# DIY Sump



## madmax666 (Sep 11, 2008)

I was looking into this whole sump idea since i have an extra fish tank. I was wondering if i changed this old 10gallon and turned it into my sump would that be enough filtration or am i better off buying a big canister filter rated higher(double my tank) I am trying to use only one filter because i dont pay the electric bill and my parrents dont think it is nessisary. I have a 55gallon tank wiht 2 breeding pair jd and 1 redtailed shark.
THANKS


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## ajanin (Jul 24, 2008)

my opinion would be if all you have is a 10 gallon for your sump , you'd be better offf with a cannister filter. i'd think you would need a 20 long to give you enough room for media and a return pump. i have a 55 for my sump and a 5 gallon bucket full of bio balls.of course if you're handy and made your own sump , it would be cheaper. of course you don't know until you try.


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## imusuallyuseless (Dec 28, 2005)

The rubbermaid or sterilite storage bins can give you the added water volume very cheaply.


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## madmax666 (Sep 11, 2008)

ajanin said:


> my opinion would be if all you have is a 10 gallon for your sump , you'd be better offf with a cannister filter. i'd think you would need a 20 long to give you enough room for media and a return pump. i have a 55 for my sump and a 5 gallon bucket full of bio balls.of course if you're handy and made your own sump , it would be cheaper. of course you don't know until you try.


Do u have a 55gallon tank or a 55gallon for the use of sump. I have looked into the 5 gallon bucket but wouldnt that be the same as my 10 gallon sump....?
THANKS


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## imusuallyuseless (Dec 28, 2005)

I believe he has a 55G sump, and the 5G bucket is simply what he uses to hold his BIO-media.


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## remarkosmoc (Oct 19, 2005)

I built what you are describing. Works pretty good.

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/view ... light=sump


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## imusuallyuseless (Dec 28, 2005)

Definately a simple, yet effective setup. Good work tan =D>


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## Steve St.Laurent (Oct 2, 2008)

I built a sump out of a 15 gallon long tank for my 90 gallon. I am also running an Eheim 2028 (I like the redundancy of two filter systems). I went basically by the instructions here: http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/diy_overflow.php .

The only difference was that I wanted to be able to run more water in the system and in the sump to allow for easier small water changes, dosing, etc - so I wanted to run a higher water line. What I did was on the bio ball side I cut the eggcrate into strips 2 cubes wide x the length of the chamber and then I zip tied them together to make an open area underneath them. Then I put two 4" round bubble discs under it to help aerate the bioballs since almost 1/2 of them are under water. I have ~4 gallons of bio balls in my sump so I have 2 gallons working as a traditional wet/dry and the other 2 gallons are submerged but should get lots of oxygen from the bubble discs. Looking at the end of the filter area it looks like this:










I liked being able to put all my equipment down in the sump and keep it out of the tank (2 heaters, and a pump). I have a couple bio sponges down in there but they are just there to be able to take them out and put them into my hospital or quarantine tanks if needed. Here's pics of my setup:


















I would think you'd be able to get enough filtration into a 10 gallon sump for a 55 gallon tank no problem.


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## JWerner2 (Jul 7, 2008)

I like the sterilite storage container idea.

I wanna play around with two deep stackable ones to fir under my 46G bowfront. It has the Geneva stand with the narrow but tall storage space behind the door. Giving that I feel with a good pump you can do good with a 10g for a sump.


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## ccrider (Sep 5, 2008)

ajanin has a 55 gallon sump for a 135 tank


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## madmax666 (Sep 11, 2008)

that is the one where i was getting my ideas from! I was VERY interested in that one with the 5 gallon bucket. I used to have my 10 gallon for a grow out tank for when my fish were little guys.That didn't last long :roll: but before i had tropical. Scraped those and got the my chiclids i have now. My dad is very creative and quite a handy man. All i need to get is the pump to bet the water back up. *** brought it up a couple times that i have an extrea 10gallon not in use and i do need more filtration and i did show him the v ideo of the 5 gallon bucket. I will need the media too but i can buy that in bulk on ebay.


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## madmax666 (Sep 11, 2008)

"New Acqua Chiara 815 Canister Filter made by jebao
For Both Freshwater & Saltwater Aquariums up to 150 gallons"/ebay!
Okay so i was thinking this is a kinda off brand but i have heard some pretty good stuff on jebo being cheap but as good as other big companies. But when this article says that it takes "Uses Fluval 305 Filter Pads " wouldnt this mean that it wouldnt be made for an aquarium that large. Only say about 55. This was a back up if my DIY sump didnt happen just getting the canister. But i would run one or the other singal so more electricity saved. Go with this or get a larger name for the money?HAHA SORRY FOR ALL THE MISSING KNOWLEGE IN ME!

Or http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/p ... catid=3595 seems like a good idea this seems more for the money tho...


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## JWerner2 (Jul 7, 2008)

I dealt with Jebo before. Not the best but I didnt have any problems with them.

I still say to get that Magnum if anything.


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## madmax666 (Sep 11, 2008)

I was interested in that with the "extra cleaning" and the waste load it is told to be able to handle. This would be enough alone on my 55 but some day i hope to upgrade. What would you recomend for the top size tank along...hopefully my next tank i will learn to get a sump for it right away! :drooling:


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## madmax666 (Sep 11, 2008)

I have been searching and waiting. I found a large pump  on ebay so that i would have a great turn over rate. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=330289559866 does any one have the sizing chart for the tubing that i would need for this size pump...


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## Hoosier Tank (May 8, 2007)

That pump is way overkill for your 55g it would give you like 17x turnover rate. Yes it's a good buy right now and you could choke it down with a ball valve but thats hard on a pump and may shorten it's life. 
IMO look for something in the ~500 gallon per hour range. That way when you factor in the loss in head height (height it has to push the water back up to your tank) you would be good to go.
I think the 10g would make a good sump for your 55, either with *tannable75*s 2g bucket or glass dividers similar to whats in the library like *Steve St.Laurent* did.
Also do a search here in the DIY forum and check out "pot scrubbies" for you media... dirt cheap and more surface area than bioballs.


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## parkayandbutter (Jan 15, 2008)

that pump has a 550 to 600 at a 3ft head height


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## madmax666 (Sep 11, 2008)

well i am coming back to this because i have another 55 gallon in my room and i need filtration! I have now two tetra hobs but my plan is to use one filter to reduce energy....they wont notice if it is only one thing running but it takes more energy for the one than the two :lol: . Well i have a 55 gallon tank that has SA community fish in it with plants so i would like to raise the water volume and also the filter level. I want to over filter this baby! 
I still have the 10 gallon empty. That is basically all i have. I only hesitate to make a sump because this is not my house it is my parents house... and 55 gallons of water on the second floor above the living room would NOT be good. 
I was still looking at the 5 gallon bucket setup that Tan made. I had an idea! I was wondering if instead of a skimmer type overflow if i could just get a u-tube that one end extended down about halfway down the tank and just make an intake with some filter floss or something. Then test out how low the tank has to be for the sump to get to the top and drill a hole at that level to break the syphon. Would this have enough power to suck debre into that homemade intake?
I think another idea would be to make two buckets to hold more media. I have been looking for pumps on ebay once again. and i have found CA4000 TRIPLE VENTURI 1300GPH. With about a 3ft head i think that would make it 900GPH i think... 
again i am worried about not making it right by not haveing enough water going into the tank or not enough or even the pump failing on me....


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## madmax666 (Sep 11, 2008)

i would like it to be 700GPH going back into the tank. I think i once saw a chart on here that said how much water a 1" pipe brought down or a 1.5" and what not...?


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