Can I??
- Thread starter los2008
- Start date
If you can build your own sump? Absolutely.
A sump is basically something that is going to expand water volume do your system. There are people with rubbermaid bins and holes drilled in them as sumps, others (myself included) use aquariums with glued baffles in them to create a sump, and others will fashion their own sump designs out of glass or acrylic.
http://www.melevsreef.com/allmysumps.html is a good place to start.
A sump is basically something that is going to expand water volume do your system. There are people with rubbermaid bins and holes drilled in them as sumps, others (myself included) use aquariums with glued baffles in them to create a sump, and others will fashion their own sump designs out of glass or acrylic.
http://www.melevsreef.com/allmysumps.html is a good place to start.
The basic components you need for a sump:
Overflow: could be as simple as a piece of PVC pipe in your main fish tank that lets the water flow from the main tank to the sump. You can also buy overflow boxes where the water goes against gravity to get out of your DT for a second(display tank/main tank), and flow down to your sump.
Drain line: the pipe that is hooked up to the overflow, drains the DT to the sump
Sump: any container of choice that holds water, bucket, trash can, used aquarium, anything.
Return pump: the pump that takes the water that went into the sump and puts it back into the DT.
Return line: the pipe that is connected to the return pump that allows the water to return back to your DT.
That's it. In the simplest form that is a sump. Like I said the goal is to expand water volume, most people just use it to their advantage to hide equipment underneath the stand (heaters, pumps, dosers, etc) and they will also put baffles (walls) in the sump to create chambers for different things like refugiums or places for the protein skimmer to sit. A sump is great because if you have a small tank, like your 20 gallon, you could stick another 20 gallon tank underneath your DT and double your water volume. The more water volume the easier and more stable the system tends to be. Go to the link and read up!
Overflow: could be as simple as a piece of PVC pipe in your main fish tank that lets the water flow from the main tank to the sump. You can also buy overflow boxes where the water goes against gravity to get out of your DT for a second(display tank/main tank), and flow down to your sump.
Drain line: the pipe that is hooked up to the overflow, drains the DT to the sump
Sump: any container of choice that holds water, bucket, trash can, used aquarium, anything.
Return pump: the pump that takes the water that went into the sump and puts it back into the DT.
Return line: the pipe that is connected to the return pump that allows the water to return back to your DT.
That's it. In the simplest form that is a sump. Like I said the goal is to expand water volume, most people just use it to their advantage to hide equipment underneath the stand (heaters, pumps, dosers, etc) and they will also put baffles (walls) in the sump to create chambers for different things like refugiums or places for the protein skimmer to sit. A sump is great because if you have a small tank, like your 20 gallon, you could stick another 20 gallon tank underneath your DT and double your water volume. The more water volume the easier and more stable the system tends to be. Go to the link and read up!
Sisterlimonpot
Premium Member
+1 like the old adage dilution is the solution to pollution.
Are you planning on building your own sump?
Are you planning on building your own sump?
As a beginner, I used http://www.melevsreef.com/allmysumps.html and it was a huge help. I took a 40 gal glass tank and put baffles in to create 3 chambers and so far so good. It saved me money and it was fun learning how to do it. Check that site out though!
Whys
New member
This hobby is for the DIY lover in all of us. Reef-keepers have been known to build their own sumps, stands, and canopies. You can wire your own ballasts for your homemade light fixture. You can even build an oscillating light fixture, as I recently encountered just such a thread. You'll need to do your own plumbing, and hey, give a refugium some thought, as many are adjoined to the sump. Can you do it all yourself? Sure can! I can point you to some solar oven designs if you want to melt your own glass and pour your aquarium.
Everything is possible.
Everything is possible.
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