Plans for 20g high sump ?

[shilo_1]

I recently upgraded from a 20g high tank to a 65g, and was wondering if anyone had plans to turn the 20g into a sump/refuge ?

It would be nice to buy a ready to use sump, but they are so expensive. If I can modify the 20g I have, it would be great !

Any help is appreciated.

 

[dngspot]

I helped a friend build a 20 gallon high refigium. I used 1/4 glass and cut it to fit for baffles. Cutting glass is easier than most think. I would recommend that you get a good glass cutter and a long straight edge; I use a piece of aluminum. Then clamp the straight edge to a table, with the glass underneath, use just enough force to hold the straight edge from moving, to tight will break the glass. Then score along the straight edge with the glass cutter. You will need to cut 5 pieces. Two of the pieces will be longer than the other three; these will used for high baffles. You will need to measure the amount of space you need incase the power goes out and the sump fills with the water in the overflow and pluming. I use an aquarium volume calculator, found on internet, to figure my baffle height. The short baffles go to the floor and the tall baffles are 1 inch lift from the floor. Install 3 baffles on the intake side, tall one in the middle and 2 on the pump side, tall one on the pump side. Make sure before siliconing in the baffles that your pump will fit in the pump chamber, unless you are going to drill for an outside pump. I have only used submergible pumps. Silicone can be found at Lowes or other hardware stores. Use the aquarium type
Attached is a 20 gallon show tank I made for my 55 gallon tank. The picture is rough sorry but is will help to explain the design.
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/585/9684520G_Sump.JPG

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/585/96845sump.JPG

 

[kimbertent]

dngspot,
does it matter what silicone you use? i was at home depot and saw ge silicone I and ge silicone II. it looked like silicone II held stonger. are they both safe for the fish? which is better?

 

[shilo_1]

I've heard that as long as you stay away from silicone with mould inhibitors, you will be ok.

 

[PUGroyale]

Most bigbox places I looked had aquarium silicone right there next to the others. Also... if you're not into cutting the glass you can probably find a local glass shop to do it. I got my 3 pieces of glass for my 29g tall sump cut to size, edges ground, for appx. $13 bucks out the door. Good luck on the build

 

[elliotklinger]

I'm planning on doing 20g high sump for my 50g frag tank. If you get to do project, let me know what exactly you do and recipe so I'll do the same.

 

[dngspot]

I would not use any thing for silicone unless I recognized what is in it. . Those that you mentioned, I have seen but are on the cautious side of using. I know also that Home Depot does not carry the aquarium silicone. Lowes does. I have seen it here in Wichita KS. You may need to ask a sales associate for its location, it can be hard to find, it is near the paint. I have also seen it in our Wal-Mart in the fish section.

 

[sales weasel]

I built a 20H sump and then placed a hang-on fuge in that. I didn't add any baffles because I have the hang-on sump. Also, if you are going to use GE Silicone, get the type I for windows and doors.

 

[shilo_1]

Weasel, do you have a pic to post of the sump ? How do you have it set up so that micro bubbles aren't a problem ?

 

[sales weasel]

I have some but they are mostly skimmer pics. I'll try to get a good one today and post it. I've been keeping my water level at 9" but have it at 12" now. The pre-filter I made from my old BakPak skimmer takes care of a lot of the bubbles before they get into the sump. The Octopus NW150 protein skimmer has all four foam rings on the output tube and that seems to take care of the rest.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7745877#post7745877 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by shilo_1
Weasel, do you have a pic to post of the sump ? How do you have it set up so that micro bubbles aren't a problem ?

 

[Phyxius]

When I first got my 65 (upgraded to a 90 since then) I made a sump from a 20H. It had the baffles to create a sump area-fuge area-return pump area. I never actually used it as I got a deal on my very first Euroreef skimmer and it was larger than the space I made for it in the sump. I had designed the sump with a smaller skimmer in mind. I then made the same thing in a 20L with more space for the skimmer that the 20L gave me over the 20H. The baffles were 1/4" Acrylic but have since then used glass baffles in all the newer sumps. I just used ordinary Aquarium silicone that cam in a caulk tube from a LFS to glue it all in.

With the baffles the way they are there were minimal air bubbles. Bear in mind it only had 2 baffles in the first part but water flow was slow so it helped. There wasn't a whole lot of space in a 20H to put 4 baffles total in there and keep the areas separated I wanted. After this one I had 3 baffles in the first section in all of my sumps. My 20L was baffled the same with 3 first as well as my 15gallon sump for my 29 and my 30G sump for my 90. I have had no air bubble problems

Here is a pic of it right after I made it before I had set my tank up and got it running.

Here is the 20L with the addition of another baffle in the first section. The 20L just gave me the extra space needed.