Home made sump?

TheSaltySpitoon · 03-09-2008, 11:04 PM

im Getting a 150 gallon tank and i want a sump canister but ones online are to expensive for my taste. So Someone suggested i could build my owned so How would i build my own sump? can someone explain how i would build my own sump. And also with a home made sump do i need a skimmer? Can someone link me a website that i could buy one online... i dont know where i would buy one so anyone help please.

Varga · 03-09-2008, 11:17 PM

of course you should build your own!!! you should build your own skimmer too.
just google DIY sump or DIY skimmer

tbittner · 03-09-2008, 11:25 PM

It's pretty easy actually. Lots of folks use a 10 or 20 or 30 gallon or larger aquarium, silicon in some glass baffles, add an overflow to get the water from the tank to the sump and plumb in a pump to get the water back to the tank.

It really isn't that hard.

framerguy · 03-09-2008, 11:33 PM

Marc has a great site for DIY: melevsreef
You don't have to build one from scratch though. If you have an old smallish (20-40g) aquarium you can use that for a sump. It's just a place to house ugly equipment, add water volume, and such. You can add baffles easily but use the same material the tank is made of (acrylic with acrylic, glass with glass). You can also build your own skimmer but unless you are really good at DIY I would suggest buying a ASM G2 or G3 skimmer. Look at the sponsors page for vendors.

boozeman · 03-10-2008, 09:52 AM

You can find a lot of DIY sumpbuilding instructional videos on youtube

CyberJester · 03-10-2008, 03:19 PM

I am actually currently building my own sump/fuge. I decided to build mine out of acrylic because I can cut/bond to my specifications more easily then I could with glass. The following site I found had the best info for working with the acrylic.

DIY Acrylic Refugium - Saltwater Aquariums Guides' Extra

As to the design of the sump that is entirely up to you. Do you want a fuge on it? Do you want a compartment for a skimmer? What are the diminisions/volumn that you desire for your sump?

Look at the following links for design ideas. You may also want to go to sites that sell sumps or fuges and look at their designs then make the mods you want on yours and go build it.

Melevsreef.com | A simple sump project
OZ REEF - Sump
55 Gallon In Sump Refugium

Just a note. Do not be intimidated by any of this. This stuff is not hard to do. Bout the hardest thing I have found so far in this process is finding the Acrylic solvent cement and making my mind up on the final design.

03-09-2008, 11:04 PM	#1 (permalink)
TheSaltySpitoon Star Polyps Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Rochester NY Posts: 171 View Gallery Karma Komment	Home made sump? im Getting a 150 gallon tank and i want a sump canister but ones online are to expensive for my taste. So Someone suggested i could build my owned so How would i build my own sump? can someone explain how i would build my own sump. And also with a home made sump do i need a skimmer? Can someone link me a website that i could buy one online... i dont know where i would buy one so anyone help please.

03-09-2008, 11:25 PM	#3 (permalink)
tbittner Watch this Ma! Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Northern VA Posts: 5,562 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: Home made sump? It's pretty easy actually. Lots of folks use a 10 or 20 or 30 gallon or larger aquarium, silicon in some glass baffles, add an overflow to get the water from the tank to the sump and plumb in a pump to get the water back to the tank. It really isn't that hard. __________________ Terry 150g predator tank full of killers. Soon to be upgraded to a 360g. 450g reef 300g sump.

03-09-2008, 11:33 PM	#4 (permalink)
framerguy Manta Ray Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Mount Airy, Ga Posts: 3,326 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: Home made sump? Marc has a great site for DIY: melevsreef You don't have to build one from scratch though. If you have an old smallish (20-40g) aquarium you can use that for a sump. It's just a place to house ugly equipment, add water volume, and such. You can add baffles easily but use the same material the tank is made of (acrylic with acrylic, glass with glass). You can also build your own skimmer but unless you are really good at DIY I would suggest buying a ASM G2 or G3 skimmer. Look at the sponsors page for vendors. __________________ ___________________________________ Greg All time fav quote: "Now and then it's good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy."-Guillaume Apollinaire "Being happy can be as easy as deciding to be!"-Greg Kimsey (framerguy) Still Workin' on it! 390gDT built in wall, Gargantuan DIY Beckett Skimmer, 150g sump, Sequence Hammerhead closed loop, 75 gallon seagrass/mineral mud refugium, 55 gallon crushed coral/live rock refugium, 30 gallon DSB/ cheatomorpha refugium, algae turf scrubber, DIY calcium reactor, DIY kalkwasser mixer, DIY light system w/4x 250MH & 4x54w T5, etc, etc, etc... chronicles-akwareum (\___/) This is Bunny. (=O.o=) Copy and paste him into your signature (")__(") to help him gain world domination

03-10-2008, 09:52 AM	#5 (permalink)
boozeman The CodFather ~ Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: new york Posts: 8,800 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: Home made sump? You can find a lot of DIY sumpbuilding instructional videos on youtube __________________ ...and when I'm old and wise little things mean little to me like autumn winds they'll blow right through me and someday, in the mist of time when they ask you if you knew me remember that you were a friend of mine

03-10-2008, 03:19 PM	#6 (permalink)
CyberJester Tunicate Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Cedar Rapids, IA Posts: 5 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: Home made sump? I am actually currently building my own sump/fuge. I decided to build mine out of acrylic because I can cut/bond to my specifications more easily then I could with glass. The following site I found had the best info for working with the acrylic. DIY Acrylic Refugium - Saltwater Aquariums Guides' Extra As to the design of the sump that is entirely up to you. Do you want a fuge on it? Do you want a compartment for a skimmer? What are the diminisions/volumn that you desire for your sump? Look at the following links for design ideas. You may also want to go to sites that sell sumps or fuges and look at their designs then make the mods you want on yours and go build it. Melevsreef.com \| A simple sump project OZ REEF - Sump 55 Gallon In Sump Refugium Just a note. Do not be intimidated by any of this. This stuff is not hard to do. Bout the hardest thing I have found so far in this process is finding the Acrylic solvent cement and making my mind up on the final design.

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