Diy sump

[sergifed91]

I wanna see your diy sump of 40 breeder tanks. And what you used glass or acrylic?

 

[Peace River]

Typically if you are adding baffles to a glass tank, you will be better off using glass baffles. You may be able to find some DIY 40b sumps by searching in the build thread area. Another option is the Fuji 40b sump kit:

Fiji Cube Sump Baffle Kit - 40 Gallon Breeder

This DIY sump kit is designed to convert a 40 gallon breeder glass aquarium tank into a fully functional sump. Please see this sump baffle DIY build thread here. Features: Integrated filter sock holders that can hold three 4” filter bags Filter sock silencers to lower the noises caused by water...

www.fijicube.com

 

[don_chuwish]

Got my 40B kit from @TaylorPilot (Exotic Marine Systems). It has been working great for years now.
Build thread covers it starting here:

Build Thread - Finally going "big" - 120G

.

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Ratherbeflyen]

 

[CMMorgan]

Got my 40B kit from @TaylorPilot (Exotic Marine Systems). It has been working great for years now.
Build thread covers it starting here:

Build Thread - Finally going "big" - 120G

.

www.reef2reef.com

This looks great!

 

[RocketEngineer]

The second one I built. Glass came from a local window repair shop.

 

[ShrimpBandit]

The second one I built. Glass came from a local window repair shop.

Sorry, are those... Legos?

 

[don_chuwish]

LOL, the Legos are cool! What's funny is people used to use them like bio-balls, so it's a fit.

 

[WallyB]

THis DIY is 50 Gal, however it could be shrunked down to 40G.

This shows the Design and First Test run.



It's still alive and Kicking after years of use.

The First Comparment is still and Algae Scrubber (upflow), External LED Lighting.

The Refuge never became a Official Refuge. I just have some Sand and two Fish with Live Rock.
Kind of a Mini Tank in the Sump, part of the Overall System.

 

[RocketEngineer]

Sorry, are those... Legos?

I needed something that could take the weight so I used what I had. Eventually I custom ordered a taller kalk reactor,

 

[redfishbluefish]

I have built my fair share of sumps....a number of 40B's, a 50B and a couple of 75 gallon......all glass tanks. Most had acrylic baffles, a couple had glass baffles. I prefer acrylic baffles because I can easily cut them to size with standard woodworking tools. I also have a large supply of 3/8 and 1/2 inch acrylic. Now what you might hear is that silicone doesn't stick well to acrylic/glass. I can assure you this is a bunch of bunk....they are using the wrong silicone!!! The silicone that sticks like grim death is specifically made for acrylic, and the best part, it's available at HD for about 8 bucks a tube.....and found in the acrylic sheet area of HD (window department)

Anyway, here's my current sump (but no longer running biopellets) which was purchased as a 40B but later found out it was a 50B....same footprint, but slightly taller,

 

[Cprivi]

I recently bought a sump baffle kit from Jax Racks for a 15g sump. It comes with two baffles and a bubble trap but NO advice on installation at all. I tried to contact them for advice but no reply. So here I am asking for help for the community.

The tank is 24 x 12 x 12 and will have 4 chambers: Drain + Skimmer/ Fuge + Bubble Trap + Return pump. The baffles are 7.75 inches tall with slits cut as shown in this picture:


I think that chamber 1 can be deeper than chamber 2 because the water will spill over the top edge whereas chamber 2 will spill into the bubble trap at about 6 inches deep. As such, I think the skimmer will work better in chamber 1 than chamber 2. Here are a couple of options:

1. Option 1 is 5 + 11 + 2 + 6
2. Option 2 is 8 + 8 + 2 + 6


Option 2 makes the most sense to me since the skimmer section is deeper and it allows a small fuge. Thoughts?

 

[WallyB]

I recently bought a sump baffle kit from Jax Racks for a 15g sump. It comes with two baffles and a bubble trap but NO advice on installation at all. I tried to contact them for advice but no reply. So here I am asking for help for the community.

The tank is 24 x 12 x 12 and will have 4 chambers: Drain + Skimmer/ Fuge + Bubble Trap + Return pump. The baffles are 7.75 inches tall with slits cut as shown in this picture:


I think that chamber 1 can be deeper than chamber 2 because the water will spill over the top edge whereas chamber 2 will spill into the bubble trap at about 6 inches deep. As such, I think the skimmer will work better in chamber 1 than chamber 2. Here are a couple of options:

1. Option 1 is 5 + 11 + 2 + 6
2. Option 2 is 8 + 8 + 2 + 6


Option 2 makes the most sense to me since the skimmer section is deeper and it allows a small fuge. Thoughts?

Well the Divider you show between Chamber 1 and 2 has slits in the middle of the Baffle.
Water will pass thru it (via slits), not over the top.

So Chamber 1 and 2 will be filled the same (As HIgh as the 3rd baffle with Slits at TOP).

It's always best to put a skimmer in the calmer section which would be Section #2. You want to skim as close to surface water, and no major bubbles, or crashing water to keep the Skimmer stable.

I am confused on your Definition of Pump. What's the pump for?

Generally the RET (Return) section of a Sump is where the RETURN Pump goes. The Pump that returns water back to your tank.
That last section will vary in water height as water evaporates from your system.

Also remember when designing a Sump that the Size of the Sump can handle the water that will drain from the Tank during a Power Failure (When return pump stops, and water siphons from the tank). How much will drain will vary on Surface Water size of your tank, Flow rate, and how low below the water line is your Drain/Overflow.

Personally I like Option #1 better. That first drain Section is usually just to catch the return water and contain splashing. Maybe a Sock, but that's it. The 2nd Section is for your heater, skimmer and stuff so make it bigger to have plenty of room and easy maintenance access while the system is running.

 

[Cprivi]

Well the Divider you show between Chamber 1 and 2 has slits in the middle of the Baffle.
Water will pass thru it (via slits), not over the top.

So Chamber 1 and 2 will be filled the same (As HIgh as the 3rd baffle with Slits at TOP).

It's always best to put a skimmer in the calmer section which would be Section #2. You want to skim as close to surface water, and no major bubbles, or crashing water to keep the Skimmer stable.

I am confused on your Definition of Pump. What's the pump for?

Generally the RET (Return) section of a Sump is where the RETURN Pump goes. The Pump that returns water back to your tank.
That last section will vary in water height as water evaporates from your system.

Also remember when designing a Sump that the Size of the Sump can handle the water that will drain from the Tank during a Power Failure (When return pump stops, and water siphons from the tank). How much will drain will vary on Surface Water size of your tank, Flow rate, and how low below the water line is your Drain/Overflow.

Personally I like Option #1 better. That first drain Section is usually just to catch the return water and contain splashing. Maybe a Sock, but that's it. The 2nd Section is for your heater, skimmer and stuff so make it bigger to have plenty of room and easy maintenance access while the system is running.

Thanks Wally. I forgot to mention that the first pump is for media reactors attached to a manifold. The second pump is the return.

I know that the water will flow through the slats in chamber 1 but the top slat is lower than the weir on chamber 2 so I thought it might run a bit higher. I may need to add a gate on the weir side to raise the water level instead. The kit didn’t include that but a small strip of plexiglass will probably work.

 

[WallyB]

Thanks Wally. I forgot to mention that the first pump is for media reactors attached to a manifold. The second pump is the return.

I know that the water will flow through the slats in chamber 1 but the top slat is lower than the weir on chamber 2 so I thought it might run a bit higher. I may need to add a gate on the weir side to raise the water level instead. The kit didn’t include that but a small strip of plexiglass will probably work.

Ahh. Media reactor. That's what the pump is for. Makes sense now.

Sure, A gate will give you control on the 2nd Baffle, if you want water higher.

One thing. If the Top Slat is lower on the First baffle compared the Weir on the Second baffle, water will still rise in the first chamber to equalize with the 2nd. Sumps generally and naturally run from Highest to Lowest water levels, unless you have a pump raising water.