Sump decisions!

[Baseman422]

I am starting the planning process for a sump on my 125. I was debating on the size of sump I wanted to do and I thought I was going to go with a 55 gallon until I measure the space under my stand. When I built the stand I did not build it with the intention of adding a sump. I only have 11.5" clearance in the middle. So that leaves me with half of the stand for a sump with is 30".

Today I bought a 30 gallon tank measurements 24"x12"x17". By the looks of it I know it is not ideal but I would like to have some opinions on how to proceed. I have been advised on having a refugium so, I will need; inlet, refugium, skimmer, return chambers? I am concerned about the available room for all of that.

I also have a 10 gallon tank I can plumb together and throw into the mix if need be. (thinking it might be a good idea)

Thanks everybody, let me know what you think!
Ryan

 

[Mike171]

I wanted to do a 40B under my 120, but due to te fact that I wouldn't be able to get it in and out of the front of the tank I decided to do a two part sump/fuge with a 20long sump an a 10g fuge I'm in the process of plumbing them together currently.

 

[Pappy]

That should work for skimmer and return maybe and have the 10 gallon as a fuge separate. The only concern I have is it 12" tall or 17" tall? 12" tall fine but 17" tall will make it a real pain to access. How big is skimmer?

 

[Baseman422]

That's awesome mike! You should post some photos! That's what I am going to have to do. How are you plumbing yours?

Turns out the 30 gallon is actually a 20 tall.

Pappy, I'm really looking forward to doing a DIY skimmer. I'm still reading up on them but I love projects! Have you done one? The tank I have is 17" tall. And actually I betieve it to be a 20 tall tank. I may have to save it for something else. I would like to put together a little clownfish tank for the kids. Prob a 12-15 gallon but the one I just bought might be it!

 

[Mike171]

Mike171 new (to me) 120G

There's the link to my tank thread. I've changed how its going to be plumbed to be like the drawing the last guy posted. I just ordered a bulkhead today to drill my 10 gallon fuge into my sump.

 

[rarelyseriousb]

On my fresh water I wanted as much biological filtration as I could get. It took a lot of space up. I could not fit a big tank in the stand because the size of door. What I did is make 2 models out of cardboard that would be as large as I can get a pivot into the stand. Then I made 2 acrylic sumps that size. Then drilled the lower corners on the sumps facing each other. Added a 2 inch bulkhead to each of them and connected them with flex hose. It works great. Also at the bottom of the tank it kind of works as a bubble trap.

 

[Baseman422]

thanks for sharing Mike! I really like that.

I think that is what I am going to do. But I will probably sell the 20 gallon tall and find a 30 gall long to help with the height.

 

[Baseman422]

here is a copy of Mikes thred so you guys can se the design,

I am going to use the fuge to house macro for filtration so not really a fuge I suppose.

 

[CustomReefCreations]

I have actually used Rubbermaid storage container as sumps and fuges before. Whatever it takes. I have seen plenty of crafty macgyver type stuff. As long as its functional DIY it doesn't matter what it's made of

 

[Baseman422]

Do you like that design bill?

 

[Pappy]

That's awesome mike! You should post some photos! That's what I am going to have to do. How are you plumbing yours?

Turns out the 30 gallon is actually a 20 tall.

Pappy, I'm really looking forward to doing a DIY skimmer. I'm still reading up on them but I love projects! Have you done one? The tank I have is 17" tall. And actually I betieve it to be a 20 tall tank. I may have to save it for something else. I would like to put together a little clownfish tank for the kids. Prob a 12-15 gallon but the one I just bought might be it!

Can't say I have but have a buddy that just did the avast marine skimmer and loves it!

 

[CustomReefCreations]

Not to get off topic, but I love Avast's acrylic DIY section. Saves a few bucks and is a great intro into acrylic bonding!
As far as liking the 2 sump design. It was ideal but my pocket book didn't have options. 2 sump designs in my experience can be challenging. If you do that I would recommend gravity draining from the first sump to the second instead of pumping it to the 2nd sump then pumping back to the return lines. Seems as though the 2 pumps never work uniformly, and water height was always a challenge. Definetly have some sort of ballast line tied in to try and keep the water levels in check

 

[CustomReefCreations]

"was not" ideal. Dang auto correct on phone got me

 

[rarelyseriousb]

here is a copy of Mikes thred so you guys can se the design,

I am going to use the fuge to house macro for filtration so not really a fuge I suppose.

That was my drawing. Lol. The idea behind the sketch for his tank was that you could silence the overflow and provide the exact amount of flow you want to the fuge. There is not 2 pumps in the design. The text in that thread my clarify.