drill. Great great great! I do take caustion still; make sure not to get too close to any edges, use lots of lubricant, go slow and take breaks to apply MORE lubricant(which is vegetable oil in my case) and let the bit do the work, don't apply too much pressure just let the weight of the drill push through no extra force needed. It goes perfectly, so well that I drill 2 extra holes for an emergency drain in case the main cannot flow enough water to keep all the water levels in the different sections steady. So anyway sorry for this long diatribe but hopefully it was interesting to some and check out the pics of my progress. I will update as soon as the baffle kit and bulkheads arrive and are installed. Pic 1 is rockwork, pic 2 is my terribly drawn plan, pic 3 is the baffle kit I ordered, pic 4 and 5 are the 20 longs after drilling. Thx for reading and hope it helps someone with an odd size tank who wants a decent size sump.
