sump issues

[klongo]

I need some good ideas to solve my sump problem - keep in mind that money is a HUGE issue at this moment.

I had a rubbermaid long, thin container that I've used as my sump. Had is the operative word- I managed to crack it while trying to cut a small bit out of it. I now cannot find anything comparable to replace it - I can find larger and smaller but nothing that fits what I want.

There is no way to get anything hard (like a glass or large acrylic sump) under my tank as the door openings are not large enough. There is no access from the back or end.

I've heard of people jacking up their tank and cutting out the support and putting it back - but does anyone here have any experience along those lines - and does that person feel comfortable enough to come help me do it?

Any other ideas are very welcome - I'm looking for a plastic, bendable container that is 14-15" tall, 16" wide and 33ish" long.

 

[bkiba]

"I've heard of people jacking up their tank and cutting out the support and putting it back - but does anyone here have any experience along those lines - and does that person feel comfortable enough to come help me do it?"

this is a very bad idea, unless you have a 5 or 10 gallon tank I wouldn't even think of doing this with a car jack of any sort.

As a suggestion, in a pinch you can put two smaller containers in and connect them with siphons, you can also put bulkheads in 2 smaller containers and connect them once you have them in place with flexible hose.

You could also just have your sump outside of your stand while you figure out a better solution.

Please don't try and jack up your tank. Even if it isn't filled with water when you do it, just imagine all that sand, glass, and stink crashing onto your floor because you didn't balance the load correctly.

 

[JCURRY@WESKETCH]

When I switched from a Jaubert system to a berlin method I supported my tank and cut out the middle brace to get a sump in the cabinet. I also slide it out away from the wall 8 inches. It wouldn't recommend it to the faint of heart. But if you want to try it here's what I did:

first reinforce the existing stand with 2x4s.
Place a sheet of 3/4" plywood on the floor
Removed the doors from the cabinet
placed a short length of 4x4 through the door openings supported on a 2x4 post in back and a 4x4 post on a car jack on the plywood in front of the stand
make sure the 4x4 support is tight against the stand without lifting it.
Drain as much water out of the tank as possible into a new garbage cans
cut out the center brace and discard or save to be replaced.
Fill the tank back up with water

P.S. I did this on a very old 125G tank with 3/4" glass. I don't know that I would try this on a newer tank unless I was absolutely desperate.

Another option would be to assemble the acrylic sump inside the stand. It's difficult but I've done that before also.

 

[gil716]

Here's a link to how melev accomplished the removal of the center support. It's about 7 or so pics down:
http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/tank/55sump.html

Keep in mind that he did this on a 55. You'd need beefier lumber for sure.

Personally, I'd go with bkiba's idea about the two separate sumps.

 

[sinkingbeach]

Can you go wider, I have a 32l x 20w x 16h, holds 31gallons or a 24x16x12.5 which holds 14gallons rubber/plastic bendable container. Your more than welcome to them as I have several from my recent tank move

 

[dppitone]

What's the layout of your house. Can you plumb the sump out of a basement, closet, or any other room that reasonable near the tank?

 

[michaelm2431]

If you're crack or hole on you're rubbermaid is on a flat part, you can use PVC Cement and Primer to fix the one you have. You can cut a piece of plastic from something, and use it like a pool patch. I've done it before for the water tray on my wet-tile saw. Mike

 

[klongo]

Wow! I leave for a fw hours and look at the answers!

singkingbeach - I've got the 24x16x12 and I need larger to handle the height of water I need for my skimmer and handle the pump/overflow volume - I can't fit the 20w in (I wish I could - I had one in my hand last night)


If I go with two containers - how large of a connector between the two do I need? - one bulkhead? two? any thoughts?
I'm not sure I'm up to cutting out the brace - it's a 150 with 200 pounds of rock and 8" of sand

My house is teeny tiny with no spare closet! (Maybe I could get my son to go to college sooner?) and my entire basement is living space.

 

[bkiba]

for all of you that have jacked up tanks in the past you may need to add these to your automobile

http://www.trucknutz.com/

I've slid my tank on the stand about 20 feet after draining out the water, but even then it was scary and weighed easliy 300 lbs with all the sand.

Good luck kathy

 

[RichT]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6971124#post6971124 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by katlongo

If I go with two containers - how large of a connector between the two do I need? - one bulkhead? two? any thoughts?
I'm not sure I'm up to cutting out the brace - it's a 150 with 200 pounds of rock and 8" of sand

Personally, I would use 2 pieces of 1.5" pvc with 4 uni-seals. Some of the Rubbermaid or similar products can be pretty brittle so be careful making the hole. I would recommend a whole saw and drill. You can get the uni-seals at aquatic eco systems (best price). I just put together a make shift sump for my leaky Ca reactor with an 1.5" uni-seal. You can also set one higher than the other and only have to drill one of the containers. ie. Raised skimmer container dumps into fuge dumps into return pump container or something similar. HTH

 

[rutz81]

Hey Kathy,

My dad had a similar problem when he wanted to add a sump to his 55. He ordered 2 thin, longer, containers from glass cages.com. Then, we drilled a 3" bulkhead and connected the two.

HTH,
Dave