simple sump divider?

[Guest burk504]

I am working on the sump for my new 125 and have a 30 gallon glass tank that I plan on using.  

 

Not ever having run a sump, I assume that the only reason for seperating the return pump from the rest of the sump is to prevent bubbles from being sent to the display tank.  Is this correct?

 

If so, what is the simplest way to divide the tank?  Does Lowes or Homedepot sell anything that would work, or do I need acrylic from one of the local sources?

 

Also, I see some sumps with sponges.  Is this a requirement and if so, where can I find a sponge big enough for this purpose?

 

I am dying to fill my tank and this is the last step before adding water.  Please help!

 

Thanks,

Jeff

[michaelg]

Create some baffles- help prevent bubbles from going through the return.  I did mine= where water comes in baffle 1 (filled with rock rubble)- it is elevated from the bottom. 1 inch gap then baffle 2 which goes all the way to the bottom.  Return pump is on the opposite end- external.  Some bubbles still get through, but I couldn't take up a whole lot more space to add more..  Ideally a third one would be great, as then there is no waterfall, like is created with having 2.  When figuring out, a couple things to keep in mind-- you want the water level at least 3 inches above where the pump intake is, but you also need to leave plenty of room for the water that will come in when power is turned off.  If you do 2 baffles, you want the second baffle high enough to give bubbles time to escape, but low enough so there isn't a noisy waterfall as it hits the main part of the sump.  A thirty gallon is a decent size tank to use for a sump, so you could get away with a second set of baffles to create a chamber for the return pump.  

To make the baffles, you can use some of the acrylic that they sell at home depot- it is thick enough.  You can cut it with a circular saw and a panelling blade (though a table saw is ideal).  Get the pure silicon they sell there in the caulking isle or a couple of the tubes.  You will need a fair amount.  Can't make an irreversible mistake too much using silicone.  You can test it outside with a garden hose before putting it into operation.

 

Hope that is of some help.

[xeon]

Jeff,

You could use acrylic or you could get some glass cut from your local glass shop.  The good thing about acrylic is that you can route in overflow teeth and it is more workable than glass.  

 

You have baffles for a few different reasons, bubbles is one of them.  Generally you use at least three baffles to make a bubble trap.  This makes the water go over..under and over again, which gets rid of bubble during the process. This can also aid in keeping undesirables out of your return pump.  More reasons to partition the sump include making a refuge, skimmer chamber, or anything else you might want.  Sponges are not advised, unless cleaned weekly(daily?) they can be detrimental, especially for a reef tank.  Probably what you should do is figure out what you want your sump to do, what equipment you plan on using in it and go from there.      

 

For a few ideas check out the sumps at www.melevsreef.com  It can be a lot to think about, I'm building a new one myself.  I built the box last weekend, but I have yet to place one baffle or partition.

[AquariaUSA]

Most of the Home Depot stores in the area should have 1/4" acrylic panels (12x24" ; 18x24", etc.) that you could cut with a 80 tooth plus ($8 blade) circular saw with no problems. You could use a different blade, but much easier with more teeth. This project should run under $25 (acrylic, silicone to glass, blade). Although silicone will not bond the acrylic to the glass it will help keep the baffles snug (make sure the panels are cut tight). Pic below of simple 30 gallon divider using acrylite. The space in the middle is for a small refugium/dsb area. Oops, no upload feature (just email me and I can email you back two pics). Goodluck, and take pics as you build the sump

[Guest andrejka]

Hi Jeff,

 

What I used to have on my sump (20G glass tank) instead of all the buffles, I put there a square frame cut from acrylic (just wedged it tightly between the walls) and clipped to it two biobags (with their frames) from my old Wisper filter to cover all opening in the acrylic frame.  You can see the diagramm in my gallery (it's a shame that the board won't allow file attachments here).  The bags you can fill with activated carbon and Rowaphos/Phosban.  Saves a lot of space and gives you two compartments to put usefull stuff in there.  COMPLETELY removes microbubbles.  As to any kind of sponge or floss material being a "nitrate factory", I had 0 nitrates at all times.