DIY Sump..

[wwest]

ok this is my first sump, so if anyone see's anything that isnt suggested then just let me know.
this sump is a 40 gallon tall sump for a 120 tank..

I just want to add make sure you know what size sump you will need before you buy it. what i mean is what you want the sump to do and is it big enuff for your tank. when the power goes out the water from the tank will syphon its way back down to the sump and could overflow your sump. our sump's water level is 8 1/2. after we got everything hooked up and running, well we unplugged it. that way we could see how much water was going to fill the sump and sure enuff the height of the tank is 20 inches and we filled around 17 inches..

well ok first i will do a parts list. i think that was the hardest thing about doing my first sump....

i ordered most of the stuff from marine depot.

first was a overflow box, which i could never understand untill i actually started messing with it and seeing how it works. if you are thinking it wont work. trust me it will



Also when you orderr a over flow box i would suggest getting the drain tube they recommend. Click here for the tube. Now this is something they do talk about, however i overlooked it. you will need a pump to help the syphon of the over flow. this is a big deal. if you dont have one of these buggers you will overflow your tank. and this isnt just a aquarium air pump, this pump pulls instead of pushes..



Also you will need to calculate your return pump. its fairly easy to do just follow the directions at this link
(thanks to wildone for finding these) for the setup i am doing here for a friend of mine we went with the RIO 2100


also if you are doing any tank to container exchange you will need floats so you dont burn up your pump or in some cases overflow your tank.. we went with these floats.



We went with two of these so that we could have a backup. if you are anything like we are water evap is not something you check everyday. so what we did was plug one float into the main power and then placed the float say 6 inches from the bottom of the sump. then we took the other float and pluged it into the first float and placed it about 6 1/16th inches from the bottom of the sump then just plug the return pump (rio2100) into the the highest float. this way when the water level gets to 6 1/16 low the first float kicks off the return pump, if that float breaks or gets stuck from the salt we have a backup to kick off the return pump.

next comes the Plumbing what i like. ok if you havnt watched this Video Podcast do so. it is a life saver if you have never worked with pvc before. rob did a great job on this video and it basicly answers all your questions. here is the link

you will also need to know your friction loss ( or Head Loss ) Click here


In ordered for us to know what we needed and only make one trip to the hardware store we used ( as crazy as it sounds ) air hose from a fish tank pump. we tacked it and taped it where it needed to be so we could messure and decide all the bends and curves.

i think the hardest to understand is how everything works for us newbies. i overthought everything and i think it hurt me in some ways.

remember if there is something that isnt right or not suggested feel free to post it. we are all here to learn. as soon as i gather more info and pictures i will post them here to further our progress.

Happy Reefing!!

[CarmieJo]

You are right about the fact that all those parts can be a bit intimidating! When I brought home my tank wasn't sure that I would ever figure out how it all fit together.

[fat walrus]

ok, good work wwest. looks like you got the CPR overflow 65, the TOM/OSCAR aqualift 20, a rio 1700 (2100/2500) and the BLUELINE pumpsaver. good start.

[wwest]

yea we have everything going as off lastnight ( thursday night ) ill tell ya what when we got all the fittings finished and hung and the pump in the sump and we fired that up. i was shaking lol but everthing worked perfect..

[veriann]

west, im impressed, both with your knowledge & your equiptment list.
that hang-on overflow looks like a quality product. but because it was so black up the top, i couldn;t see where the water actually overflows!
the hose is flex hose, any reason why this works or recommended with this product besides verstaility cause its hang-on equiptment?
insump pump, cool, uve got it all sorted. very nice, great effort West!

[wwest]

thanks veriann, im very pleased with it.. the reason i went with the hose is because it is the same size as the bottom of the overflow and its hard flexible. meaning where we put it is where it will stay..

the overflow works with two baffles. the one inside of the tank is smaller than the outside one. ill try and get a picture of that as well..

[veriann]

yeah, please do, i could use a hang on like that actualy, one of my tanks that houses my mangrove jacks could use it! that & my tank builder doesn't want to drill that one for me, rightly so, its a bay window style so the supports are in the way. keep us updated, id like to see your progress

[wwest]

if you want you can click on the image of the overflow and see a diagram of how it designed. not sure if you knew that or not

[wildeone]

Great post wesley. Looks like you have all of your bases coverd pretty well.

[wwest]

thanks duane your tank journal helped get me started more than anything

[fat walrus]

veriann, that CPR overflow was designed over 20 years ago. the whole unit itself is one piece and have an integral continuous siphon. they come in various sizes and in models made differently for glass tanks or acrylic tanks. has a one way check valve to suck out air or connect to powerhead to prevent siphon break. best hang on overflow on the market. bloody expensive.

[veriann]

i dont know about that, the biggest i saw with twin pipes ( 15000g/h) does that sound right? it was only $126 anyways

thats ok i guess. ud spend more than that going out to dinner

[veriann]

no it was 1500g/h, just double checked on that, cause that sounded way to high

[fat walrus]

the gph rating is a little on the high side. keep in mind that a 100 gal plexi tank is only about $250 where i at, so it is expensive in comparison