DIY Sump

[Seaman]

this is one of the eaisest things to make as far as DIY. I bought a 10gal glass aquarium from Wallyworld for 9 dollars and some acrylic for 13 bucks and the return pump for 35 bucks misc. pvc pipe for return was 5 bucks and the overflow I allready had (those are kinda tricky to make). So you can see its well worth making yourself if you can do it. I started by siliconing the acrylic "walls" into the tank...that takes about a day to dry and after that thats pretty much all the stuff i had to do. Then i put my pump in the sump, ran the plumbing for it added some rocks to the refugium and its up and runnin!!! Sooooo easy!!

The gray lines represent the acrylic "walls" and the yellow is the filter pad all the rest is self explanitory!!! Have fun!!

also i left atleast a 1 inch gap between the tops of the acrylic walls and the top of the tank, just in case one of the chambers got clogged it will just spill into the next chamber.
http://24.1.136.14/sump.jpg

[cgrabe]

Does the sump have to be kept level with the main tank? How do you keep the water from syphoning into the sump faster than it gets pumped back out OR the pump from pumping it out faster than it's pulled in?

[cgrabe]

Ok, I assume that's what an overflow box is for. This (http://www.cyberreefguru.com/general/overflow/overflow.html) page explains it pretty well for me. My main worry would be evaporation. I guess that would first affect the water level in the refugium which could be dealt with?

[QCppg]

Thanks for the info! I may build one of these for my 55 when I get it.

I'm sure you could use a float mechanisim to cut off the flow if the water level gets too high.

[cgrabe]

[i]I'm sure you could use a float mechanisim to cut off the flow if the water level gets too high. [/B]

I wouldn't want to burn out the motor though. Maybe I could rig up a switch like the ball cock thing in a toilet to switch off the pump if the water level drops too far in the sump.

[QCppg]

Exactly what I was thinking. By using a relay and a "reed" switch you could do this for under $10, and without putting exposed high-voltage wires near your water supply.

[cgrabe]

Oh ok. I completely misunderstood you :) I am so fried this week.

[Seaman]

there is no need for any of that....when the tank is at the level where it is ALMOST flowing into the overflow box the pump is covers by 2 gallons...so the instant it pumps water into the tank more flows into the overflow and immidiately into the sump so the pump never runs dry. I made an automatic refil system for 5 dollars so I dont have to top the water off. I only fill the top off system once a week!!

The top off system was eaiser to make than the sump!!! Im at work right now but as soon as I get home Ill post how I made it!!!

[jamjarjames]

what i'd be more worried about is what happens if you have a power out in the middle of the night? the syphon will be getting rid of water to an already full tank

[cgrabe]

Originally posted by jamjarjames
what i'd be more worried about is what happens if you have a power out in the middle of the night? the syphon will be getting rid of water to an already full tank
I first wondered the same thing, but that's what the 'overflow' box he mentioned is for. Only water above a certain level in the main tank will pour down to the sump.

[slipknottin]

I hope you have plenty of anti-siphon holes drilled in your return tube!

[Seaman]

No i dont have anti syphon holes, I used this little one way valve, i put it inbetween the return pump and the tank (so water cant syphon back into the sump) right before the tank....so when the power goes out it just waits to come back on and the pump starts up fine and I dont have to do anything!! The diagram isnt to scale, all in all it can hold almost 5 more gallons before overflowing (the sump) and there isnt a chance (with the valve) of water syphoning back into the sump...and since the overflow is set up to the right level everything is good......trust me...I've had power outages (one last week) and everythings kosher.....:D

[danielb]

Sorry to be such a newbie but what is a sump or overflow tank used for and why is it nessessary?

[N8DOGG]

Hey First post for me

I'm getting a 190 gallon acyrlic tank with 2 over flows going in to 2 ten gallon buckets that are the dry part of my wet/dry filter. I then have two 55 gallon garbage cans for the sump.

My question is I've spent a lot of money so far and I'd like to save some so can I buy 100% silicone from Lowes/HD or shoud I buy the kind that is made for aquariums?

Thanks N8

[Seaman]

well i bought mine from HD and after i made the sump i read it and it says "for marine use above the water line" so i filled the sump and put some danios in it for a couple days with a small filter on it and they diddnt die...so i assume its ok. Mine was just 100% silicone.

[slipknottin]

Originally posted by Seaman
No i dont have anti syphon holes, I used this little one way valve, i put it inbetween the return pump and the tank (so water cant syphon back into the sump) right before the tank....

Check valves are very prone to failure. Id still drill anti-siphon holes in the return tube....

[Seaman]

Will do! I guess it woldnt hurt eh...

[Matak]

Check valves are very prone to failure. Id still drill anti-siphon holes in the return tube....Slip, can you point to a thread or web page with a diagram or explanation of anti-siphon holes?

[Seaman]

its just a small hole drilled in the return pipe from the sump pump, you drill it under the water level just a bit so that if you lose power then all the water wont syphon back into your sump and floor. Dont drill it too far below the water line that it wont break air before your sump over flows, but dont drill it too high that when a little bit of water evaporates that it breaks air.

simple eh?

[Matak]

Sounds pretty simple. I take it that the water line you are referring to is in the main tank, not the sump? Oh, and how small a hole? 1/16"?, 1/8"?

[Bmeasure]

well i bought mine from HD and after i made the sump i read it and it says "for marine use above the water line" so i filled the sump and put some danios in it for a couple days with a small filter on it and they diddnt die...so i assume its ok. Mine was just 100% silicone.
I've done a bit of Yacht repairs and I'd assume the reason it said that on the tube is because salt water is so corrosive and things below the water line get beat up so badly that it wouldn't last long under water. We always used fiberglass and epoxy resin to seal anything below the waterline. Silicone is fine for saltwater tanks, though, but they generally don't have the pressure and things like barnacles attaching themselves to it!

100% Silicone is fine. This SHOULD mean that it has nothing but silicone in it: no mildew resistant chemicals or other junk which could harm aquatic life. If it said 100% silicone on the label and my fish died from something in it....I'd SUE! 100% silicone means NOTHING BUT SILICONE!

[Seaman]

I figured it would be ok because some of the other 100% silicones said "not for use in aquarium" but this one diddnt say that.

[Matak]

Sounds pretty simple. I take it that the water line you are referring to is in the main tank, not the sump? Oh, and how small a hole? 1/16"?, 1/8"?Seaman?

[Phycha]

Sounds pretty simple. I take it that the water line you are referring to is in the main tank, not the sump? Oh, and how small a hole? 1/16"?, 1/8"?

Drill the hole/s at the water level of the Tank. 1/8 would probibly be perfect it needs to be large enought that the waters surfice tention dosent plug the hole. I drilled 3 becuse 1 wasent letting enought air to quickly brake the syphin. When setting up a sump system test ever peice of it befor declaring it finished. Do meny test power outages at verying levels of sump water level to find the "Max" running level.

[Matak]

Thank you. Ahh the wisdom of experience.

[Phycha]

Thank you. Ahh the wisdom of experience.

Tinkering is my passion. Sumps are one of the best toys for a tinkerer in the hobbie of aquaria. I'm always on the watch for posts about sumps and if you dont feel like openly posting something feel free to PM me.

[Bmeasure]

Drill the hole/s at the water level of the Tank. 1/8 would probibly be perfect it needs to be large enought that the waters surfice tention dosent plug the hole. I drilled 3 becuse 1 wasent letting enought air to quickly brake the syphin. When setting up a sump system test ever peice of it befor declaring it finished. Do meny test power outages at verying levels of sump water level to find the "Max" running level.
Funny, Psycha...I drilled 3 holes in my return as well! Mine are about 1/8" as well. I would like to "second" every bit of info that he posted. I did the same and had to fiddle with the plumbing for a month or so to get it finely tuned to work the way I wanted. My setup is posted in my signature area below.

[Phycha]

Bmeasure, Nice setup. Went with the bucket-in-tub method. With your wood working skill i'm kinda suprised you dident do it in acrylic. Here is a link to my sump.

My Sump (http://www.wegners.net/Jeep/11gallonsump.jpg) ignore the HOB i was playing with peat filtration.

[Bmeasure]

That's a great sump, Psycha, and I'm sure I could have gone that way. I decided against it, when looking at the simple method of making one out of a tub. The Bio-tower is the most sophisticated thing on it. I've seen your sump before and really liked the quality craftsmanship.....great job!

By the way, I hope everyone will revisit my pictures next weekend (today is 4/2/05) because I'll have updated pics with my canopy finally on it. Since talking to people so much on this forum about it, I got motivated to spend some "after hours" working on it every chance I've gotten. It's working out great. Hope you all enjoy it as much as I do!