There have been a few questions thrown around recently about sumps and whats the best way to make one, or simply, how to make one? I'll start off by saying there is no wrong way to make a sump, unless it doesnt hold water. You have many different types of sumps that come in all sorts of sizes....obviously the larger the better because we all know "dillution is the solution to pollution." So if youre about to ask someone what size should you make it, how about as large as you can/want to. Some people go with a sump thats just for extra water volume and some will add a seperate chamber for a refugium which houses marco algeas, LR and whatever else you want to throw down there. I set mine up to be your typical sump with refugium, water comes down into first section which houses the skimmer. Goes thu a baffel setup then into the refuge then to the return section. There are many different ways to section off your sump and honestly that all depends on you plans for the sump. The sump is not totally finished yet, I plan on extending the fuge into the return section more once I get a top off hooked up. Basically if you dont plan on having a top off installed you want a larger return section, this is the only area that you will see evaporation. The larger the area, the more water there is and the less you have to fill up that area...granted tho keep in mind your salinity will change depending on size of tank and sump and amount of evap....please keep that in mind! So if you plan on having a top off installed, then you would have a larger refuge and smaller return area. The other addition I'll add is a section where the overflow drain and outport of the skimmer go, as you can see there is splashing and saltcreep will begin to form a lot, this way there will be a lid and everything will be contained and hopes there will be no mess. Other than that the sump is a basic 30g long with precut pieces of glass from homedepot. Yes they are slanted, I didnt want to pay to get glass cut or to risk breaking glass so I just went this route, still works tho ;) In the baffel area, the middle glass sheet is roughly 1-1.5" off the bottom of the tank...The purpose for this over-under-over baffel is to diffuse many of the bubbles that come from the overflow and skimmer. Well that concludes your not too indepth talk about sumps, if you have any questions feel free to ask and I'll answer to the best of my knowledge. And by all means please post your sump and a lil description if you would like, I know there are tons of sumps out there and there are many that are set up differently than mine. Oh also the skimmer is an Octopus NW150 and I think the footprint on that is 9X11 or something like that like.

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c129/MattTVI/DIY/29gsump.jpg

that's my original design.

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l216/familyreefer/DSC_00185374.jpg

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l216/familyreefer/DSC_00145372.jpg

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l216/familyreefer/DSC_00135371.jpg

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l216/familyreefer/DSC_00125370.jpg

I have since replaced the two skimmers with a single, larger unit. The sump was made from a 75 gallon aquarium

I would post mine, but it is as ugly as hell.

post it cam!

my first one ever! (it was bass ackwards)
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d41/violator622/100_0533.jpg

my second one (acylic, it was easy, but not as easy as glass)

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d41/violator622/120042.jpg

and a very simple one i made out of a 10 gallon, its just to hold the skimmer, for an eel tank

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d41/violator622/120321.jpg


dang it, why cant we edit? forgot the last pic.

dont forget to add specs guys... "x" gallon sump under a "y" gallon display

Andy...........Why was your first one bass ackwards?

dont forget to add specs guys... "x" gallon sump under a "y" gallon display


Oi, Mr. Prez, how about you post a pic of your sump befor you start bossin people around ;)

Out of the 3 that are post only one has a refug.

I will be setting mine up this weekend. It will be a 15 gallon 24x12x13 or close enough. It will have an Octopus NW150 in it. How would you set it up?

Andy...........Why was your first one bass ackwards?the basic setup was all wrong, the chain of flow was- drain pipe, bubble trap, skimmer, fuge, return. i didnt know what i was doing, and really didnt know what the purpose of things was, it should have been- drain and skimmer in one, bubble trap, fuge, return. (or return and fuge, depending.)

Out of the 3 that are post only one has a refug.

I will be setting mine up this weekend. It will be a 15 gallon 24x12x13 or close enough. It will have an Octopus NW150 in it. How would you set it up?
do you want a fuge in it? depending on what you actually want a fuge to do, is how you want to set it up, do you want it as a grow area for pods? or just a place to jam a wad of macro for extra nutrient export?

This is when it was first being set-up.
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g62/kzoo_2006/001.jpg

do you want a fuge in it? depending on what you actually want a fuge to do, is how you want to set it up, do you want it as a grow area for pods? or just a place to jam a wad of macro for extra nutrient export?


very good point andy! That does depend, if you want extra support of nutrient export, the larger the fuge you would want. Are you going to have a floatswitch on this, or you going to be filling as you go?

Check this out,
http://www.melevsreef.com/allmysumps.html

Okay I measure the skimmer inside the tank. To give me any from to get it in and out, I will need 10"-11" of the 24".

I would like a fuge for pods and some of Brandon's cleaner shrimp (:shades: ).

No autotop off planned at this time.

The basic set-up that I have in my mind right now is this.

1" drain using some spa flex hose that I have draining in a bulk head (3" from top of tank) that is already in the side of the tank. Or would it be better to drain it directly into the top of the tank? The skimmer will be in that chamber. Return will be via a Gen-X PC30 rated at 982 gph that feeds a 4 way OM Squirt. Will that pump be too much?

I would make some kind of bubble trap, micro bubbles drive me nuts.

Oh, I guess I need to list my requirements............

No Noise
No freaking microbubbles

Oi, Mr. Prez, how about you post a pic of your sump befor you start bossin people around ;)


20gal under a 25display... and Ive never bossed anyone around in this club.

... and Ive never bossed anyone around in this club.


i know just playin :)

Okay I measure the skimmer inside the tank. To give me any from to get it in and out, I will need 10"-11" of the 24".

I would like a fuge for pods and some of Brandon's cleaner shrimp (:shades: ).

No autotop off planned at this time.

The basic set-up that I have in my mind right now is this.

1" drain using some spa flex hose that I have draining in a bulk head (3" from top of tank) that is already in the side of the tank. Or would it be better to drain it directly into the top of the tank? The skimmer will be in that chamber. Return will be via a Gen-X PC30 rated at 982 gph that feeds a 4 way OM Squirt. Will that pump be too much?

in my opinion, if you want a fuge for pod populations, its better to have a separate tank, and have it mounted on a shelf ABOVE your display, have a simple ten gallon, drilled in one top corner, put a screen and a drain line on it, feed it with a small powerhead and a hose. and let the water trickle back into the display, more pods will make it into the display that way. (for mandarins and such) instead of having to fight the return pump and swift currents to get back up.

holy crap compared to some of these i think that i would be kicked out of arc if u seen mine, i would like to find a place in mine for me a little copapod farm but have no idea how?

copod farm is easy....someone posted on here how to make one, or made a portable one, so use a search and you might come up with something. basically it was some plastic mesh make into a cyclendar and filled with broken LR. Doesnt really need to be huge, but could be as large as your space limits you to. This way no fish can get into those rocks to peck at the pods, this way you couls also put it in your disp. if you had some extra space behind some LR, or down in the sump where most seem to keep it.

Here is my sump that is still in progress. It is a 15 gallon with a Octopus NW150 and a Mag 5 soon to be Mag 3 return pump. It is on a CPR CS90 HOT overflow. I am propably going to us a U tube overflow box or drill the tank. But if I drill the tank I will have to do it from the inside with water level drained down. I don't know if that is the most wise endevour.

Also a pix of the collection cup with less than 2 days of operation. I knew my tank was dirty but gosh not that bad.

yeah man those NW150's pull hard! Mine looks like that too aftrer a few days.

It is pretty wet, I need to dial it in just a tad more, not much more. The smell was not tooooo bad.

yeah I have mine running wet too, thats the only way to skim ;)

Im 14 so you hae to give me some props..
http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q192/triga22/IMG_0812.jpg
http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q192/triga22/IMG_0807.jpg
http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q192/triga22/IMG_0810.jpg

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q192/triga22/IMG_0821.jpg
http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q192/triga22/IMG_0967.jpg
http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q192/triga22/IMG_1210.jpg

Pretty nice sumps guys, anyone know how to make a sea clone 150 skimmer go a little deeper so i don't have to fill the sump up so much,?

Im 14 so you hae to give me some props..


http://darkstar.hikers.net/~skye/img/madprops.gif

Indeed, quite impressive!

http://darkstar.hikers.net/~skye/img/madprops.gif

Indeed, quite impressive!
lol. That made me giggle

lol. That made me giggle

I've been looking for a good excuse to use that image for some time now :D

And props to the sweet sump built by a 14 yr old that looks better than mine does. I am a tad over 14 - I just don't act it all the time.

Ok, I just installed my new NW-150, so I'm not quite so embarrassed of my sump now :roll: . It's about a 15 gallon sump and a 5 gallon remote refugium under a 72 bowfront. I have the skimmer plumbed back to the return section (kind of like a recirculating sump). Also notice the bag of carbon under the baffel, and the custom stand for the 'fuge.

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h56/wbholwell/Tank%20Pics/sump2-c.jpg

Well here is my first attempt at a DIY sump. I am a little scared that i made the skimmer section to small. It does fit but it is a little tight. The skimmer goes on the right and return pump in the middle.

http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q57/photosbykyle/saltwater%20tank/IMG_2804Small.jpg

http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q57/photosbykyle/saltwater%20tank/IMG_2806Small.jpg

As we look at the picture--I assume that the skimmer is actually on the left before the bubble trap. Correct?

yes it will be on the left. I was hoping no one would notice i got that wrong

I won't tell! :shout:

Mine's the same design....I'll post a pic as soon as I can get down to take one....

55 Gal Sump under a 175 gallon bowfront.

very nice Geehh!

Thanks! Pretty basic, but it works! That fuge is lookin' a little nekkid in these pic's cause the tank is cycling with live rock now....

the sump.

Geeh, that looks great! Nice plumbing too!

Geeh, that looks great! Nice plumbing too!

Thanks--the center overflow made things a bit tight and I ended up plumbing it twice. :d'oh: Good thing PVC is reasonably cheap!

Anybody get it right on the first try!?

if by the first try you mean on the 3rd redo, then yes!

I am having some problems with mine if any one could look at the thread i start and offer some advice it would be great

here is the link

http://www.atlantareefclub.org/forums/showthread.php?t=8455

Hi all new here. Here is a pic of my sump. There is now a top with light on the fuge. It is in the basement and is supporting a 65 AGA upstairs.

Here is the thread to the build.
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1228574

Welcome Cannarella....nice set up!

is that in a bunkbed? lol.

Nope homemade stand.