Pics of new sump swap

bobbyblank

New member
Well i made my own sump to replace my old crappy one. I finished the sump last tuesday, and installed on saturday. All and all, it was a horrible experiance, and hopefully i will never do it again. I had to drain the old sump and half the tank, so i could pull it off the wall as the sump would have to be installed from the rear. I only have 1/4" on each end. VERY tight. While moveing my MAG7 and hooking up in old sump to keep corals water moveing, I broke the intake housing. Went and got another, broke it too. Cheap manufaturing has a weak point in the upper left corner. Both cracked in the EXACT same spot. Borrowed a pump from some one and kept working.

When i installed the new pump and stuck my hand in the water to move some corals, i got zapped!@! I ran through every piece of equipment that i had, After around 5 zaps later, i took the pump out and replaced with a large powerhead. No more shocks. Thinking all was good, restocked the tank and went to bed. Just to find out later that it was my 300w titanium heater. It was shorting out every time it turned on. Luckly tank runs hot most of the time, so the zapping was kept to a minimum, but all to much for my corals. They are all looking very poor, and i am going to lose my frogspawn and hammer most likely :(. My pulseing xenia looks great though ;). I guess you really cant kill that stuff. Needless to say, i will be installing a ground loop very soon. I suggest others might want to also :). Well, the sump looks great and is working just as well, so here are some pics my girlfriend took during all the maddness. LMK what you think on the new sump.



NEEDED TO BE REPAIRED BEFORE INSTALL
DSC02626-1.jpg


LEAK CHECKED AND READY TO GO, LITTLE UGLY BUT ITS A DIY
DSC02653.jpg


DRAINED AND OFF THE WALL, SUMP WENT IN VERY EASY, BETTER THAT EXPECTED THATS FOR SURE.
DSC02686.jpg


VERY TIGHT FIT!!
DSC02689.jpg


INSTALLED AND WORKING, THE RED CIRCLE IS THE FAULTY 300w DEATH MACHINE....I HATE YOU TITANIUM
DSC02693.jpg


FUGE...ONLINE.... VERY FOGGY FROM THE SAND BUT YOU GET THE JIST..
DSC02694.jpg


GOT SOME RUBBLE IN THE RETURN CHAMBER TO REDUCE BUBBLES, I NEED TO ADD SOME MORE BUT MY DESIGN WORK VERY WELL ONCE THE WATER CLEARED UP. I AM VERY HAPPY WITH IT.
DSC02695.jpg


Well that was my weekend. Let me know what you think.
 
!~BUBBLE TRAPS~! Awesome Blossom Bobby~! I love to see sumps as close to the same size as the display~!

Did you ever fix that mag?? Or get a new pump??
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10598852#post10598852 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bayareaquarist
!~BUBBLE TRAPS~! Awesome Blossom Bobby~! I love to see sumps as close to the same size as the display~!

Did you ever fix that mag?? Or get a new pump??


:lol: :lol: Thanks bro, It does look rather large dont it! it holds 25g, Display is about 35g. I rigged up the MAG7 for temp use, but petes RIO is in the pics though. Im hopeing for a real cheap exteral pump at the swap this weekend. Keep the temps down since i have no chiller. Also gonna need a new heater, since my other one tried to kill everyone. At least i got it for free. If you still want my old sump, you can have it. Its not much of a looker, but it worked for me.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10598902#post10598902 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bored4long
bobby, that is a great design. Well done. Are you gonna grow some cheato in there? What did you use for sand?

Thanks! I used some medium grain agraonite on the bottom, and some sugar fine on top, Then seeded it with the sand i recieved at the sand swap at the meeting. yes, my old ball of cheato died because of my weak lights. I now have a new lighting setup in there with flood lighting. Now i just need to get more cheato :)
 
Great job, the sump looks good i have the same sump setup you used on my 280gal.. The bigger the better which gives you the flexibility to hold more live rock down and less in the display for more room for corals and fish! On the heater may i recommend the visa stealth heaters. I've been using them for over three years and never had a problem with them.
 
thanks yoboy! I think this setup works good for me. unfortunatly, i got a margarita snail got into my overflow and got caught in my durso and dumped about 5g on my floor today GGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!
 
My girlfriend lacey and i were talking about the same thing. Im trying to snail proof the overflow tonight. Im just exausted with all the horrible luck. Most of the corals are slowly looking better, half open. The worst is the frogspawn is shrivleing up and looseing tenticles on 4 out of 5 heads. One head looks like it might make it. Hammer has brown slime comeing from a few of the heads, but is half open so i have high hopes. I must have walked under a ladder or ran over someones black cat or something :lol:
 
I like the idea of the rocks in the overflow as well. I think that I will incorporate that into my upcoming 20L sump. Nice job on your sump too.
 
thanks! The LR in the return has worked out far better than i expected, keeps most of the bubbles out. So far, building my new sump has been my best DIY so far. I just finished my top off today. ill try to get some new pics up. Its now chocked full of equipment and there isnt any more room lol.
 
Dude Bobby...bad luck huh?? That will change...It usually comes in phases for me~! =)
So Im pretty close to finishing my set-up...almost...lol...still got the sump to build and some other things to finish..Im going w/ a 25L sump (!~bubble trap included~!) for a 50g display...so no need for yours~! I apprechiate the offer though...Im going to start a build-thread soon so you and the others can see all the work Ive done~! Talk to later~!
 
Back
Top