Building my sump

[defigart]

Perhaps this is something that "everyone" does, but no one suggested it to me.

I "built" my sump baffles and such with cardboard before I called the glass shop and ordered the glass to have cut.

In the pics they aren't perfectly in position, but that is the beauty of it. They don't have to be, it is just a mock up.

I must admit, my wife was my inspiration, with her threats of "I don't want to pay to have that glass cut twice, so you better figure something out the first time to get it right."

Ok, it wasn't that bad, but you know how, "non-hobby spouces" can be.

[dsoz]

Nice idea. I will be sure to steal it when I start chopping glass for my own sump baffles. :)

I'll try not to cut myself when I cut the glass :).

What are the dimensions on the sump? How are you having your baffles arranged?

dsoz :)

[defigart]

I started out with a 20 gallon long tank. I got my inspiration from the tank in the photo below. (I can't remember where I found this picture, and tis not mine.)

My skimmer didn't quite fit across the short part of the 20 long, so I had to be creative. I put it going the other way, and put the "de-bubbling baffles" next to the skimmer on the short side of the tank.

Can't find the other picture I took, but when I find it, I will post it.

[spectra]

FYI Parkrose Hardware has glass and you pay for the sheet and they will cut it as much as you want. When I buikt the overflow for my sons tank I think I paid a total of 8 dollars for the glass. They cut it into 6 or 7 pcs for me. And the sizes they sell range from 12"x 24" to 36"x 48" so there are a bunch of options. Not sure what you are paying at the local glass shops so figured I would throw it out there.

[defigart]

Spectra,

Thank you. That may be the way I go.

Doran

[kriswaters]

Wow, when I checked into glass, it was spendy. Of course I was looking into a custom glass sump at the time...acrylic turned out much cheaper. Albeight, glass and acrylic don't really go together. Good luck on your project...I am glad my hubby can see my visions and help me make good decisions (which is more like "that isn't going to work" or "why don't you try this"...engineering...wow) Tell your wife I said "hu-yah"!

Kris

[spectra]

Spectra,

Thank you. That may be the way I go.

Doran

No problem the only thing about the glass I got was the thickness was only 1/8 th inch. They do sell thicker but it costs more. But for baffles it should be fine. Good luck with the project.

[defigart]

1/8th inch sould be fine. That is what I used in FW applications from lids to aquascaping. Strong enough not to break under its own weight, and thin enough to be workable.

[defigart]

With the advent of getting a larger tank, I have a few new problems. The tank came with a sump, but it is kinda small. Actually really small, hard to fit what I needed to in there, and that is with out a refugium.

I am going to build my sump in a larger tank. But this brings to mind this question.

How much of my skimmer can be under water? It is a PCI RS1000 I think.

Doran

[defigart]

Would a 30 gallon sump holding about 20 gallons of water be good.

[garrettm85]

I would say that should be fine. Of course, as always the bigger you can fit the better. Looks like your chaeto compartment/ fuge idea will work real well.

Garrett

[defigart]

I thought about a 40B for a while, but it wont fit in my stand.

The next biggest standard size tank is a 29. I could go custom, (means more money) or DIY built, but don't really have the time, or initiative.

[reef-fisher]

a 30 gal sump is fine for that skimmer. i too have an rps 1000 skimmer in a diy 29gal sump. the sump is about 2/3 full(approx. 20 gal) and i did have to lift the skimmer a bit. two 3" abs couplings(on their side) from lowes work great!

[DoughPat]

That is an interesting baffle arrangement. It looks like you're going for a "left-right-left" versus an "up-down-up" path? Neat idea, I've never seen this. I wonder if a hybrid "left-right-up-down" would be the ultimate in bubble removal. Amazing how much trouble those little things are....good luck on your quest.

[defigart]

Wow how 5 months can change things. I am putting the Skimmer on the outside of the sump. But I am stuck. How do I "hang" the middle panel for the bubble remover?

Doran

[dsoz]

Try propping it up with some small object while you let the silicone set. Maybe a couple of pieces of glass that are set sideways to hold up the panel, then you can pull them out once the silicone has set.

??? I have never tried it myself. If I were to do it, I would probably put in one of the bottom panels (one of the "over" ones), then "hang" the top pannel (the "under" one), then put in the other bottom panel. Is it too late for you to remove one of the bottom panels?

dsoz

[defigart]

Its never to late, I own a razor blade and more silicone.

Thanks dsoz. Anyother ideas before I do this?

[Michael7979]

I would use some form of 'spacer' to lift the glass, (wooden block?) off the bottom and them wad up some paper to to maintain the spaces between the panels.

If you make another in the future. Start at one end and work towards the other. That way you won't have to 'fill' in the gaps.

[andy]

Get one of those long balloons that those creepy mime-guys twist into freakish approximations of familiar animals. Lay it cross-ways down in the gap, place the glass piece roughly where you want it then inflate the balloon. The balloon will inflate on both sides of the glass, holding it in place and giving a nice ~1" space underneath. Do the silicon work, and when it dries pop the balloon and remove it.

You might want to tape off the seam with blue tape first, maybe even lay down a bead on each side and let it dry before diving in with the center section.

[Michael7979]

The balloon is a gooddea Andy!!

[defigart]

What I did was but the bead on the last baffle. Laid it down with out moving it and them used some pieces of 2X4 to hold up the middle. Then moved the 2X4's and resiliconed the last baffle.

As far as the bead. I have siliconed so many tanks, that getting a nice even straight bead is not a problem. But I did used to use the tape method back in the day to get a straight bead.