Sump/Fuge building.

[clancaster23]

Come spring time, I'll be looking to make my own sump or fuge and was wondering if there are any kind of step-by-step instructions on how to make these. I do not have a drilled tank so I need something that would work in that way. I have what is now a hang on tank skimmer that I would be using.

 

[little_fish]

Check out the DIY section. All sorts of good stuff in there.

 

[Grassman]

Come spring time, I'll be looking to make my own sump or fuge and was wondering if there are any kind of step-by-step instructions on how to make these. I do not have a drilled tank so I need something that would work in that way. I have what is now a hang on tank skimmer that I would be using.

Here's what I turned a 35 gallon into. I did end up removing the far left baffle to make more room/flow in the refugium part. I'm going to be changing it all around since I want something bigger and can hold more then 2 days of evaporation.

Here's what I'm replacing it with.

 

[clancaster23]

Been reading a lot about building the sump but have a question. I do not have a drilled tank so was wondering how to I get the water down into the sump? Will I need a pump in the water to send it down into the skimmer then one to send it back up?

Also, I have a 14 gallon tank I'll be able to use for the sump soon. Is this adequate enough for a 75 gallon (eventually reef) tank?

I'm drew up a little diagram of what I think it's supposed to look like and post it to get some opinions on what should be changed.

 

[Northstar24]

You can use anything for the sump, but generally speaking, the bigger the better. As far as not having a drilled tank, you will need an overflow box, which hangs on the back or the side of your tank, and is a way to drain the water from the tank to the sump.

Check out Lifereef, their products are pricy, but the quality and customer service is second to none:
Lifereef Filter Systems

 

[Grassman]

You can use anything for the sump, but generally speaking, the bigger the better. As far as not having a drilled tank, you will need an overflow box, which hangs on the back or the side of your tank, and is a way to drain the water from the tank to the sump.

Check out Lifereef, their products are pricy, but the quality and customer service is second to none:
Lifereef Filter Systems

+1 Northstar. If I hadn't drilled my tank I would have went with one of the Lifereef overflows.

 

[Grassman]

Been reading a lot about building the sump but have a question. I do not have a drilled tank so was wondering how to I get the water down into the sump? Will I need a pump in the water to send it down into the skimmer then one to send it back up?

Also, I have a 14 gallon tank I'll be able to use for the sump soon. Is this adequate enough for a 75 gallon (eventually reef) tank?

I'm drew up a little diagram of what I think it's supposed to look like and post it to get some opinions on what should be changed.

How much room do you have for your sump? Is it going under your stand or someplace else. If you can make it bigger I would. Just aquariums are cheap. I can buy just tanks for about $1 per gallon. (Canada) Bigger is better and I'm going as big as my stand will let me. Mine is a 59 gallon custom made that holds 55 gallons to the bottom of the over flow and I'm building one that will hold about 43 gallons of water without anything in my refugium area. I build everything myself because I work for a glass company and get it for either free or cost if it has to be ordered.

In your return section you will want to be able to keep at least 3 days of water for evaporation. I made mine too small and have to put water in it every day.

Make sure you have enough room in your sump if power goes out and the water keeps flowing down your over flow so it doesn't end up on your floor because your sump overflowed.

Are you using a hang on the back skimmer? What kind are you thinking on using? The one I use I never left enough room for it in the skimmer area, and takes up more room then it should because of the way it is sitting.

I'm no expert on these thing, just give you what I have learned from making my first one. The one I'm building is fixing all the things I did wrong with my first one.

 

[clancaster23]

It will be going under the tank inside the stand. I only have about a 18 by 24 space to put it in due to the way the stand is built. I have to look at it more to see if I can remove two 2x4's that are under there and be able to get something bigger in there but this is the reason I am looking to just put my 14 in there for it. I have a Coraline skimmer that's going in there that now hangs on my tank. The six inches I put in the diagram should be plenty to fit it in there.

 

[clancaster23]

Just looking at tank dimensions, if I did remove the two boards and made room for something bigger, I don't think I can get anything bigger than a foot deep front to back in there. From what I see, the biggest I can do is a 37 gallon and that's if I can get the right angle and get it in there.

 

[Northstar24]

As long as your tank is not full of water, you can remove the 2x4 that the doors close against for your stand. I had to do this when I put my Lifereef below my 180. I WOULD NOT do this if there is water in the tank, as it adds a whole bunch of weight to the tank (approximately 8 pounds a gallon) That should make it eaiser to fit whatever you want under the stand.

Is putting the sump in the stand neccesary? If I could do things over again, I would get a huge rubbermaid container or a second large tank second hand and keep it in the basement (and drain the water from the tank to the basement, and get a heavy duty pump to move it back up to the tank) I realize this is not an option for everyone - we cant all have fish rooms (myself included!)

 

[clancaster23]

Actually the 2x4's aren't the ones that are in between the doors but there are two other ones that appear to brace a board that goes along the top to support the boards along the top. The top has two 1/2" by 10" boards running down it. I have attached a pic trying to show the boards. The two vertical boards hold up the short one on the top of them. The vertical ones go all the way to the bottom of the stand through the floor of it. I have built my own stands but did not build this one, it came with the tank back when I bought it.

Now looking at it again, I think I can just remove the two verticals and just reuse the braces and mount them to the center boards. I don't think there should be much weight on that top board considering my tank has a frame on it which lifts the bottom in the air basically so there's really nothing touching the center of the stand.

Forgot to mention I have no room for any kind of outside container to make a sump of. I'm very limited on space.

 

[little_fish]

Hey, im going to move this to the appropriate section. There are many more categories if you scroll down, you should check them out.