building new sump

[scott711]

I am in the process of building a new sump using a 20 gallon long tank. Does anyone have any tips for this? What to use for dividers? would using rocks work?

 

thanks,

 

Scott

[steveoutlaw]

You can either get glass cut for dividers or use acrylic. I got glass cut for mine for $5.00 each (the glass and cutting it to size).

 

Steve

[rioreef]

I too built my 29g sump with glass and glass dividers. The sump is 18" and had a 17" high panel cut for a fuge. I used three panes each around 10" to create baffles and used aquarium silicone to mount in place and seal.

 

Sounds easy until you go to install these baffles which about 1" apart, had to get creative in supporting the center pane and then adding the silicone. Measure and mark the outside of the sump with dry erase maker where you want the panes to be. When done, wipe off the marker

 

The panes that make up the area of the return pump have a slight angle (bottom inward to return area) because I have the water flowing over the last baffle pane and from the fuge. This small angle helps minimize noise of the water.

 

Chris

[scott711]

where do you get the glass or acrylic? I also wouldn't be able to cut either unless I could use a dremel.

 

Thanks,

 

Scott

[rioreef]

I got my glass at a local glass shop, look one up in a phone book. Give them the precise measurement you need and tell them what is for and how it would be siliconed. Then they can adjust for a tolerance less than your max allowing for silicone between the pane and the side.

 

Make sure they know it is for an aquarium so you get the right kind of glass. The place I went to, Sterling Glass, has cut glass for aquariums before.

[JMsAquarium]

I used acrylic sheets from Home Depot.

Very easy to cut with a regular saw and glued them with silicone. Works like a charm for the last two years

[scott711]

Do any of you remember how much the glass/acrylic was?

[JMsAquarium]

Do any of you remember how much the glass/acrylic was?

36878[/snapback]

 

 

Cheap, they come on sheets of small sizes, 2 ft X 4 ft and under. If I remember well, the largest sheets were under $20.00 (1/4 inch thick)

[flowerseller]

Scott,

I can help you cut the pieces for the sump for the frag and help get ready for glueing.

Give me the size you need, I'll check my shop tonight, I might even have the plastic.

LMK on my cell #,

Chip

[rioreef]

The glass I got was about $6 for the 10x12s and $11 for the 17x12.

[steveoutlaw]

If you go with glass be sure to tell them to round the 2 bottom corners to compensate for the silicone bead on the sump.

[scott711]

Scott,

I can help you cut the pieces for the sump for the frag and help get ready for glueing.

Give me the size you need, I'll check my shop tonight, I might even have the plastic.

LMK on my cell #,

Chip

36880[/snapback]

 

Chip,

 

I might take you up on that. I bought some plastic at HD yesterday and I am trying to see what I can do.

 

Thanks,

 

Scott

[Eve]

Scott,

 

Since you are getting Chip to help you should be just fine :-) but some lessons learned from my failed experiment at doing baffles are to use thick enough acrylic (if you go acrylic but thicker glass is probably better) and silicone it well. That's why I ended up just getting a sump made other than the fact that the one I have now is just too to small overall. My cheap (thin) acrylic and lousy silicone job didn't hold up long under the water pressure going through the sump.

[flowerseller]

Well thanks Eve,

 

If the plastic you got is not 1/4" or thicker, don't waste your time.

Like Eve said, it won't hold up unless,.............

it's the middle (off the bottom) baffle on the other side of two 1/4" ones.

Figure out which series of baffles "you" want as they provide different services

with different configurations. KISB!

 

I use 4 - 3 low - 1 high

[Folta]

Who custom builds sumps?

[davelin315]

It's actually not that tough to do if you're talking acrylic. I read somewhere that acrylic and glass will not bond as well as glass, which is silica based, works well with silicone since they're both derived from the same substance. Acrylic won't bond well with silicone because they are chemically different compounds.

 

If you go all acrylic, don't bother with silicone, use either PVC cement or acrylic glue. These will melt the acrylic. The only problem is that you need to make sure you have a smooth edge so that you don't have gaps. That said, you can always go back and fill it with acrylic shavings and then melt them. I built a surge out of it, but am pretty sure I could have built a sump as well. If you do build a sump, make sure that you use 1/4" for the walls, but the baffles can be 1/8" since they are not subjected to pressure. To prevent bowing, use 1/8" to brace it across the top. I think you can use what's called "Euro-Bracing" which basically just means a lip around the top edge to hold it together. I could help out if you want, but the things I've made are not really aesthetically pleasing, although a sump doesn't need to be!

[craby]

You also need to plan the spacing of the dividers/baffles according to what you are planing to keep in your sump, where the drains will be, & where the return pump(s) will go. I have mine w/ refugium chamber on left, skimmer chamber on right, & retund chamber in middle. Here's some picks:

[Guest vdhillon2]

hi,

i just put together a 20g tall sump two days ago...I used acrylic from HD. The acrylic is more expensive then the glass, but easier to deal with. You can pretty much cut the acrylic with a box cutter if you score it enough. The one thing about the acrylic is that it will bows under the pressure of the water, so i had to put in 'T' supports to hold it in place, which basically divides my tank further, but i put enough holes in the T to let the water flow though. I also was a little differnt in making my inlet, so that I only used a corner of the tank. I place a 7"x10" pieace diagonally across one corner, then made another piece about 2" wider. i glued them into the corner...this just maximizes my refugium space, with still allowing me to stop bubble from flowing in.

My one suggestion is to take your tank with you to the store when cutting the pieces. if you try to make the fit too tight it might not work.

Also i superglued all my baffels in place and then siliconed them. Silicone isn't a really good way to support your baffels, but more so just to water-proof them. If you need any help or a better diagram of my sump feel free to ask.

[scott711]

If I use thick acrylic, what do you use to seal it to the glass? Silicone or weldon?

[davelin315]

Silicone. Weldon will melt the acrylic and bond it to acrylic or plastic, but it won't do a thing to glass. Buy the 1/8" and cut some extra strips to keep it from moving. It's not under any pressure so it won't bend, and even if it does, it won't matter if you have it braced.

[flowerseller]

I always thought that when it bows, it has to get that ability from somewhere.

That somewhere is one side or the other where it's attached.

The first piece is actually acting like an end to an aquarium so it should have pressure against it, bow, become unattached and then usless.

 

No doubt glass is best, but acrylic siliconed properly will give you many years of service.

 

If you need to brace it, ( I believe it's needed) just do it in 1/4" and be done.

How about a compromise 3/16"

[davelin315]

It does need some play, but when it's siliconed, which is why I said it should be braced, it will "stretch" the silicone a bit. Again, though, with little or no pressure on it to hold much liquid, it won't bend an awful lot. The reason I said to use 1/8" is because if it's being bought at Home Depot, it costs an awfully lot more for the 1/4" acrylic versus the 1/8" plex/lexan or whatever it's called. The 2x4 sheets of the 1/4" are actually closer to $40 than $20, but if you get the 1/8" it's much less expensive.