Sump recommendations?

falcona2552

falcona2552

New member
Hello everyone,

I would like some suggestions on a sump for a 48Lx24Wx13T shallow reef tank, I believe water volume will be around 50 gallons in display after sand and LR.

My main goals are to have a sump large enough to prevent a flood during power outage, as well as to be able to hold ATO of 7 gallons spilling into it for absolute worst case scenario. The space I have to put a sump is 25"L X 15" W.

The display will have a lot of macros and mangroves so refugium isnt totlaly necessary, but the compartment would be nice for additional filtration media or additional LR. My protein skimmer has a small footprint, it is an Aquamaxx WS-1 rated up to only 65 gallons, but my bioload will be low.

I see a lot of sumps online that are quite pricey, and I see a lot of people make there own from scratch or with a kit. What does everyone suggest and why?
 
Sump recommendations?

Icecap 36. My tank is 48 x 24 x 30. Has a built in 8g rodi reservoir
7da9e53035bbe389e03d4d424df97e90.png



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Easiest way is with a stock tank that will fit the dimensions & you put in baffles where you want to. Most sumps run close to 1/2 full leaving the rest for shut down volume.
 
Vinny Kreyling said:
Easiest way is with a stock tank that will fit the dimensions & you put in baffles where you want to. Most sumps run close to 1/2 full leaving the rest for shut down volume.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your reply. Is there any reason not to get a premade one like a Trigger Crystal or Eshopps 3rd Gen? I have tried making a 20G long sump before and lets just say there was silicone all over the sides of the tank.

I could try making one again however if this is the consensus way to go
 
You could just go with a 29 gallon tank and add baffles yourself. It is 24x13x21. That should provide plenty of capacity for you. I had 3 sections in my old 20 tall sump. I ended up removing one because of a skimmer upgrade but you would have 4 more inches than I had and be able to do more with the space.

A sump doesn't have to look pretty. Just get it to hold water and your equipment. Tape off where you want the silicon to go then smooth it out with your finger. Peel off the tape when you are set but before it cures, and you will have nice straight lines. My first one was a mess but using painters tape helps a lot.

One more thing, plan on having enough room in the return chamber so that if your return pump is shut off then your water level in the skimmer chamber does not change, or at least not by much. It sucks to have to shut off your skimmer when you shut off the return, or if the skimmer will overflow if you plug both back in at the same time. Even if you need to raise the skimmer on a stand and keep that chamber high compared to the return, you do not want to turn you skimmer off for maintenance.
 
Last edited:
I'd get an aquarium. It's cheaper than a stock tank if the Petco $1 per gallon sale is still going, and stock tanks tend to be low and wide anyways.
 
falcona2552 said:
Thanks for your reply. Is there any reason not to get a premade one like a Trigger Crystal or Eshopps 3rd Gen? I have tried making a 20G long sump before and lets just say there was silicone all over the sides of the tank.

I could try making one again however if this is the consensus way to go
Click to expand...

If you care what your equipment looks like then I would go with a premade sump. Personally I think $300-$400 is pretty small investment in this hobby. Plenty will pay that or more for a couple corals or two. Sumps made from tanks look like garbage imo.
 
Ssteve said:
If you care what your equipment looks like then I would go with a premade sump. Personally I think $300-$400 is pretty small investment in this hobby. Plenty will pay that or more for a couple corals or two. Sumps made from tanks look like garbage imo.
Click to expand...

But the whole point of a sump or refuge is that they are ugly so your tank is nice looking without messy equipment.
 
Silicone is not too bad to work with unless the baffles are close.
I use a glass of water to help smooth out the seams with my fingertip.
Make the glass baffles with 1/32" clearance on each side.
I only used 1 baffle in mine.
 
If you have the extra dollars for for the Synergy Cl22. It's a beautiful sump. You could look at Building An Obsession sumps andAdvanced Acrylics as well. They are all beautiful and top notch


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Flaring Afro said:
But the whole point of a sump or refuge is that they are ugly so your tank is nice looking without messy equipment.
Click to expand...

Maybe to you. For my tank my sump is to hold the stuff I don't want, or can't fit in my tank. No need for it to look like crap.

I currently have a cheap sump that drives me crazy looking at it, its on a short list of things to get replaced.

If I had a frag tank/grow out tank, was broke etc etc I would run a diy sump no problem. but on a display that's shown off to not only friends and families but other reefers, I want everything to look good(eventually).
 
Well I like the look of these prefab sumps, I like the idea of customization as I haven't been able to find a sump exactly like I want.

I got a 20G long from petsmart, not on dollar sale but it was $30. Called a glass company up and got some baffles in 1/4" glass cut and edges beveled so I don't cut my hands up.

I really liked the look of the trigger systems, so i called up my local plastics company and they have the transparent dark blue acrylic. Gave them my dimensions and around 5$ a panel. I will use a hand jig saw to cut out some teeth for overflow and a drill for holes to make a removable acrylic media tower in between the last baffles before the return pump for.

Total cost with silicone and glass panels is about $120. With a dollar sale and a cheaper glass maker/unbeveled would have been well under $100. I like that I can now customize the entire sump to my needs.

I will post pictures this weekend when I get it built. I will be using the same silicone to bond the acrylic panels to the glass baffles. The acrylic are 1/8" and the glass 1/4", so 3/8" baffles.

I know silicone never 'bonds' to acrylic, but is it strong enough to just hold the panels together? The glass will be for structural integrity of the baffle, the acrylic panel laminated against it with silicone for the functionality of teeth in the middle refugium section.
 
IMG_0407.jpg

Sump flows from right to left. Skimmer, bubble trap with media tower in 1st baffle (teeth on 1st baffle), refugium, bubble trap with media tower in 1st baffle (teeth on 1st baffle), return.
 
I just picked up an Eshopps R-200 tonight. It was only $249 and I don't have the time right now to build a sump. I like that this one has a separate refugium that fills completely up with water while the skimmer chamber water level is much lower.
 
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