DIY Sump Thread

bendeng · Apr 24, 2017

I didn't see any while browsing through so I figured why not start a collection of everyone's DIY home made sumps??

Mine is still in progress, I had originally made a sump out of a 10g glass tank with acrylic baffles silconed in, however, I started a new sump completely made from acrylic using 1/4" acrylic sheets. Mostly clear, used a black sheet for the back panel (it was all I had that fit) and we messed up the cuts on the sides so I ordered more (coming soon in turquoise!) Will use it for the sides and baffles. Hoping to be finished by this next weekend.

Share your pics of your custom made sumps!!

Sleepydoc · Apr 24, 2017

Well, this is the Sketchup drawing of my 40b sump, but the actual sump looks the same, just real.

A couple notes about acrylic baffles-
In general, I wouldn't advise using acrylic for baffles. Acrylic expands in water and I've seen several reports of sumps breaking when acrylic baffle have put too much pressure on the outer walls. If you do use acrylic, be sure to cut them about ⅛" narrower than you need so they have room to expand.

Another general issue with acrylic is that silicone won't bond to it long term. If you secure acrylic baffles with silicone fillets on each side, the baffle will remain wedged in place but will allow water to seep past. This generally isn't an issue for sumps, but I've seen people try to silicone an acrylic overflow box to the side of their tank with disastrous results.

If you go with glass, go to a glass shop and get 6mm/¼" glass. The thin plate glass they sell at Home Depot and hardware stores is too thin and breaks too easily.

bendeng · Apr 24, 2017

Sleepydoc said:
Well, this is the Sketchup drawing of my 40b sump, but the actual sump looks the same, just real.

A couple notes about acrylic baffles-
In general, I wouldn't advise using acrylic for baffles. Acrylic expands in water and I've seen several reports of sumps breaking when acrylic baffle have put too much pressure on the outer walls. If you do use acrylic, be sure to cut them about ⅛" narrower than you need so they have room to expand.

Another general issue with acrylic is that silicone won't bond to it long term. If you secure acrylic baffles with silicone fillets on each side, the baffle will remain wedged in place but will allow water to seep past. This generally isn't an issue for sumps, but I've seen people try to silicone an acrylic overflow box to the side of their tank with disastrous results.

If you go with glass, go to a glass shop and get 6mm/¼" glass. The thin plate glass they sell at Home Depot and hardware stores is too thin and breaks too easily.

Love the design! I ended up making a sump completely out of acrylic. It is less than 10g and my boyfriend used to assist with a LFS that specialized in acrylic builds so with his experience we decided to try and build the little sump. So far so good [emoji5]. We've built sumps our of glass tanks before using glass baffles and acrylic baffles up to 55g. No issues so far but I definitely will take note of your advice, TY!

Pepcrylic · Apr 25, 2017

bendeng · Apr 25, 2017

Pepcrylic said:

Wow, what kind of tank are you running with that monster sump???

litenyaup · Apr 25, 2017

This was the setup I build about 5 years ago for my custom 189 gallon build. Local acrylic shop is going out of business so I picked up some stuff for a great price!! Can't wait to get started.

Pepcrylic · Apr 25, 2017

bendeng said:
Wow, what kind of tank are you running with that monster sump???

Custom DIY acrylic 310

bendeng · Apr 25, 2017

litenyaup said:
This was the setup I build about 5 years ago for my custom 189 gallon build. Local acrylic shop is going out of business so I picked up some stuff for a great price!! Can't wait to get started.

Oh wow great cache of acrylic! I just got my sheet of turquoise 1/4" in the mail.

bendeng · Apr 25, 2017

Pepcrylic said:
Custom DIY acrylic 310

That is amazing! We have a 250DD we will set up in the future and a custom acrylic sump we got a great deal on used.

sebastiaan1985 · Apr 26, 2017

I am also planning to build my own custom sump using acrylic, anyone some advise on how to determine required thickness?
Sump will be 80cm long, 35cm width and 50cm high.

Am planning to use a full cover with cut-outs for equipment and easy access of the compartments. So guess this (along with separation between the compartments) will add in the strength.

bendeng · Apr 26, 2017

sebastiaan1985 said:
I am also planning to build my own custom sump using acrylic, anyone some advise on how to determine required thickness?
Sump will be 80cm long, 35cm width and 50cm high.

Am planning to use a full cover with cut-outs for equipment and easy access of the compartments. So guess this (along with separation between the compartments) will add in the strength.

I used 1/4" all around. Standard thickness for tank builds for structure and stability [emoji5]

sebastiaan1985 · Apr 26, 2017

Here we have 4 mm and 5mm available or 8 mm.
This translates (roughly) to 1/6", 1/5" and 1/3".

With 1/6" being the most common. You reckon this could be sufficient? (Planning the baffles to be full height with cut-outs for required water level.

bendeng · Apr 26, 2017

sebastiaan1985 said:
Here we have 4 mm and 5mm available or 8 mm.
This translates (roughly) to 1/6", 1/5" and 1/3".

With 1/6" being the most common. You reckon this could be sufficient? (Planning the baffles to be full height with cut-outs for required water level.

It's better than 1/8", I wouldn't recommend any thinner than that for sure. How big is the sump? Just want to be sure to avoid bowing from the weight of the water, although, sumps are usually only half filled. I would recommend 1/5" if it's feasible. Thicker is better. I've had baffled crack at 1/8" which is a step down from 1/4" for US sizing. How are you piecing it all together? I would recommend fusing the acrylic vs silicone (I forget what it's called but it's a liquid you line against the seams and it fuses the acrylic together).

sebastiaan1985 · Apr 26, 2017

Yes, am planning on fusing the acrylic. Sump would be roughly 32" x 14" x 16 or 18" (length x width x height) (guess height will be the biggest contributing factor)
Divided in 4 chambers (filter bags, fuge, skimmer, return)

1/6" is our 'standard', but 1/5" is also relatively easy to buy.

bendeng · Apr 26, 2017

sebastiaan1985 said:
Yes, am planning on fusing the acrylic. Sump would be roughly 32" x 14" x 16 or 18" (length x width x height) (guess height will be the biggest contributing factor)
Divided in 4 chambers (filter bags, fuge, skimmer, return)

1/6" is our 'standard', but 1/5" is also relatively easy to buy.

Yea the 1/5" would be better in the long run, I always over prepare especially when it comes to tank haha. Better safe than sorry. Mine is much smaller (20l x 14d x 16h) but we've done bigger ones before. I'm only doing 3 chambers for this one, skimmer/sock, refugium, and return.

sebastiaan1985 · Apr 26, 2017

My plan is to redo the whole tank, (go a bit bigger

) and than change to my custom sump.

Will start some drawings and share them. Especially for the sump, because that will be a DIY.

Tank will be build be experienced builder along with the stand.

litenyaup · Apr 26, 2017

Kind of a Sump but I did an all in one qt tank/ frag tank. Messing with the orange and yellow acrylic. Had some free time at the fire station today so I had at it lol.

The yellow I have to drill holes for the frag plugs.

bendeng · Apr 26, 2017

litenyaup said:
Kind of a Sump but I did an all in one at tank/ drag tank. Messing with the orange and yellow acrylic. Had some free time at the fire station today so I had at it lol.

The yellow I have to drill holes for the drag plugs.

I love it!!