Sump Question

[sausageman]

Well I went ahead and built my own sump outta 1/4" acrylic and looks pretty good if you ask me for the first time.... Only flaw is a little bit of the glue got on the bottom side of the back piece and melted it a little, because i was glue happy... and didnt realize it only took such a small amount, but annnyways, ... oh and I also got my 55gal stand built and stained and its drying with a few coats of poly on it, so im going to go out there and take some pics and hopefully have them up here. and same with the sump...

But the question I have is... my sump, has demensions of 24"Lx12"Wx16"H..... I plan on having a refegium, intake, and a return....

The plan was making the intake, 5"L, 2" for the baffles, 8" return", then a 8 1/2" refugium (sump is only 23 1/2" inside).... does anyone see a problem with this? Should any section be bigger for any reasons?? I havent glued any of the walls inside it yet, and wont till tomorrow? If anyone sees any potential problems please let me know :-)

Thanks

[Lutrah]

sounds good. Let us know how it turns out.

[Geoff]

depending on the amount of flow through the sump you might have problems with sand being pulled back up into the display.

a bigger concern is water height. you need to make sure that you have a low enough water level in the sump that when the power goes out the tank sump does not overflow. a common mistake is to have the water level to high in order to keep a refugium.

G~

[sausageman]

Originally Posted by Geoff

a bigger concern is water height. you need to make sure that you have a low enough water level in the sump that when the power goes out the tank sump does not overflow. a common mistake is to have the water level to high in order to keep a refugium.

G~

Yeah i took that into consideration, my overflow that i designed and made from left over acrylic, pulls out about 2-3 gallons, of water, from the tank, and the sump holds around 21, i believe, and the level i plan keeps it just so when the power does go out, my sump will fill to the top, and give me a bout a 1/2 to spare

so ill have to fix that, or maybe ill be ok, never had a power outtage for the 2 yeasr ive been at my apartment, but yeah, i say that, and next thing i know powers out for a week, because an idiot shoved a screw driver in a socket, blowing up something.... or something ??

[sausageman]

These are some of the pics i took. I didn't get any progress shots or anything but any questions/concerns/etc just ask.... The stand was built for a 55gal, and the sump was made to hold 21 gals, but planning on running 15-16 gals.

I wanted to use a Mag 5 as a return pump?? any concerns about this? I haven't made my overflow yet, going to use left over acrylic and a blow torch to do that. I plan on doing 3/4" pipe from the overflow.

The sump has a refugium, on the left, middle section is return, and the right is the intake... I actually have the sump backwards in the stand and stuff, but i guess it doesn't matter.



Future plans, include a DIY skimmer and a Canopy for some VHO or MH when i get the extra cash, so I can finally start a real reef tank !!

[ballvice]

only thoughts I have on the refugium is the placement of your "stuff"...IE Skimmer, heater and return pump. ONly concern I had with mine was enough room to fit the skimmer in and the pump on the other end.

GREAT job btw...what did you cut your acrylic with?

Frank

[sausageman]

Originally Posted by ballvice

only thoughts I have on the refugium is the placement of your "stuff"...IE Skimmer, heater and return pump. ONly concern I had with mine was enough room to fit the skimmer in and the pump on the other end.

GREAT job btw...what did you cut your acrylic with?

Frank

Yeah that was a concern when making it, the intake is 5"l and 12"w so I should be able to do a 4" PVC pipe DIY skimmer if i make it side ways so to speak, and heater will prolly go into the refugium, and return pump is a mag 5, which has plenty of room.

When it came to cutting the acrylic, I went to my dad, the carpenter. He's insane with wood, (he helped a lot with the stand), but I used his table saw and used a 82 toothed blade, not sure of what type. The edges were ok, but not that smooth, so I took a one of those little blades you can buy, and i ran it along the edges to get a really smooth edge for a good seal. I did the water test about an hour ago, and the thing is completly water tight, no bowing which is great.