Anyone DIY sumps?

dakotanut · Jun 18, 2018

Thinking about building my own sump. Need particulars. Probably 30 gallon. Depth no more than 15 inches.

jenius8477 · Jun 18, 2018

I do. Both my sumps are diy. One has acrylic panels and the other is Glass

George Lopez · Jun 18, 2018

I'm running a diy 10 and a diy 30 both acrylic. I find if you are making a complicated sump with odd cuts acrylic is more forgiving than glass, but of you are just doing flat pains glass is good as long as you make sure to sand down the edges so you don't hurt yourself when doing maintenance.

George Lopez · Jun 18, 2018

Any idea on the style sump you want?

pdisner · Jun 18, 2018

Just finished mine today. It’s a 20g with only
3 baffles, enuf room for a skimmer. It was super cheap. I even bought glass and got cut at Ace. 2$ a piece. It’s a simple design, and we will see if it works. The display is a 6 bin Breeder, total of 30g plus the 20g or so from my sump. Tell me what you think.

first attempt ever. I impressed myself. I didn’t break anything!

Booger McMoron · Jun 18, 2018

40g DIY glass for me.

Kmack0415 · Jun 19, 2018

125 gallon I built for my remote sump, got a deal on the tank Soo figured go big or go home lol. Wasn't hard I used 3/8 glass from some old table tops that I cut by hand and with a wet saw, siliconed them in, I had to change up the second wall after my refugium after the fact to shorten it but turned out real nice.

TaylorPilot · Jun 19, 2018

What features are you wanting?

pdisner · Jun 19, 2018

TaylorPilot said:
What features are you wanting?

So I have a Went dry filter that I was going to use for this six bin Breeder. It has a volume of 30 -35 gal. Here’s some pics. It’s the only spare aquarium on hand. But do u think it will handle the load? Idk what the specs should be. But I just want to have a sock with padding between baffles. Skimmer in first compartment.

What do u think?

TaylorPilot · Jun 19, 2018

I don't really understand. The glass tank is the one you want to use as a sump, and the acrylic one with dividers will be your display? Is it a 30 gallon glass tank? We have had some people install the 20L kits in the 30 gallon before, and they seem to fit fine. You would need to measure the ID of the glass though.

pdisner · Jun 19, 2018

TaylorPilot said:
I don't really understand. The glass tank is the one you want to use as a sump, and the acrylic one with dividers will be your display? Is it a 30 gallon glass tank? We have had some people install the 20L kits in the 30 gallon before, and they seem to fit fine. You would need to measure the ID of the glass though.

He acrylic is the display and glass is the sump. The Acrylic is where the clowns o other pairs will be. It’s about 30 gal. The sump total volume is 20 gal

dakotanut · Jun 19, 2018

TaylorPilot said:
What features are you wanting?

Not sure. Kinda like the trigger 30g.

anthonywesty · Jun 19, 2018

DIY 40B right now.

TaylorPilot · Jun 19, 2018

That is pretty nice, who makes that kit?

dede · Jun 19, 2018

Kmack0415 said:
125 gallon I built for my remote sump, got a deal on the tank Soo figured go big or go home lol. Wasn't hard I used 3/8 glass from some old table tops that I cut by hand and with a wet saw, siliconed them in, I had to change up the second wall after my refugium after the fact to shorten it but turned out real nice.

@Kmack0415 what kind of wet saw and blade did you use(do you have a link), I have thick glass also but can't cut it worth a darn with the regular glass cutters. So currently do not have any dividers in my sump as the only other option is the thin plate glass from lowes.

pdisner · Jun 19, 2018

dakotanut said:
Not sure. Kinda like the trigger 30g.

What do you mean by “trigger”

Skep18 · Jun 19, 2018

I was about to DIY a big one, 5ft or so, out of acrylic sheets. As much as I like to DIY, that all started to look like a much bigger undertaking and in the end it wouldn't look as good as a CNC cut unit. Ultimately I rboke down and bought one. Lol.

But making one from a fish tank seems much more doable and would have definitely considered that had my needs been a bit smaller.

pdisner · Jun 19, 2018

dede said:
@Kmack0415 what kind of wet saw and blade did you use(do you have a link), I have thick glass also but can't cut it worth a darn with the regular glass cutters. So currently do not have any dividers in my sump as the only other option is the thin plate glass from lowes.

I just used a 20gal that I had in hand. Got the 1/8” glass from Ace, they do the cutting. Only reason for the third baffle is to shove some floss or pad to help with mechanical filtration. I hope this does the trick.
Will have skimmer room in first bay and second if necessary. Just had to install a valve to slow the flow down. Sure could use a DC pump for this one. Next I’m installing lighting above and below. Here’s what I’ve accomplished so far, feel feel to suggest anything. I’m definately not an expert! Thanks everyone.