sump advice?

[daddycadi]

ive given up on building my own sump...... acrylic is just too damn expensive! im still a ways from actual setup of my tank but im trying to get things planned out. im leaning towards the aqueon proflex sump. does anyone have experience or opinions on these? other suggestions welcome. also anyone with a large sump for sale let me know

 

[eengmd]

How are you planning to skim? An in sump skimmer may be difficult to use in that sump model. You are more than welcomed to check out my set up for your planning purposes if you desire. I will pick your brain on my wood skinning as well.

 

[daddycadi]

i havnt measured the footprint of my skimmer but you may be right eugene. would be great to check out your setup! ive been following your build and its looking great!

 

[eengmd]

Even if it fit, you may have a lot of annoying bubbles since the only place the skimmer could sit is in the chamber with the return. At least that what it seemed in the google picture I saw. Give me a call and we will set something up.

 

[WillM]

I would definitely advise against getting any sump that requires you to put the skimmer in the return chamber. Mine is in there now because my tank is in a corner and even the volume of water my arm displaces when I'm working in the tank causes my skimmer to go nuts and overflow. Not a good set up.

Another option is to just partition off an old glass tank. Or get a new one when Petco has their dollar a gallon sale. Get a glass cutter to cut some 1/4" partitions and silicone them in. Not fancy, but you will have a large volume sump for a fairly reasonable price. I have an old 90G that I will be using for just this purpose once I set up my larger tanks.

 

[WillM]

Here is a 40G breeder I built for a FW cichlid tank. Obviously, on FW the baffles are in different places to accommodate the trickle filter in the right chamber and the center section has some mechanical/chemical filtration, etc, but you can customize it any way you want:

 

[ade]

I have a barebones sump for my cube (20 gallon long) there are no baffles or filter socks and I don't have issues with bubbles and I have a return, skimmer and 2 x media reactors running inside the sump. IMO at the end of the day you have to look at what are your requirements for your sump and your available footprint.
WillM great sump.
I am all about looking at making my own sumps and equipment instead of buying high priced and inflated prices online. Fish and corals do not mind how much you pay for something as long as you give them a clean home to live in.