New sump: Motivation came as a kick in the pants

BMW Rider · #1 01-08-2013, 03:08 AM

I've been wanting to build a new sump for a long time as I have never been happy with the setup I have now. It's been on my mind but way down the list of priorities. I finally got the kick I needed to get after it this week in the form of a dead pump on my closed loop. In order to accomodate the new sump I wanted, I'd also need to relocate and replumb the closed loop pump. End of last week, the pump cratered and is beyond repair. As I was never really happy with the reliability of the old one (third time it leaked) and I can't find a retailer of parts anymore for it, a new pump of a different brand is on it way (just missed the good Boxing Day sales, Doh!) The new pump will not be a direct replacement for the old one, so, since I was having to do some plumbing anyway, I figured I may as well tackle the sump too.

I picked up the acrylic today and a ton of plumbing fittings (I'm sure I'll still need more). Tommorrow I'll get started on the sump build.

Skimmerking · #2 01-08-2013, 03:35 AM

Congrats Beamer rider u will love making it

BMW Rider · #3 01-08-2013, 02:42 PM

Mostly I'm going to love the tidier layout of the sump and under tank area.

BMW Rider · #4 01-09-2013, 01:28 AM

Good progress today. The sump is mostly done. Tommorrow I'll water test it and get the last of the work done on it.

I do want to also replace the skimmer but that will be another time. Not sure what I want yet, but would like something with a smaller footprint. This Aqua-C is freaking huge.

riceboy · #5 01-09-2013, 02:39 AM

Wow that looks great. Where did you get the acrylic from. And how much did it cost?

hillegom · #6 01-09-2013, 02:43 AM

good job. Very professional
Nice shop!!

BMW Rider · #7 01-09-2013, 01:38 PM

The acrylic was from Industrial Paint and plastics. I used one full 48" x 96" sheet with just a few small pieces and some scraps left over. The cost was just over $200 including some solvent weld and a new applicator. Turns out the half bottle I had on hand was enough anyway so the new can is untouched.

I also picked up a new plastics/laminates blade at KMS Tools for my table saw which made the work easier as the cuts were perfect and clean for the joints with no additional prep required. That was another $90 but I'll get lots of use out of it for many other projects with plastics.

Seriak · #8 01-09-2013, 03:07 PM

Very professional looking work there!

BMW Rider · #9 01-11-2013, 12:57 AM

Finished the sump yesterday and got the new Reeflo Dart for the CL. Today was the big swap over of the sump. Got the old mess of plumbing hacked out and the sump and refugium drained, emptied and out of there. Ended up with a box full of scrap PVC parts and other junk. The whole system sort of evolved over time as equipment was added, subtracted, replaced etc. and it had grown into a real abomination of plumbing and clutter.

The new sump slipped in with just the minimum of room to spare as planned. I made it as big as I could physically get in through the cabinet opening and into position. Then came the work of replumbing everything. Part of my goal with this sump was to make maintenance easier through better access and by streamlining water changes. With the old sump, I had to drain some water from the tank to get the desired 25 gallons that I do. The new sump s a bit larger, so I can get the full volume just from the sump. Additionally, I made a bypass through the bubble trap so both the return section and the skimmer section will drain with the return pump. For that I added a spigot that I can connect a hose to and by opening one valve and closing another, pump it out with no hassle. I'm almost looking forward to the next water change.

The new sump has the refugium integral in it rather than the stacked mess I had before. The refugium is the full width of the sump on the front side, (you can see it better in the construction photos). This gives me much easier access to the fuge for maintenance and cleaning, something that was woefully neglegted in the past due to it being a PIA to get to. I still need to get a better light for that and then fabricate some holders for it.

I got the new CL pump partly plumbed in today. I reconnected the return pipes from the OM 4-way vavle, but need to source the 2" piping and fittings for the intake yet, so water movement is still by a crappy cheap powerhead for now. At this stage, I was pretty much out of time and motivation for today. This took me nearly 8 hours work with hardly a break.

Enjoying a cool barley based beverage now. I'll get the rest of the fittings and continue later on this.