# starting my sump



## venustus19 (Aug 30, 2007)

well, i haven't got my 30 breeder yet for my sump, so i figured i would just use my 20 long i used before, and re-set it up... this is what i have so far, hoping to have my brother come over tomorrow and help me finish it and fine tune it all and make sure everything works the way it is supposed too. here's a pic and description of what i am doing... i'll take more pics once i finish it and start her up...


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## brycerb (Dec 23, 2007)

The bubble trap is a little overkill for freshwater, but other than that it looks good.


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## knotty dreadlocks (Oct 31, 2008)

looks good to me


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## khaki (Jan 12, 2008)

awesome!


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## NiteJammin (Jun 28, 2004)

What did you use to seperate the compartments and to hold it to the glass?


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## venustus19 (Aug 30, 2007)

NiteJammin said:


> What did you use to seperate the compartments and to hold it to the glass?


this is what i followed as a reference for my sump...
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/volume_3/ ... lesart.htm
and this is the stuff i bought at home depot to hold my 1/4" plexi in place.








make sure you buy the stuff with the letters EPDM on it, or the rubber may deteriorate in water over time...

well, my brother came over today, and we just finished building the rest of the sump... i took out the bubble trap, as my baffles were not water tight, so it was hurting me more than helping... i did keep one baffle in there, mainly just to keep my power head in place, but it is also acting like a bubble trap too... but it really is just in there to hold the PH in place... i still have to fill up bio-ball compartment with more bio-balls, and make a drip plate for it, which i hope to start and possibly finish tonight at my dads... i am going to make is out of 1/8" plexi that i have laying around... that way i can make it to the exact specs i need, for maximum affectiveness... here is another pic of what i got going so far... 









that's it for now... will update with more pics of drip tray after i finish it...


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## venustus19 (Aug 30, 2007)

here is what i have so far for my drip tray...









got the pieces cut and made a jig, and have it siliconed together right now... gonna let it sit overnight, and when i get home tomorrow from work, i will see what happens... i am kinda fearful that the silicone will not hold, but i guess i will find out tomorrow... if it doesn't hold, not sure what i will do... will i be able to put some kind of corner braces on it, or what... i don't know...

anyway, we'll see... :thumb:


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## KaiserSousay (Nov 2, 2008)

Very nice..clean and well thought out :thumb: 
Are you thinking a filtering media before water gets to the bio balls?


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## Mcdaphnia (Dec 16, 2003)

If the drip tray is plexiglas, and the silicone does not hold, you can use Weldon 4 to bond the pieces. Getting the bioballs up out of the water is critical to their efficiency, and they can be in a box above the sump if you have the head room. That's why this type of filter was once called an ammonia tower. Still sometimes is:
http://www.suburbanponds.com/shop/detai ... oductId=62
I like their alternative to bioballs, similar to plastic shotgun wadding which has been used because it self-sheds and stays clog-free. Clogged wet dry filters sometimes start producing copious amounts of nitrate because the clogged areas begin pulling nitrogen out of the air and the unclogged areas convert it to nitrate.


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## venustus19 (Aug 30, 2007)

KaiserSousay said:


> Very nice..clean and well thought out :thumb:
> Are you thinking a filtering media before water gets to the bio balls?


i have a sponge on my skimmer box that will essentailly block all my debris, but i am also going to put a mesh bag onto the PVC that is dumping the water into my sump...

i checked the drip tray this morning, i kept it in the jig, but it seems that it might hold up fine... i am gonna take it out of the jig tonight and do some test runs with it... i still need to put "arms" on it, so i can sit it on the tank lid, but other than that, should be good to go i hope... also, i am putting media of some kind on the drip tray also to help make the drip affect work better...


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## KaiserSousay (Nov 2, 2008)

Everything looks real good, well, as good as it can get for a guy who won`t dig out his driveway for a bigger sump  
Keep the pics commin :thumb:


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## venustus19 (Aug 30, 2007)

well, i am in the midst of adding the braces i need to keep the drip tray off the bio balls... 
still need to get more of those, but being careless, the silicone pulled off one of the sides a bit, so after i glue the plastic angle iron pieces on, i am going to run another bead of silicone one the edges, and possibly run a bead of silicone on the outside on the edges also, just for extra security... more pics to come hopefully tomorrow.


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## venustus19 (Aug 30, 2007)

instead of going to sleep, i decided to stay up and get all the braces glued on, and re-siliconed the one bad corner, plus i siliconed the outside edges of all the corners... here are a couple shots of the drip tray.









the plastic angle iron pieces that are going to be supporting drip tray


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## KaiserSousay (Nov 2, 2008)

Sweet media baskets :thumb:


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## venustus19 (Aug 30, 2007)

ALL DONE!!!
for now anyway... until i find something wrong or something i forgot to put in... but anyway, here are some final pics...

completed sump









water going into drip tray









the plastic angle iron i glued onto drip tray resting on lip of tank









drip tray doing it's job


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## madmax666 (Sep 11, 2008)

i have searched pot scrubbies on this site and havent found the right page. So i was wondering what pot scrubbies are okay to use and if there are some that are better than others, What works the best?? Also, i have a suggestion to make. instead of where the water from the tank comes down maybe add in a spray bar that way one spot doesnt get clogged up too fast on ur filter floss. Is it easy to change out the scubbies/filter floss or do u not have to change the media often?


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## cholile (Oct 28, 2007)

how loud is it?


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## venustus19 (Aug 30, 2007)

i went to the dollar store and bought the plastic colored scrubbies... as long as they are not the ones that are pre-soaped, you are good to go.

i was thinking about doing a spray bar, but i didn't... i might change that out later if i run into that problem, but i can usually get my filter floss and media stuff free with fry exchanges, so i am not too worried about changing that out...

right now, it is kinda loud, but i haven't put the front of my stand back on yet, so i am not sure if that will defen the sound, which i am sure it will... if it is still loud after that, i might put some insulation around the inside of my stand, should help some...


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

Nice job, well done. If you have trouble with the drip tray holding together long term, you can use an 
acrylic glue that will work very well. It's not the watery stuff, but a thicker glue that comes in a tube. 
Weldon 16 is one, but since you're in Cleveland, you can get the Craftics equivalent at HP Manufacturing.
It's easier to work with and will work better for your application than the watery solvent stuff. You don't 
have to worry about perfect prepping of sides, etc. and it grabs and holds pretty quickly. I like to have a 
spare drip tray around so I'm not scrambling trying to put something together if/when I drop and crack 
mine.


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## venustus19 (Aug 30, 2007)

good to know prov356... thanks for the tip... will look into that...
thanks for the nice comments..


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## madmax666 (Sep 11, 2008)

do you know where the noise is coming from? the overflow guggle? pump? water going on the filter floss? It looks nice! are you going to add anything where the heater is currently??? LOOKS NICE opcorn: opcorn: :dancing: =D> =D>


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## SamMag (Aug 22, 2006)

Hey looks good. Im thinkin bout a small sump for my 50 gallon breeder tank. Its not drilled so i am curious as how the water would reach the sump some sort of overflow? I have looked at some online and they all seem a bit expensive so could I DIY one. Also roughly what size tank should i use for my refugium?

Sorry for interupting this just look like a suitable thread to post my question.

Thanks and keep up the good work :thumb:


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## venustus19 (Aug 30, 2007)

madmax666 said:


> do you know where the noise is coming from? the overflow guggle? pump? water going on the filter floss? It looks nice! are you going to add anything where the heater is currently??? LOOKS NICE opcorn: opcorn: :dancing: =D> =D>


the noise is just coming from the water going into the drip tray i beleive... there is a small amount of noise coming from the skimmer box, but unless you have a drilled tank, or a secret i don't know about, that is just somehting i'll have to deal with on the skimmer box... i think if i just put my front panel back on, i'll be ok... but i haven't done that yet, i've been somewhat busy... i also, am going to make a "lid" for my drip tray... maybe tonight... nothing fancy, just some left over 1/4" plexi cut about 1/2" bigger than my drip tray, and notched around the PVC pipe, just to stop any access splashing that might be going on...

i don't plan on adding anything where my heater is, no... that is really just empty space... is there something i should put in there???


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## venustus19 (Aug 30, 2007)

SamMag said:


> Hey looks good. Im thinkin bout a small sump for my 50 gallon breeder tank. Its not drilled so i am curious as how the water would reach the sump some sort of overflow? I have looked at some online and they all seem a bit expensive so could I DIY one. Also roughly what size tank should i use for my refugium?
> 
> Sorry for interupting this just look like a suitable thread to post my question.
> 
> Thanks and keep up the good work :thumb:


i can take a picture of my skimmer box i use... i got mine free because my LFS had it and it was broke... they were going to throw it away, and i said i'd take if for free and they gave it to me... all i did was glue it and i think i used some small bolts too, and not the greatest thing to look at, but it is on the back of the tank, and you really don't see it... when i get home, and hopefully remember, i'll take and post a pic later... as for your tank, i would get the biggest that will fit where ever you are putting it... as tanks go, so are sumps: "BIGGER IS BETTER"


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## Hoosier Tank (May 8, 2007)

You scared me when I read "angle iron" but then I saw the pics :lol: 
Nice job so far... If you have any left over acrylic a piece cut slightly larger than your drip tray with a hole in the center for the pipe that acts as a lid for the drip tray may help with the noise.


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## venustus19 (Aug 30, 2007)

Hoosier Tank said:


> You scared me when I read "angle iron" but then I saw the pics :lol:
> Nice job so far... If you have any left over acrylic a piece cut slightly larger than your drip tray with a hole in the center for the pipe that acts as a lid for the drip tray may help with the noise.


ya, sorry for the bad use of that word, but it is angle iron, but i guess it should have read angle plastic, but that just sounds weird  but as long as you know it really isn't angle iron, we're good. :thumb:

this is the skimmer box i use for my sump... also, i put my front panel back on my stand, and it is this skimmer box that makes all the noise, so not much i can do about that, unless someone knows of something i can do to it to make it quieter...


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## SamMag (Aug 22, 2006)

That skimmer doesnt look half bad. Do all of them make noise or just yours?


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## madmax666 (Sep 11, 2008)

isnt the skimmerless one supposed to be quieter... Also you could build a lid over the part hanging over the back. I also have heard that people have not used that U-tube because that has been problematic. Not sure about all of that just what *** read/observed/noticed. :?


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## venustus19 (Aug 30, 2007)

SamMag said:


> That skimmer doesnt look half bad. Do all of them make noise or just yours?


i am not 100% sure, but i would think they are all loud, but i don't know for sure...

i don't know much about the skimmers, or skimmerless ones... not even sure what a skimmerless one is, but if there is one, might be worth looking into getting, if it is quieter...

the noise isn't terrible, but it sounds like a waterfall noise, just not that loud... i think the main noise is where the water is going into the sump... where it goes through the sponge, is where the main noise is... i might have to look into trying to make a lid some how for it, or just get used to it... i don't ness. mind the noise, it goes away like everything else you have to get used to around your house... so,it's all personal preference, but if anyone has any ideas, keep'm coming.

thanks.


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## brycerb (Dec 23, 2007)

Do you have room to make a Durso standpipe? If not their are other types of silent standpipes. Hoffman, Livingston, Hofer Gurgle Buster, and Stockman come to mind. Look around the internet. The noise comes from sucking air/water. You need to just suck water.


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## cholile (Oct 28, 2007)

wait, is the noise coming from the skimmer, the pipe releasing the water onto the drip tray, or both? if both, is one much louder than the other? i'm curious how loud, and what kind(s) of sound(s) come from the flow of the water through the pipe onto the drip tray in the set up you have.


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## venustus19 (Aug 30, 2007)

i'll have to shoot a video then for you to hear the noise... it is not terrible, i buddy came over this past weekend, and i asked him if anything seemed loud, and he said no, so i am not sure... i know what new noise is there, so i can hear it... but let me shoot a video of the skimmer box, and i'll post it either tonight or tomorrow...

with the front panel on on my stand, i do not hear the water falling into the drip tray, the only noise i hear now is the on the skimmer box... in this picture below, i wrote the word noise and a line... now if you can see the water level in the box, then the sponge sticks up a couple inches... that is just so the debris doesn't fall into the drip tray... so the noise is coming from where the water flows over the PVC in the box, and falls into the drip tray via the pipe... hope that makes sence...


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## cholile (Oct 28, 2007)

very helpful. thanks. i'm trying to figure out the rationale for the setup of the AGA Model 3 sump I have (see link: http://www.elmersaquarium.com/h153_megaflow_sump.htm). I hate it for a variety of reasons and want to build my own. But I wasn't sure if the water column on the left was an important feature to reduce noise (as AGA suggests) or, if instead, i could just have the water drain from the tank directly onto the drip tray without increasing the noise.

You sound as though you think the water draining onto the drip tray makes very little noise.


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## venustus19 (Aug 30, 2007)

the noise in the pic above is far louder than the noise from hitting the drip tray... plus, with the sump inside the stand, you don't hear that... and i bet if i had a canopy on my tank, i wouldn't hear the noise from the pic above either, but right now i don't have a canopy... i did take a video, hopefully i can get the video up around lunch time, maybe 4-5 hours from now... work is busy, and i have alot on my plate right now... so depends on if i take a lunch today or not, i'll get it up on here eventually...

i would not buy a sump system, but that's me... i did mine for super cheap, and i can't see buying something, if you know how and can build one yourself... just my opinion though...


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## venustus19 (Aug 30, 2007)

i have no idea if this video will help you at all with the noise, but i shot the video from about 4-5 feet away from the tank, and then walked right up to it for a bit... hopefully that gives you an idea of the noise that i am talking about...
http://s230.photobucket.com/albums/ee19 ... U00185.flv


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