DIY 10 Gallon Sump

[BitReef]

I’m planning my first sump and looking for advice from you all. My new build is going to be a 29 gallon reef tank with a 10 gallon sump. Physical space is my biggest limitation. I’ve looked at a bunch of prebuilt sumps but most of them are too tall. I only have about 16” of height to work with in my cabinet.

My goal is to have a 10 gallon sump with a nano skimmer and a refugium for chaeto.

I’m leaning towards acrylic baffles because they are easier to cut and shape. I also think I want to use white opaque baffles to minimize any light leaking out of the fuge. I figure black baffles would absorb some of the light, but white would reflect it back in to the chamber.

I haven’t picked a skimmer yet, but am leaning towards the Tunze 9004 or the Eshopps nano. Something with a footprint around 4.5” x 4.5”. Height will be my biggest limitation.

Anyway, here’s my first draft sump plan. Let me know what you all think

 

[BitReef]

Just a few comments about my sump plan. I picked 9” as the first baffle height because that’s the recommended water level for the Tunze 9004. I can’t find a water level for the eshopps nano. I very open to skimmer recommendations. I don’t know if the tunze is a good choice because it appears to pull in surface water.

I probably need to reduce the height of the fuge by a couple inches.

I’m not sure how large to make the return chamber. My plan is to drill and plumb the display tank and test how much back flow I get.

 

[burnetb1]

I ran a similar setup when I got my first tank. It worked, but the refugium never really took off since it was so small. I was, and still am a big fan of "natural" filtration, so I continue to run refugiums, but I got a larger system.
With such a small tank I would look into other forms of nutrient export. A turf scrubber might fit into your space better than a fuge. Or run something like GFO and only have a reactor.
That being said, I still love refugiums. If I was building this tank, I would put a fuge in it for sure, but you do not need it for success, and honestly it would probably be easier without one.

My only comment on the build: you can save space by getting rid of the baffle. I never ran one and had little to no problems with bubbles making it to the return pump. If you can smooth the edge of the glass so its a nice rounded surface for the water to travel over, this will reduce any bubbles as well. I didn't run a high turnover rate through my sump and that also helped keep bubbles out of the return.

Another comment, and you might already be planning this, but get a ATO. That was the single greatest addition to my tank and in such a small system its almost necessary to maintain constant salinity. In the beginning I just figured I would top it off everyday and be fine, but as soon as I added the ATO everything in the tank was happier. Stability and consistency is everything in this hobby.

 

[ThePlummer]

How big a tank are you going to put this on..... If you aren't going too big, try this skimmer, it has a hook and you can adjust it to whatever height you want, and hang in over the edge of the aquarium. I have two of them and they work really well. It's cheap too.

Shop | Innovative Marine Products

Shop Now | Innovative Marine's Official Store | Free Shipping on all orders* | NUVO aquariums and saltwater reef supplies.

www.innovative-marine.com

 

[Brom]

I’m planning my first sump and looking for advice from you all. My new build is going to be a 29 gallon reef tank with a 10 gallon sump. Physical space is my biggest limitation. I’ve looked at a bunch of prebuilt sumps but most of them are too tall. I only have about 16” of height to work with in my cabinet.

My goal is to have a 10 gallon sump with a nano skimmer and a refugium for chaeto.

I’m leaning towards acrylic baffles because they are easier to cut and shape. I also think I want to use white opaque baffles to minimize any light leaking out of the fuge. I figure black baffles would absorb some of the light, but white would reflect it back in to the chamber.

I haven’t picked a skimmer yet, but am leaning towards the Tunze 9004 or the Eshopps nano. Something with a footprint around 4.5” x 4.5”. Height will be my biggest limitation.

Anyway, here’s my first draft sump plan. Let me know what you all think

Just in case you are depending on it being the case won’t the water level within the bubble trap be same as return chamber? Also I don’t know the exact dynamics of the trap but I think if you only have two baffles you want an under then over as that’s the magic chamber for bubble control. If you do that though, you would need a power head or something to break up surface sheen in fuge.

I just did my diy baffles and I would suggest to take the time to set your skimmer in your stand at its final height (account for recommended water height as you probably know) and make sure at that height you can tinker with it, remove it, etc.

I was this close to ordering acrylic baffles but I called around local glass shops and the first one that actually answered did 4 baffles out of 1/4” (plate glass) for $54 and did it same day. I got some oil and a grinding stone for my dremel and rounded the edges and corners over the course of about 2 hours. I went with gmac reef guide suggesting 1/4” narrower than inside width of tank but if you can go to 3/16 or 1/8 narrower I think I ultimately had some extra clearance requiring more silicone. My 2c. I had a thread if you check my history that had some additional discussion on baffles. Good luck!

 

[Brom]

Also whatever your final bubble trap plans, I recommend siliconing the under baffle first so you can get it good from both sides as it doesn't have a third silicone line with the bottom of the tank.

 

[BitReef]

I ran a similar setup when I got my first tank. It worked, but the refugium never really took off since it was so small. I was, and still am a big fan of "natural" filtration, so I continue to run refugiums, but I got a larger system.
With such a small tank I would look into other forms of nutrient export. A turf scrubber might fit into your space better than a fuge. Or run something like GFO and only have a reactor.
That being said, I still love refugiums. If I was building this tank, I would put a fuge in it for sure, but you do not need it for success, and honestly it would probably be easier without one.

My only comment on the build: you can save space by getting rid of the baffle. I never ran one and had little to no problems with bubbles making it to the return pump. If you can smooth the edge of the glass so its a nice rounded surface for the water to travel over, this will reduce any bubbles as well. I didn't run a high turnover rate through my sump and that also helped keep bubbles out of the return.

Another comment, and you might already be planning this, but get a ATO. That was the single greatest addition to my tank and in such a small system its almost necessary to maintain constant salinity. In the beginning I just figured I would top it off everyday and be fine, but as soon as I added the ATO everything in the tank was happier. Stability and consistency is everything in this hobby.

I do have an ATO and would never live without one. My current ato is custom build and pretty old. It’s getting an upgrade to an osmilator. I think I am going to attempt to build an acrylic ATO reservoir so it fits perfectly in my stand. I can’t find one that is quite right.

 

[BitReef]

How big a tank are you going to put this on..... If you aren't going too big, try this skimmer, it has a hook and you can adjust it to whatever height you want, and hang in over the edge of the aquarium. I have two of them and they work really well. It's cheap too.

Shop | Innovative Marine Products

Shop Now | Innovative Marine's Official Store | Free Shipping on all orders* | NUVO aquariums and saltwater reef supplies.

www.innovative-marine.com

Thanks for the skimmer recommendation. Do you know the approximate size? I can’t find the specs.

 

[BitReef]

Just in case you are depending on it being the case won’t the water level within the bubble trap be same as return chamber? Also I don’t know the exact dynamics of the trap but I think if you only have two baffles you want an under then over as that’s the magic chamber for bubble control. If you do that though, you would need a power head or something to break up surface sheen in fuge.

I just did my diy baffles and I would suggest to take the time to set your skimmer in your stand at its final height (account for recommended water height as you probably know) and make sure at that height you can tinker with it, remove it, etc.

I was this close to ordering acrylic baffles but I called around local glass shops and the first one that actually answered did 4 baffles out of 1/4” (plate glass) for $54 and did it same day. I got some oil and a grinding stone for my dremel and rounded the edges and corners over the course of about 2 hours. I went with gmac reef guide suggesting 1/4” narrower than inside width of tank but if you can go to 3/16 or 1/8 narrower I think I ultimately had some extra clearance requiring more silicone. My 2c. I had a thread if you check my history that had some additional discussion on baffles. Good luck!

Duh. You’re right. I guess the level in the fuge and return will be the same. I was thinking I could control the level in the return chamber with the pump, but now that you point it out, that doesn’t really make sense.

Thanks for the comments. I need to give some more thought to the baffles. I may just skip the bubble trap before the return since I am so limited on space.

 

[Ratherbeflyen]

My first tank was 40 gallons and I ran it for over 2 years with no skimmer. In fact my only filtration was mechanical filter floss and algae. IMO, skimmers and especially small skimmers are not as effective at waste reduction as algae.
If this was my system with a 10 gallon sump, I would run the drains into a filter sock, and make the refugium section as big as possible. I might add a single baffle for the return pump, but more likely I would just use aquamesh before the return pump to keep algae separate and not mess with any baffles at all.

Aquamesh Blue 3 - Medium - Lifegard

Progressive density mesh mechanical filtration system can be used as a system or separately. Aquamesh #3 is great for use after refugiums and before sensitive filtration equipment. Aquamesh #2 and #3 are the most common used. Dimensions:19.5" x 24" x 1.5" The Aquamesh progressive filter pads...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

You don't have take my word for it, BRS did a video on it.

 

[BitReef]

My first tank was 40 gallons and I ran it for over 2 years with no skimmer. In fact my only filtration was mechanical filter floss and algae. IMO, skimmers and especially small skimmers are not as effective at waste reduction as algae.
If this was my system with a 10 gallon sump, I would run the drains into a filter sock, and make the refugium section as big as possible. I might add a single baffle for the return pump, but more likely I would just use aquamesh before the return pump to keep algae separate and not mess with any baffles at all.

Aquamesh Blue 3 - Medium - Lifegard

Progressive density mesh mechanical filtration system can be used as a system or separately. Aquamesh #3 is great for use after refugiums and before sensitive filtration equipment. Aquamesh #2 and #3 are the most common used. Dimensions:19.5" x 24" x 1.5" The Aquamesh progressive filter pads...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

You don't have take my word for it, BRS did a video on it.

I’ve seen that video series and it’s the reason I want chaeto!!! I’m sold on macro algae.

So you think a larger refugium is more beneficial than a smaller fuge + a nano skimmer? I think I can make a 10” x 10” fuge And still have room for the return pump and a small skimmer. I did order a filter sock holder and plan on running the overflow through it.

I’ve never seen the aquamesh. Is it stiff? How would I mount it in front of the pump?

 

[Fishko]

Heres the 10g sump i made using glass baffles for my 29g. First chamber largest is for skimmer and reactor, second is fuge,

and then return

 

[Ratherbeflyen]

I’ve seen that video series and it’s the reason I want chaeto!!! I’m sold on macro algae.

So you think a larger refugium is more beneficial than a smaller fuge + a nano skimmer? I think I can make a 10” x 10” fuge And still have room for the return pump and a small skimmer. I did order a filter sock holder and plan on running the overflow through it.

I do think algae beats a nano skimmer. In my current setup, almost 1/2 of my 75 gallon sump is dedicated to cheato, and I run an ATS too. I also have a really old precision marine venturi skimmer, but if I had to remove one of them I'd get rid of the skimmer first.

I'm happy with the results.

I’ve never seen the aquamesh. Is it stiff? How would I mount it in front of the pump?

BRS uses the mesh @ 19:00 minutes.

 

[BitReef]

Thanks to everyone for the comments and help. The main thing I learned was to set some design goals and figure out the strengths and weaknesses of my sump. Obviously in a 10g sump, physical space is a weakness. This sump can’t do everything well. So here were my design goals:

1. Sump cannot overflow when return pump is off. Must leave enough empty volume for overflow from display. (In other words, maximize the return pump chamber).

2. Maximize the size of the refugium. Chaeto will be my primary source of nutrient removal. Since I cannot fit a full size protein skimmer in my cabinet, a protein skimmer is only supplementary filtration.

3. Maximize the amount of light captured in the refugium. This is related to number 2. Using opaque, high-walled baffles I can minimize light leakIng into the other chambers, and reflect the light hitting the baffles back into the fuge.

With those goals in mind, here is what I built. I connected the fuge and return into a single chamber to accomplish both goals 1 & 2. The baffle between them is really just a barrier to keep chaeto and light out of the return pump.

 

[BitReef]

1) The input or overflow chamber (not sure what it’s officially called). 4.5” x 4.5”. I put a shelf in the bottom made of egg crate. I will put filter floss and probably a bag of activated carbon on the shelf. Water flows down through this chamber and underneath the clear baffle in 2.

2) Nano protein skimmer. 5” x 4.5” x 9”d. I set the water level at 9” to accommodate most nano skimmers.

3) Refugium. 12” x 10“. I plan on running it around 7” deep. This should leave enough space for at least 2 gallons of overflow from the display (my current estimate). I don’t plan on sand, but may put some rock rubble in here. I have a kessil H80 for a light that will be mounted about 6” off the surface. I also plan to spray paint the front, back and bottom of the fuge with white paint to capture more light. No reason to waste light spilling out of fuge.

4) Return. 3.5” x 10”. Running 7” deep.

 

[BitReef]

Technical note. I used DAP Aquarium safe 100% silicone in a squeeze tube from Ace Hardware. The baffles seem to be plenty strong. We’ll see how they do long term.

 

[Ratherbeflyen]

That looks really clean. I'm sure it will do wonders for your tank.

 

[Fishko]

Heres what my new sump looks like if anyone is curious from my previous post. Im happy how it turned out. Matched the plumbing purple to the skimmer

 

[BitReef]

Heres what my new sump looks like if anyone is curious from my previous post. Im happy how it turned out. Matched the plumbing purple to the skimmer

Looks great! What skimmer is that?

 

[Dom]

Personally, I'd place the skimmer after the refugium. Why strip out nutrients that can be used in the refugium? I place mine in the return chamber, removing what remains in the water before returning to the display.