Hey guys for my next project I want to make a sump for a reef tank. I'm planning for the future so though I only have fish for now I know I want corals in the future. I have the three obvious chambers; the protein skimmer, the refugium and the return section. Any suggestions on additional sections?
Sump design
- Thread starter leon1972
- Start date
Bifferwine
I am a girl
Nope. Three sections should be good.
I'm not all that great about making straight cuts for the partitions. How giving are they on the crooked cuts? Do I use a regular saw to cut it? I looked at Buying and it was like ugh too expensive!!!! Especially if I can make one for less than 100 bucks!!!! I'm just going to find a used 30 gallon or so on Craig's list.
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Bifferwine
I am a girl
Don't cut it yourself. If you buy the plexiglass at Lowe's or Home Depot, they will cut it there.
softchxntaco
Reefing newb
what i used for my plexigass was a utility knife a carpenters sqaure and for sections that were off (due to slippage) i just used a sander to realign them
softchxntaco
Reefing newb
use the knife to score the lines you need, place it on a solid surface to your line and with a downward force it will complete the cut, use a few scrap pieces till you get the hang of it, much easier once you do it a few times.
Thanks. I just found a 20 gal for 15 bucks. So much cheaper than buying!!!! I'm figuring 50 bucks tops!!!! Lol. I'm also going to be making a few mounts for various things out of the acrylic as well. Probes and float switches and such. What would be the best adhesive to mount them to the glass? Also I'm thinking rather than drilling the tank I will make an acrylic mount for a filer sock and the inlet hose. Any thoughts whether this will work well or not? Just seems so much easier than drilling glass!!!. Cut the acrylic, attach the plumbing then mount it!!!!!
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softchxntaco
Reefing newb
any brand of aquaruim safe slicone will work, i used the loctite brand for mine much cheaper if you get it from the hardware store vs the pet store. $2-$3 Hardware store vs $7-$8 at a LFS
softchxntaco
Reefing newb
and dont drill the tank, most are made of tempered glass which will shatter into millions of shards if you absolutly need it drilled take it to a pro and have them do it
snyderju
Reefing newb
Dap also makes aquarium safe silicone. Says right on the package. Worked excellent on mine. If you are making it out of a 30 gallon aquarium I would consider going to a glass shop and getting 1/4 inch glass baffles cut. I had mine done locally and it wasn't too expensive when compared to the price of acrylic sheets. I've heard of people breaking tanks using acrylic because it absorbs water and expands. Plus silicone bonds much easier to glass.
snyderju
Reefing newb
I would think they would have the glass for you there. The place I used was a custom glass shop so they had it all there. I would use 1/4" glass.
bigford
fish only
i brought my 29 to the glass shop to show them what i wanted and
how i needed the glass cut. all the glass cut to size and 45* bevels
was $25.00. I got the call a day later picked up the stuff and went home
cleaned all glass and started siliconing 48 hours water in a sump
how i needed the glass cut. all the glass cut to size and 45* bevels
was $25.00. I got the call a day later picked up the stuff and went home
cleaned all glass and started siliconing 48 hours water in a sump
45* bevels? That actually brings up my next question. I know I need a bubble trap. Is there a rule of thumb for baffle heights? The skimmer section baffle should be sized to the depth of my skimmer correct? What about the fuge section and the bubble trap baffle height? Is there a standard or is it preference? Was that the edges of the glass you had beveled at 45. *? Why? Was it so the silicone would sit in the bevel groove?
OceanCrazy
Reefing newb
Hey Leon i am about to start on my 20g sump in the morning, what design u using i still dont have a clue.Any pics of the design?
There's a really god tutorial on utube of a basic protein skimmer to refugium to bubble trap return design. Just u tube DIY sump. Tons of videos will come up. I just need something with more room for my probes and switches. If you don't want to drill your glass (like I'm not) just make a mount for your intake line and then glue it to the inside of your tank. Basically bend a piece of acryllic into an l and drill a hole to fit the fitting attachment for your incoming line. Then glue the other part of the L to the inside of your tank. There you have a simple, easy to install fixed inlet. Sorry I didn't use the technical terms, can't think of em at the moment. Lol. I'm not that concerned with the intake line as when I get my reef octopus I'm going to feed the line straight into the protein skimmer. You can do that with the reef octopus right? From my understanding you can
OceanCrazy
Reefing newb
Ty lots will check them out
