Ideas for a sump...

[SCUBA_STEVE]

Hey everyone. This may not be practical but I am going to throw it out there anyway. I have a 29g reef tank with a deep sand bed and about 30lbs of live rock. So I am thinking I realy only have about 20g of water in the tank. Now the tank is not drilled and I would really like to incoroparte a sump into the system. So I am looking at a HOB overflow (any sugestions or experiences would be aprreciated on that topic.) Now, I have limited space underneath my stand so I would really only be able to add somwhere around 15g of volume to the system. So... what I am thinking is to just head down to Walmart or something like that and get a Tote that would fit under my stand. So really all I would have is one chamber (in there I would have my skimmer, some extra live rock, heater and a return pump.) I would really like to setup a refuge but I dont know if i'd be able ot make dividers/baffles in a tote like that and that small of dimenstions. Does this seems like a good idea to everyone of is this just a pipe dream. Any suggestions or opinions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Steve

[LeanneP]

Thanks for asking this question as I am just in the same dilemma but with a 90 gallon that have nitrates at 10 and I am looking for a cheap way to sump it as I have been blowing my budget with my tank. Hope you don't mind but I will tag along.

Leanne P

[don.ald]

My sumps never have baffles. I use a 20g tank and place a tall 7g inside that tank. Flow goes into the 7g with a sock, and overflows into the 20. The return pump and skimmer is in the 20g.
The 7 g is a fuge with cheato etc.
Kinda like a tote inside a tote.
Rick.

[msjboy]

you can just use a 10 gallon tank as a sump ( lots of people have them or even give em away free) without partitions as I have seen, or just get some 3 small sheets of acrylic from the waste cuts at various plexiglass stores like Industrial Plastics, ( you can score them manually if you have no access to a proper saw) to make the partitioned sump.... there are lotsa of designs out. You have to get an extra amount of silicon to adhere the sides though.

I think a plastic tote box, the plastic overtime might decay and have a leak; a thicker one will be of course best. I see that King Ed uses a plastic tray for their liverock sump as well as a plastic 55gallon bin.

msjboy

[Northernseacorals]

Rubbermaid tote, or tough tub

Works like a charm.

I currently have a Aqueon HOB overflow on my tank. It always starts up right away. I did flood my basement though due to stupidity. I shut the return pump off and took the inside overflow box off without breaking the siphon on the utube. We'll the uTube kept siphoning and there went 2 gallons or so.

My other complaint about them is that they are noisey. You have to build stand pipes for them. Also, the clear boxes get horribly dirty. The only way to clean them is to soak it in vinegar. Go with a black box version.

I am using a 10 gallon rubbermaid to mix salt water in. It's works really well. Although, it does flex a lot.

[biggerstretch]

HOB overflows are OK but not the best for piece of mind. I built a few in the past and they worked however I never really trusted them.

I would shut the tank down by moving it into another aquarium or something and get the back glass drilled. Back glass is generally is not tempered so it can be drilled. Put a 90 pipe fitting in the tank to a flange and then run the pipe down to the sump. As far as the sump goes , building some baffles and filter stands is simple. The smaller tank in the bigger one works well also. Never liked the Tupperware sumps as they tend to be too flexible ( as stated previously )

The solution to pollution is dilution , the bigger the sump the better however with a smaller tank it isn't practical to have an 80 gallon sump. I suppose a 5 gallon pail would work as a sump however we all want to have our tanks and setups look nice...
If you have lots of cash get the sump custom made from acrylic, if you are on a budget then see what kind of a used tank you can find and either silicone in some baffles or put another smaller tank inside it. I however do not trust HOB overflows, to me it is just a way of not doing it right in the first place....

[Albertan22]

I've seen sumps consisting of rubbermaid tubs before, I doubt you'd have a problem with it. If you want to incorporate a fuge component, maybe try just building a box or partition out of egg crate and sticking a ball of chaeto in it and hanging a light over it. That way you'd have some separation to prevent it from drifting into your skimmer pump or return pump. Just make sure it's big enough to leave the cheato move a bit.

Another method that I remember seeing somewhere online when setting up my tank years ago was to plumb two totes together using bulkheads and pvc pipe. The overflow feeds the first tote which is the fuge, water then flows to the second tote which has the skimmer, heater, return pump and anything else you want in there.

[Mike-fish]

watch Kijiji for a 10g it seems that there's almost always one on there for next to nothing you might also find one on sale also for cheap. as for baffles a bit of acrylic should work great as stated previously check with a few of the plastics places in town to see if you can go scrap bin diving .

[RDNanoGuy]

Check your local petsmart. They frequently have bare tanks on sale. I picked a 20 long there for my mantis for $34.99