Sump/Fuge/Frag Area DIY

[DudeBoy]

Wife and I are hooked and would love a second tank just for frags but I'm trying to put it off for a little while. Thought about changing out my R-200 sump with a 40g breeder with a frag area. I did see some limited info out there and even a couple pictures of what someone else did but I wanted a more general consensus......what are your thoughts? Pros, Cons, design changes?

 

[DudeBoy]

Another question would be what type of material to use....I have access to laser cutters so perhaps acrylic (if I can find any)....

 

[Snorkelsteve]

My opinion would be to move the skimmer before the frag section and not put sand into the frag section. Other than that I think the idea is good.

 

[Mike N]

You should probably use glass if you can. Though I would want to use acrylic if I had access to the tools you do.
People with more experience than I say that acrylic expands over time in water and could put a lot of pressure on the outer glass. I guess if you account for that expansion, using acrylic still an option.

 

[DudeBoy]

My opinion would be to move the skimmer before the frag section and not put sand into the frag section. Other than that I think the idea is good.

see any possible issues with micro bubbles messing with the skimmer if I swap it with the fuge area?

Agreed on the sand....we have sand in the display and I was just thinking that it may be beneficial to have it in the frag area too...not really sure why....lol

 

[DudeBoy]

You should probably use glass if you can. Though I would want to use acrylic if I had access to the tools you do.
People with more experience than I say that acrylic expands over time in water and could put a lot of pressure on the outer glass. I guess if you account for that expansion, using acrylic still an option.

agreed...I've never done this and figure it will take a lot of tweaking. One appeal of the acrylic is that I could easily cut slots/fingers on each divider so I could fine tune it.....maybe short term is acrylic and when I get it dialed in, do glass....

 

[lpsouth1978]

I would swap the skimmer and frag areas and make the current frag area smaller. This would give you a larger fuge area and put the frag area in the cleanest area of the sump.

 

[DudeBoy]

I would swap the skimmer and frag areas and make the current frag area smaller. This would give you a larger fuge area and put the frag area in the cleanest area of the sump.

That's a good point. One struggle is the fact that this will be inside a cabinet and I'm leery of the head room for me to get under there and maneuver around (replacing/cleaning filters, emptying sump, getting to frages, etc.). Perhaps I do flip flop the skimmer and frag area and rotate the sump 180 degrees to keep the frag visible area facing the front of the cabinet.

 

[Snorkelsteve]

see any possible issues with micro bubbles messing with the skimmer if I swap it with the fuge area?

Agreed on the sand....we have sand in the display and I was just thinking that it may be beneficial to have it in the frag area too...not really sure why....lol

You shouldn't have a bubble issue for the skimmer. I said to remove the sand because it will just become a trap for crap and will cause issues in the future, been there done that lol