Raven Posted December 22, 2005 Report Share Posted December 22, 2005 im sick at looking at my tank and being able to see everything. so how can i make a sub pump or where can i buy one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronrca Posted December 22, 2005 Report Share Posted December 22, 2005 I believe your looking for a sump? There are many different ways to build a sump. Some ppl use tanks or rubbermaid containers. Some build fancy boxes! To keep it simple, you can use anything you want or have available. In my fishroom, my sumps are rubbermaids, 40G with heaters and pumps in them. Work great and cheap. You can check out my yahoo album to see the sumps. Check out this web site! He custom builds sumps from plexi. Perhaps not what your looking for however gives you some ideas of what you can do. http://melevsreef.com/ An article on the cichlid forum regarding building sumps: http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/diy_sumps.php Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raven Posted January 4, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2006 ok.... looks like ill need help, whos willing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nandopsis Posted January 4, 2006 Report Share Posted January 4, 2006 What exactly do you need help with? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raven Posted January 21, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2006 building a sub pump for me 50 g tank. that way i wont have to see all them wires any more. So far its running on a xp2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nandopsis Posted January 21, 2006 Report Share Posted January 21, 2006 So you want set up a "Sump" and you will need a "pump" also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raven Posted January 21, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2006 i think so. i dont really know much about these. itlll make it fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nandopsis Posted January 21, 2006 Report Share Posted January 21, 2006 I'am also planning my first sump. So good luck to you. Mabey someone with more experience can post somemore info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raven Posted January 21, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2006 ok..... what would you people recomend for a sub? I mean it the tanks 50g how big should the container thing be? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nandopsis Posted January 21, 2006 Report Share Posted January 21, 2006 I think a 30g as a SUMP would be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grumpy Posted January 21, 2006 Report Share Posted January 21, 2006 I have a 90 with a 30 gal sump and it's doing the job nicely. More than enough room to place any amount of filtration, pumps, CO2, phos. remover, whatever else you might need, and nothing visible up top except the return pipe and the tubing from the CO2. Mine is a three section unit made of glass, but you can easily accomplish the same thing using a 30 gal Rubbermaid. You need to be a little creative in setting the items inside it. IMO, You'd want to place at least one divider which you could make out of a piece of plexiglass and put it in using silicone. Jim. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyL Posted January 21, 2006 Report Share Posted January 21, 2006 Sizing of sump, can pretty much be any size you'd like, could be anywhere from 20 to 500g. Basically you need to make sure it's big enough to fit all your equipment. Can be anything from an old tank, to a rubbermaid tub, to a horse water trough... Or one of those fancy custom units. First thing to think about is how to get the water down to the sump. Syphon overflows work pretty well. But generally stay away from the single U-Tube type... You're looking for a weir type - along the lines of: http://www.jlaquatics.com/phpstore/store_p...uct_ID=of-cs050 You do need something to remove air from the weir area - a powerhead with a venturi is adequate or there is the TOM Aqualifter (looks like a dual outlet airpump - but it draws from one, spits out the other). Or you can drill your tank, and add an overflow box. Then you need a pump to return, Mags are my favorite, but there are any number of options, a simple powerhead isn't going to suffice, you'll probably be looking at mags, iwaki's, etc. GPH of the pump is a big question, you can go with a bigger pump, and return via a manifold (multiple exits, thus you get some nice flow in the tank) or just a single return - which may leave some dead spots in the tank. In my 65g FOWLR i'm running a mag 12, to 4 exits buried in the rockwork. Some people run a single loop of pvc around the top trim of the tank - with multiple T's to locline sprayheads. Major concern here becomes making sure you have a syphon break so if power cuts out, the tank doesn't drain into the sump. Usually 1-2 holes drilled just below the water line, so that the return side draws air and breaks the syphon once the water level starts to recede. Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Prawn Posted January 23, 2006 Report Share Posted January 23, 2006 I too will be doing this soon for a 180 gallon tank. I'll be using a Mag Drive 1800, available for $200 at Gold's Aquariums, no GST. As far as the PVC pipe etc. all goes and everything else, I may try and get someone experienced to come to my house and build it for me, or come help me out. Once I know how to do it I'm going to create an in depth FAQ with photos etc. to help out other people such as yourself in doing it correctly. My sump itself will be a 55 gallon tank, with 3 compartments, 1 full of bio balls, 1 full of foam inserts and 1 will be empty and have 2 heaters. Though I am thinking about having 5 compartments, 3 good sized ones, and 2 very thin ones by the intake and out and have the heaters in each of those sections. I am also thinking about adding another good sized section where I will grow algae, to help with the bioload. For the tank dividers I'll be using plexiglass or acrylic, with holes drilled. My biggest issue is how to get the water to the sump in the first place. My mag drive will get it back in, but I'm hoping I can have an overflow built into my tank for not too much extra, haven't looked into that yet. Another cool thing you may not know about a sump is it adds extra water volume to your tank to help disperse ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. -Hideo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyL Posted January 24, 2006 Report Share Posted January 24, 2006 Forgot something... The nasty water crashing into sump topic... There are durso standpipes (google is your friend), there are stockman standpipes... And variations on the theme. Then there is the Herbie / SOS / Silent overflow - requires an extra bulkhead and a ball (or preferably gate) valve - but creates absolutely silent overflows/sumps. Described here: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthre...threadid=344892 Basically for each return, you have 2 bulkheads, each capable of handling the full flow of the tank (or half if you have a pair of corner overflows). One gets a mpt->slip, and a hunk of pipe to an emergency height. The other gets nothing but an easily accessed ball valve somewhere between the tank and the sump. All you do, is crank down the primary return, so that the level in the overflow remains constant, and the return is under 2-3" of water (but below the height of your emergency return). Basic idea is by removing all air from the system, you don't get the rushing water / gurgles. Stockman, dursos and the others are great at quietening overflows - this is the only system you'll find that is 100% silent. Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raven Posted January 28, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2006 ok im slightly confused..... but bear with me on this entire topic, i may need things explianed alot. maybe. does the sos or the cso get water the the sump? and what do they use to get the water from the system things to the sump? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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