I'm sure this topic has been beaten to death

[BigBlueTang]

Will a standard 55 gallon work well as a sump to my 75DT? I like the width of the 40B but my stand isn't wide enough to accommoda it.

[CStrickland]

Measure the height clearance you'll have inside the stand, people get jacked up sometimes cause the 55 is too tall to reach into and clean or fiddle with the skimmer and stuff. Also, you prolly can't drill it but most sump designs don't need that unless you want to gravity feed a rdsb or some weird thing.

[Bpb]

anything that holds water and wont contaminate the tank can be used as a sump

[Sk8r]

The main reason the sumps are often divided by barriers is because many people use them for a fuge, and the overfall-underflow at the end is a barrier cheato and stray sump-diving fish can't as easily get through. If this is not a concern, you don't need the barriers except something to prevent a fish or snail getting into the pump.

[CStrickland]

I think the baffles help keep the skimmer running smoothly too, if the water has to flow over one to leave the skimmer compartment and get pumped out then the water will always be that deep around the skimmer. So your evaporation is happening in the last section where the pump is. An ato would fix that too, but I think you could put as many baffles as you want in a 55.

[Bpb]

The baffles serve many purposes, but either way they're not a total must. Some of the bigger better LFS in the Austin area have big 30-40 gallon rubbermaid totes under all their big displays that are literally just filled with a big skimmer/return pump/live rock. no baffles. The baffles will do the above mentioned things such as separating fish, partitiioning off a refugium to keep things from clogging the return pump, act as bubble traps, exaggerate the water level down to a smaller area so you can observe evaporation better, but, you don't NEED them per se.

[BigBlueTang]

I thought they were also used for getting rid of air bubbles?

[CStrickland]

Originally Posted by BigBlueTang

I thought they were also used for getting rid of air bubbles?

Yup, three together is called a "bubble trap" that's what bpb meant. The point is there's lots of things a sump can do for you, the reason you build it will decide how you should design it. Why do you want a sump?

[BigBlueTang]

I do want a fuge. I know I sound like a complete idiot right now, but I have done my research, as well as spend countless days on RC. The baffles seem hard to install.. Any suggestions? I have seen people using wood to keep the baffles in place and turning the sump sideways? Is this the best way?

[Clowny88]

Originally Posted by BigBlueTang

I do want a fuge. I know I sound like a complete idiot right now, but I have done my research, as well as spend countless days on RC. The baffles seem hard to install.. Any suggestions? I have seen people using wood to keep the baffles in place and turning the sump sideways? Is this the best way?

I just recently made a sump out of a 55g. On a handyman scale of 1-10 I'm probably a 4.

I ordered the glass for baffles from a local glass company, I actually don't think a bubble trap was needed at all. But I installed baffles to keep water level for the skimmer, provide room for a fuge.

I got aquarium silicone from Home Depot, and I put masking tape on the tank where the baffles would be. I put a bead of silicone on those lines and my glass slid right in there... Nice and squishy. It was pretty solid but I held it in place while I added another bead on each side. (So there's silicone where the baffle touches the tank, and both seams sealed up well.). Did the same thing on the bottom... And very generous with what I used. It doesn't completely dry right away... But enough that you don't have to sit there and hold it.

[BigBlueTang]

Originally Posted by Clowny88

I just recently made a sump out of a 55g. On a handyman scale of 1-10 I'm probably a 4.

I ordered the glass for baffles from a local glass company, I actually don't think a bubble trap was needed at all. But I installed baffles to keep water level for the skimmer, provide room for a fuge.

I got aquarium silicone from Home Depot, and I put masking tape on the tank where the baffles would be. I put a bead of silicone on those lines and my glass slid right in there... Nice and squishy. It was pretty solid but I held it in place while I added another bead on each side. (So there's silicone where the baffle touches the tank, and both seams sealed up well.). Did the same thing on the bottom... And very generous with what I used. It doesn't completely dry right away... But enough that you don't have to sit there and hold it.

Do you have it running yet? If so, do you have any regrets about how the 55 is kind of tall and not wide??

[Clowny88]

Its been running about a month. I love it. I wanted the length mainly. It doesn't seem that tall? I'll snap a pic tonight and put it up.

[mmittlesteadt]

I have a 24" tall 65 gallon sump for my 40 gallon breeder display. Gives me lots of room for...well anything and everything really. Lots of room for the display tank siphoning back into it without worry. 27 gallon refugium. 7.7 gallon return section volume (5 gallons worth of water before pump runs dry should my ATO not top off. Lots of reasons for a big sump.

You can always raise your skimmer (as I did). Keep in mind that my sump is in my basement under my 40 gallon display in the living room. If you are going to keep it under a stand you have to account for your stand and how much room to work in your sump and fit equipment. IMO, no sump is too big...unless you can't get at it or the equipment in it.

[BigBlueTang]

Wow. Thanks! That helps a lot. Does anyone have any other pictures of their sumps? I'm still trying to get an idea of what I want.

[CStrickland]

you prolly don't want this, but since you asked hehehe

It's working surprisingly well, I'll need something more when I decide to put in a skimmer though. I'll do that when this monstrosity isn't keeping up with nutrients. I only run it 1/2 the time, but I think the coast to coast overflow is making that time very efficient. When I was planning my tank I had this whole elaborate sump designed with manifolds and stuff, but I decided to slow down and just add things as needed instead. I'm glad I did. I took off the ATO I made a while ago, and never got around to putting it back, maybe this weekend

[mmittlesteadt]

Originally Posted by BigBlueTang

Wow. Thanks! That helps a lot. Does anyone have any other pictures of their sumps? I'm still trying to get an idea of what I want.

I have a description of why I designed my sump the way I did in my build thread.

Everyone is going to have their own reasons for designing them the way they did. Baffles may be baffling but really just think of them as a way to direct water the way you want it to flow, or to section parts off to suit your needs.

One thing of most importance is building failsafes in the event power goes out, equipment fails, etc. and always thinking about the "what ifs" as well as an ATO system of some kind. My ATO is about the simplest gravity fed system there is.

There are no shortage of designs. Just do a search on RC and you'll get lots of ideas.

[BigBlueTang]

Thank you guys!!! My only question on a lot of the sumps I see in other peoples designs is the skimmer placement. When people put the skimmer in the same section as the return, don't they still get unskimmed water in the DT?

[ZeeSparrow]

Here's a picture of what I have set up, before I finished it (and when I had the flow a lot higher than I do now):



Drain/skimmer section -> return -> fuge. I have a manifold from return pipe to feed GFO and fuge. I've not heard of anyone putting skimmer in the same section as return, but you may still have unskimmed water in the DT if the flow through the sump is higher than the skimmer can match.

By the way, I bought baffles from a local glass company and installed them myself, installed all the plumbing and setup here... and I'd rate myself more like a 3 on the handyman scale of 1-10. On a good day. The "bubble trap" that I set up is not water-tight but it doesn't have to be. The rest of them are good enough, and the plumbing is good (so far... knock on wood!).

[Clowny88]

Originally Posted by BigBlueTang

Thank you guys!!! My only question on a lot of the sumps I see in other peoples designs is the skimmer placement. When people put the skimmer in the same section as the return, don't they still get unskimmed water in the DT?

Well the return section is going to fluctuate... And you want a consistent water level for skimmer. Plus, if you have a fuge for pods, you'd want as much as possible going back to the DT... Not getting sucked up in the skimmer.

Here's mine... Comes through the wall into the chamber on the right. Flows to the left and shoots back through the wall and to the return. (I would like to add an ATO just haven't yet).

Also I didn't do a true bubble trap... Wanted to save space. Works just fine. I actually think I'd have been fine just having the one baffle there. The return pump is facing the back left side so it doesn't ever pull in any microbubbles.

[mmittlesteadt]

Unless you do not use any baffles, ALWAYS put your skimmer in the first chamber from your display tank drain. THAT is where the dirtiest water on the surface of your DT flows over the overflow and needs to be skimmed. You also want consistent water level for the skimmer or you'll constantly be making adjustments to it.

There are various thoughts on the subject, but you typically want enough flow through your sump for your skimmer to work at its best. You can increase circulation in the display tank without having it affect sump flow.

[lmforbis]

I built my sump out of a 29 gal. I made my baffles out of ~1/4 inch acrylic that I bought at the hardware store. I cut it on my table saw and adhered them with DAP aquarium sealant. Let it cure for a week and hooked it up. It works great.

Lynn

[mmittlesteadt]

Originally Posted by lmforbis

I built my sump out of a 29 gal. I made my baffles out of ~1/4 inch acrylic that I bought at the hardware store. I cut it on my table saw and adhered them with DAP aquarium sealant. Let it cure for a week and hooked it up. It works great.

Lynn

Silicone does not adhere very well to acrylic. The silicone can still hold acrylic baffles in place with enough of it.

Also...make sure that if you use acrylic for the baffles that you make them at least a 1/4" smaller (maybe more) than the width of the glass tank. Acrylic absorbs water and expands. If the acrylic baffles expand and they are already tight (or tight enough that even the silicone doesn't account for the expansion) you might crack the glass on your glass sump.

[Clowny88]

...or just don't use acrylic. Glass tank? Glass baffles imo

[mmittlesteadt]

Originally Posted by Clowny88

...or just don't use acrylic. Glass tank? Glass baffles imo

Yes indeed. I work where we sell both glass and acrylic. 1/4" thick acrylic is not cheap. In fact it's about the same price as 1/4" thick glass.

[jrp1588]

Thing is, it's a lot easier to find sturdy enough acrylic to do the job than it is to find glass. When I was doing my sump, I couldn't find anything but the super thin window glass.

For sump baffles, I think acrylic is fine. It's not like it's holding back much water weight at all. There usually isn't more than a couple inches or so difference in the water level from one side to the other.