Sump / Fuge Help

[Matt Scars]

I'm looking in to making myself a fuge / sump / whatever, for fairly cheap.

I get the whole, 10gallon with plexi inserts and stuff, but thats about as far as I can get. I am the LEAST creative person on the planet and quite honestly have no Idea what I'm doing, but I have a general idea.

I would prefer to buy one but I'm too cheap.

Suggestions?

 

[EvilMel]

Hmmm...you just have to glue pieces of acrylic into place to make whatever chamber sizes you want, right? I know that you typically have one piece that's raised up so that flow goes underneath it and another that flow goes over top of it.

 

[goreefer]

For small sumps you can buy plexiglas from Lowes. I made mine from materials from there.
If you know what size of a sump that you want I'll help with my limited experience.

This the link to my sump build:
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1670239is

 

[EvilMel]

Matt, he's a great help! You should definitely take him up on his offer!

 

[Matt Scars]

Hmmm...you just have to glue pieces of acrylic into place to make whatever chamber sizes you want, right? I know that you typically have one piece that's raised up so that flow goes underneath it and another that flow goes over top of it.

Well, see.. Thats kind of my problem too. I don't know how big to make it or anything like that. I was going to start with a 10g I guess. But I'm not sure if that is big enough for what all I want to do.

In my head I know exactly what I want. A sump where I can add my skimmer, some bioballs, and some random filter media from time to time. Like a canister filter except not? Possibly a small sand bed with area for some algae.

I could most definitely use some help if anyone is interested.

 

[Matt Scars]

Also, your sump looks great and I could not build that if I tried. Even with thorough instructions.

I too have a 29 gallon tank. So you definitely know an Idea of what I'm looking for.

 

[goreefer]

They really are not that hard to assemble.
The first thing is what dimensions do we have to work with. Second is how many chambers do you need/want. Bio balls? What for? That is really old school, they kind of go with under gravel filters. If this is for a reef tank you really do not need bio balls.
A skimmer is a necessity.
Is the sump going to be placed in your stand? That is the normal place for nano's like ours. I would also leave enough room for a five gallon bucket for a ATO reservoir. Even if you do not have one now they are a great addition for the stability of your tank.
All of the other features are simple.
This is a one day project once all of the supplies are on hand.

 

[Matt Scars]

Allright.. Well, the sump is going to be actually BEHIND my tank stand because there is much more room for it there as I am using an old TV stand or something?

I said we could use bioballs just because I had some laying around and Thought that they were a necessity. But if you think that they are not really needed I'm cool with that.
I have a skimmer that can easily be made into a sump skimmer as it is a HOB now.
I have an extra 5g bucket laying around that I've been using to "Clean" my rocks in (scrape off all of the hair algae in one and dip in the other) So I have those.
I have some PVC pipe that I got when I previously tried this project that are the right length to go from my tank to where the sump will be, so thats out.


What would you need from me in this instance? Need me to measure the space behind my tank so it will better help out in the determining of what size I should be using? And as for the chambers, I have no Idea. Haha.

 

[goreefer]

Give me the measurements and I'll start the design.

 

[Matt Scars]

Here is what I've got for you brother.
Its not much to look at but it helps describe the area I'm working with.