# sump design for my 300 sa/ca tank



## rotccapt (May 31, 2011)

hi all i am working on a design for my new acrylic sump for a 300 gallon tank i am wanting to build the sump using 3/8 cell cast acrylic for the entire build. external dimensions will be 21" wide by 20" tall and 30" long.

i will have three 4" diameter by 14" long filter socks for mechanical filtration and my bio chamber will hold around 11 gallons of bio media.

so my question is when i throw the dimensions into an acrylic calculator it is suggested to use 1/2 inch acrylic but since the tank will have the internal baffles do i really need 1/2 inch acrylic or can i get away with 3/8 inch? also the water in the biggest section will not be all the way to the top maybe half except during a power failure or feeding time

here is a pic of my sump the blue screen is just a stand in this will be a drip tray i am just lazy and did not feel like making all those holes in my drawing also the first cylinder you see next to the three holes is where the water from the tank will enter the sump this will be a caped off section of pipe that will allow the water from the tank to enter the sump below the water level to help quiet it down


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## lexi73 (May 2, 2008)

So this looks good....although i think you should add one additional wall after the bio media for a sponge / bubble trap.


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## WhitzEnd (May 2, 2011)

It looks like the aqueon proflex bubble tube inlet is a popular idea. I did the same thing on my sump. I agree with lexi on the bubble trap though. I have 2 bubble trap walls with sponges in them AND the bubble trapping inlet tube.










Other than that your design looks solid. In a sump that big though, 2 7-inch filter socks would get you more surface area than the 3 4-inchers. You could turn the inlet and wet dry sections sideways to accommodate them.

My initial design had them sideways.


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## Secretninja (Dec 25, 2011)

I think you need an inch or 2 of bracing around the top.


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## rotccapt (May 31, 2011)

i will have to play with my design a bit i might look at the 7 inchers. so if i put a 2 inch brace around the top would 3/8 acrylic be ok for this design?

on a side note i love sketchup it is awsome for this kind of research


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