DIY 20g Long Sump Tank ~$100

[Amoo]

After initially thinking I wasn't going to put a sump under my 75G tank, I decided otherwise. I looked into a lot of the commercial options and decided I could make better use of the space for my needs by just doing it myself. I enjoy projects like this and felt the money savings was worth my time. I'll be updating this thread throughout the build with pictures and notes while I am building.

I'm not an expert by any means, just a normal guy in a small town in South GA who likes to hunt, fish, farm, play CPU games and Reef. Ok so that combination is a little odd, but it works for me so whatever. Thread interaction is welcomed and I hope this helps some folks out who were as lost as I was when I first started.

My initial design looks like this:

Materials List:

1 - 20G Long Fish Tank ($35 LFS, support your LFS)
1 - 9" x 11 5/8" x 1/4" Glass (Cut by local glass store)
3 - 8" x 11 5/8" x 1/4" Glass (Cut by local glass store) ($55)
3 - Loctite Clear Silicone Waterproof Sealant Aquarium Safe ($5 ea)
1 - 21 1/16" 2x4 (I had these and any wood will work) (**See Step 4)

Destructions:

Dummy Step. Please please please measure the inside of your 20g tank to make sure pieces will fit. I'm sure some small differences exist with different manufacturers. The width of my glass was based on a measurement taken at the very bottom of the tank. Please note I purposely left a gap on the sides, you will see why as we go.

Step 1. Leak Check 20g tank.

Step 2. Clean the glass inside the tank and from LFS. When I received my pieces they still had some cutting oil on them. This would prevent the silicone from bonding to the glass. I used normal windex here.

Step 3. Cut the 2x4 as follows. 2 - 7" pieces, 1 - 7 1/16" piece. I have a miter saw so it's pretty easy for me.

Step 4. Orientate wood and 9" tall glass pieces as follows with tank standing on it's side:

The two 7" pieces go towards the bottom of the tank. The single 7 1/16" piece goes towards the front. Yes I realize this will make the baffle slightly crooked. This orientation allows you to slide the two pieces in the back easily when finished. ***The wood is set as a base to allow me to press on the glass, while applying silicone. It will keep my glass in place without needing to draw lines. Basically the measuring is already done based on how I cut the wood. If you want different size chambers, use different size wood.

Step 5. Cut applicator nozzle for Loctite about half way down from the tip. This will allow you to provide a generous base to fill the gap we created. Apply silicone to the bottom first. Wipe semi flat with finger, but not as flat as you would if you were caulking your tub. You can use the existing silicone in your tank as a guide to how it should look.

Step 6. Apply silicone to the left and right side ONLY 2/3rds of the way up the glass. This is important. Most sumps I could find drilled holes from the inlet/skimmer section. I didn't want to drill my glass, because breakage can happen, so I decided to leave a gap on the side instead.

Step 7. Starting about an inch or two from where you stopped, apply more silicone until you reach the top. This will strengthen the top some and water should flow between the side of the glass and the tank. Since we're using silicone, we can adjust that gap open with a knife or closed with more silicone to get the desired flow out of our inlet chamber.

Step 8. Let dry 45 mins.

To be continued when silicone is dry.

 

[Sgt Jonny Cat]

Awesome...Again, I wish it was a youtube video!!!

 

[Amoo]

Continued from first post.

Step 9. Gently shake glass with hand and see if it is semi-sturdy. Keep in mind the silicone is not fully cured after 45 mins, but it should be setup well.

Step 10. Carefully remove wood underneath glass once piece at a time until all three pieces are removed. Observe glass for about 30 seconds to ensure it is going to stay in place. Feel free to give it another GENTLE wiggle or two.

Step 11. Flip tank over.

Step 12. Apply silicone to the exact same areas on the opposite side of the glass as you did originally. Careful not to put too much pressure on the glass itself while doing so. Your end result should look about like this:

Step 13. Assemble wood bracing and one 8" tall piece of glass, the same as you did previously, along what is now the bottom of the tank. (See Step 4)

Step 14. Apply silicone to all three ends, completely covering all mating surfaces. This will be the outer most riser channel and the end of your refugium. We don't want water seeping through the sides here, it is intended to go over the top of the 8" glass.

Step 15. Let dry 45 mins.

Something to remember, you are building a sump which will likely be concealed under your DT. If your silicone doesn't look perfect or is globby in some spots, who cares. I'm not saying not to try to do a good job, but keep in mind the intended purpose of what you are building when worrying about the details.

To be continued in 45 mins.

 

[Amoo]

Awesome...Again, I wish it was a youtube video!!!

Sadly, part of living in the middle of nowhere and being a Net Nerd, means you have to suffer with really shitty upload speeds, as in like 1/2 MB up. It takes me forever to upload a video unfortunately.

Welcome Back btw!

 

[Amoo]

Continued from post #3.

Step 16. Repeat steps 9 and 10 for removal of wood blocks and glass stability testing.

Step 17. Flip tank over.

Step 18. Apply silicone to all mating surfaces on the panel you just installed.

Step 19. Flip tank over. The panel you just put silicone on, you want that on the bottom of your work area. 9" panel at top, 8" panel at bottom. Not sure how I can make this any more clear.

Step 20. Cut 1" off of all three of your wooden blocks.

Step 21. Put wooden blocks in the bottom and back of your tank on their side.

Step 22. Carefully slide in your next piece of 8" glass. Slowly turn your blocks to the proper side and slide them under your glass panel until steady.

Important. This panel is installed from the top of the tank, not the bottom like the previous two.

Step 23. Silicone all reachable area. You will not be able to silicone the entire length as the first panel will be in the way, but we will make op for this when doing the other side.

Step 24. Let sit for 45 minutes.

Here is a side view of what things should currently look like.

To be continued in 45 mins.

 

[Amoo]

Sorry no updates in a few days folks, had another minor project come up, most of us call it a wife. I finished the sump and was able to take pictures along the way. I'll try to get the final pictures up today.

 

[Amoo]

Step 25. Use one of the 1 inch pieces you cut off you blocks and slide it between the two baffles as the silicone will not be dry enough to support things on it's own without it.

Step 26. Repeat steps 9 and 10 to remove blocks from under glass.

Step 27. Flip tank over.

Step 28. Run a super thick bead of silicone along all contact surfaces of the piece that just dried.

Step 29. Flip tank back over.

Step 30. Cut 1 1/4" off of your blocks (1 inch is your standard gap, 1/4" accounts for the glass you just installed, adjust your cut if using different thickness glass.)

Step 31. Slide your wood blocks into the tank and lay them onto their sides.

Step 32. Apply a thin bead of silicone to the bottom of the last piece of glass you are about to install. The edge that will meet the bottom of the tank.

Step 33. Slide glass into tank with one hand, while using your other hand to slowly turn all of your blocks onto the proper side. Once you glass is properly resting on your blocks, slowly push it against the back edge of the tank.

Step 34. Wait 45 mins for this to dry.

Step 35. Insert another 1" piece between the two baffles.

Step 36. Remove blocks of wood following steps 9 and 10.

Step 37. Flip tank over.

Step 38. Apply another thick layer of silicone to all mating surfaces of this new piece. You will only be able to reach one side, so smear it on there good and thick.

Step 39. Let dry 45 mins.

Step 40. Cut 2 pieces of 3/4" PVC (Size and material are irrelevant, you just want a brace that will hold), 1 inch in length.

Step 41. Reinstall wood supports underneath the last panel you just glued.

Step 42. Remove the two 1" shims.

Step 43. Add silicone to both ends of each PVC piece and slide them into between the baffles as show below.

Step 44. To ensure tight fit, wedge something like a piece of cardboard or notepad under one of your pieces of wood and set a weighted object on the top of the highest baffle.

Step 45. Let cure for 24 hours from the time you reach this step.

Step 46. Leak check tank. I recommend start by filling the intake, watch to ensure you don't have any leak-by. Continue filling that reservoir until it slowy adds water to all of the chambers. Remember, only the intake chamber should leak through on the sides to the refugium. If water gets through anywhere other than over the top of the rest of the pieces, not the locations and add more silicone when dry.

So there you have it folks. It total I used just over 1.25 tubes of silicone. And here are the final results.

 

[Francisco_PR]

Very Helpful, Thanks

 

[rwb500]

i never knew building a sump could seem so complicated