120 gallon tank's sump advice

[russell]

hi,

i recently pruchased a 120 gallon oceanic reef ready tank and stand. it is drilled with 2 input holes and 2 output holes. i am wanting to make a sump and fuge for it, or a combo sump/fuge in one large container. here are my 2 thoughts:

i have a 29 gallon tank and a 10 gallon tank, so i could make the 10 gal the fuge, and the 29 the sump.

or i could buy a large rubbermaid storage container (50-54 gal) and make a sump/fuge out of it.

what do you guys think i should do? and also, if i should do the large rubbermaid storage container, where can i get one? online would be great, also i can drive an hour to oklahoma city where they have a lowe's, home depot, ace, etc....

any help would be greatly appreciated. i bought the oceanic stand, so i want to pack as large of a sump and fuge as i can in this space. any links or advice would be appreciated.

thanks,
russell

[Rob]

the one large container woudl likely be he easiest from an overall design.

i you go for the trough setup, you can see mine for an example.

as far as where to get them. you can find them at hardware stores and farm supply stores. here in michigan there is a place called tractor supply co that sells them.

you can also buy them online, but i cant remember where.

here is the image of mine

[wwest]

Here is the link to Tractor Suplly online. TSC

[russell]

thanks for the help guys. i think that i will do the one large sump/fuge. how many gal/hr is safe to run through it? i WAS planning on running 1125 gal/hr through the sump.....

[wwest]

The one i set up for my friends 120 gallon tank, i think after all the caculations and the plumbing we went with 600 gph. i pretty sure.. have you done your head loss calculations and stuff?

[Rob]

you actually want the flow rate through your fuge to be slower.
much less than your display.

so just leave it up to your return/drain, and dont add any more current in there

[russell]

ok, i want a mag drive 18, and at 5 feet of head, it is rated at 1200 gal/hr. is this too much?? i was thinking about using a 10 gal for the sump, but i fit the new 45 gal rubbermaid in with the 10 gal, and it was too tight of a fit to have equipment too. so i will make the fuge a fuge/sump combo.

here is a pic of the new tank:



and a pic of the new 45 gal sump/fuge. this guy was a whopping 13 bucks at walmart. it was warping horribly when full of water, so i edited the top so that i could leave it on, and i added a ratchet around the middle where it was trying to pop the top off. don't worry, that water isn't a spill, i just forgot to turn the hose off in time so anyways, this baby will take up about 80% of my under stand space, unless i build somthing on top of it. anyways, the sump:



any words of wisdom are greatly appreciated. i was a moderator at aquabotanic.com a freshwater plant forum until it closed. so i know my way around a forum. expect to see a very complete list of parts and pics of this setup

[wwest]

Very nice tank, i love it and i cant wait to see it up and running

[russell]

by the way, the running tank in the first pic is my 29 gal, my first sw tank ever. it looks so tiny when placed next to the 120, i can't believe that the sump will contain 16 more gallons than my current tank

[russell]

well, dangit, the rubbermaid container bowed out over night. it looks like it isn't going to be tough enough..... any ideas?

[wwest]

do you have any local feed stores? i would try a feeding troth. they are heavy duty and work perfectly..

[CarmieJo]

Are you transfering the 29 to the 120?

[jokeloma]

Russell, I used a large Ice chest for my first sump/fuge and it worked great. The one I had is a 120 qt or about 20-25 gallons and cost about $40. I still have it and I live in Tulsa it's yours if you want it. By the way Rob was good enought to give Tulsa it's own forum yesterday.

I can get measurements if you need them and pics. The icechest never did bow and it has a nice valve on the bottom for water changes.

I just upgraded to larger sump because I had the space.

John

[jokeloma]

I have seen the large tanks Rob is using at Atwoods in Oklahoma

[russell]

john, i really appreciate the offer, but i found out a way to make the rubbermaid tank work. i just bought another one, and stacked one inside of the other. double the strength for $13 it is working great now, i still use the ratchet and it barely bows. so now i officially have a 45 gal fuge/sump

Carmie, yes, i will be making the 29 a quarantine tank for new fish, and all it's contents will go into the 120.

wwest, i enjoyed hearing your questions on the podcast, they were very helpful. man, i love this site. i will definately make it my home as for the feed buckets, i did see a 95 gal that would actually fit in my stand (barely) hehe. so if the rubbermaids dont work i might give that a try.... didn't see the price tho

anyways, you guys don't know how much i love this forum, the podcasts, and the general attitude of the members here. so many forums have know it alls that just make fun and don't help. i really appreciate you guys.

thanks,
russell

p.s. check back for updates. i will make this my tank's construction thread

[jokeloma]

Sounds great let me know if I can ever do anything to help.

[russell]

ok, here is my design. photobucket shrank it, so maybe if anyone could help me resize it, that would be most appreciated:



anyways, there is a 45 gal fuge with a 25 gal trashcan sump that will just look like a trashcan. the fuge has a valve that controlls the in flow and the rest goes directly into the sump. the pump is in the trashcan sump and it runs 1225 gal/hr and i will regulate the flow in the fuge down to 600 or so gal/hr. does this sound ok? also i will be looking for a source of macro algae, so in anyone is interested in selling me some here in a month or so, i can paypal.

thanks,
russell

[PSH]

How much water are you planning on holding in the container? Are the sides still bowed out with it only half full?

[wwest]

russel, glad to have you a part of the family

[Rob]

ok, here is my design. photobucket shrank it, so maybe if anyone could help me resize it, that would be most appreciated:

if you want to use our Gallery, you can get a much larger image in there

[russell]

the sides aren't bowing anymore. i added a second rubbermaid container and stacked one inside of the other and added a ratchet to the outside. the fuge (rubbermaid container) will hold roughly 35 gallons, and the trashcan will hold about 15 gallons. it seems to work on paper.... i have to go to work now, but i will upload a larger image later.

thanks all,
russell

[Small Fry]

i was sure i just posted that i came back from the big als in toronto and picked up two 35 gallon stock tanks for $20, as long as they have been used for SW i see njo problem, and they are often drilled making it easier for sump/fuge use

but i guess i didnt :/

[russell]

ok, i finally have it all figured out (or so i think). i have placed a 10 gallon tank in the sump to act as a fuge. it fits below the stand perfectly, and with a T in the line going to the fuge plus a gate valve, i can controll the flow through the fuge as well as get lots of water flow through the sump to increase my overall circulation. here are 2 pics of the new sump/fuge before drilling and of course i will have dual overflows on the right side of the 10 gallon tank, well i don't even have the bit yet, so it will be a while before it is complete, but anyways, here it is:





any comments are greatly appreciated. do you guys think this is a good option?

[Small Fry]

im sorry, but i still dont like how that box is beding :/

but i do like how you're setting up your piping and flow *thumbs up*

[russell]

ok, i love these bulkheads for the 10 gallon fuge, but it doesn't say how big of a hole to drill.... anyone have any idea? by the way, i want to get the 3/4" size


http://www.aquaticeco.com/index.cfm/.../6850/cid/1863