# New 90 Gallon Drilled Cichlid Tank , DIY Stand, Sump Build



## fltekdiver (Sep 27, 2015)

*90 Gallon Drilled Cichlid Tank , DIY Stand, DIY Sump Build , DIY Canopy *

Ok the build has started. DIY stand for the 90G drilled corner overflow. Stand is 38" Tall , and 5' wide ( I may cut it down to 4' so it doesn't over power the room )
I used 3/4" primed birch for the op to make sure it was level. The opening in the stand can fit the 40G breeder comfortably with lots of room for plumbing. 
The bottom will also be done in 3/4" primed. The whole stand will get a black Epoxy coat of paint once completed.

Spent all weekend getting lumber, cutting, designing the stand, designing the sump , and I attached some pics of the stand and a DIG of the sump

Please let me know what you think of the sump before I order the glass to cut

The sump will drain into a 1-1/2" area , water will flow over into the wet/dry area. The wet/dry area will have the drip plate ( not sure if I need a sponge here) 
then into half submerged bio balls , then under and over into a 2" foam , over into the ( haven't decided this area yet, either K-1 or Pot Scrubbies ) which will sit on egg crate, below the egg crate will be the heater. Water will then flow through 3 baffles ( or 2 with Seachem Matrix Bio Media ) then into the return area

Because I'm using a sump,. I'll set the return area up with a ATO

The ATO container will sit next to the 40G breeder with 10G of fresh water for top off while were away on the weekends sometimes with the camper

8 bags Petco Black Substrate sand also ordered

Jabeo DCT 6000 Return pump also ordered for the return pump

LMK what you think so far


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## nodima (Oct 3, 2002)

IMO, it is overkill for both the bioballs and scrubbies. Also, I'm a fan of using a larger pump chamber to avoid having to top off constantly. In my 30 gal sump, I have a 1' square area for the pump, and fill it about 6" deep and still have to top off every 6 or so days. I'd not want to go smaller on that space.


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## fltekdiver (Sep 27, 2015)

Thanks,. What would you suggest? I was thinking wet/dry , maybe then K1 ?

As far as the return area, I'm not concerned , as I'll have a ATO = Auto top Off

My SW 180 tank, evaporated 1.6 gallons a day because I had no canopy

The return area will be 6" wide, with a separate 10G container next to it to top off

I'll also have a APEX computer to run everything, so if the top off fails, it doesn't dump 10 gallons of extra water into my system and flood it

The apex will control the lights, temp, with auto shut off if the temp goes above 82 degrees , the ATO, the power heads, and I'll have access VIA my home networking 
to control the tank from anywhere, via my smart phone


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## fltekdiver (Sep 27, 2015)

PS, I just spent the last 4 hours, tore the whole stand apart , made it 2" shorter , it's now 38" to the deck, before I was at 40" , it was to tall

I also made the stand 4' wide vs the 5' wide before, it was way to big for a 10'x10' room at 5'

Now it looks good, like it fits 

Tomorrow I have to finish trimming it, sanding it, fills the holes with putty, and get it ready for the black epoxy at the end of the week

The black sand shipped out today, as well as the return pump

So I'll be focusing on the sump now, to get it plumbed so I can get it filled next week to start the cycle


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## busterny (Feb 12, 2014)

What type of pump did you order?


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## fltekdiver (Sep 27, 2015)

busterny said:


> What type of pump did you order?


Jebao DCT-6000 DC Pump


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## fltekdiver (Sep 27, 2015)

3D background installed, stand built and painted, just have to make the doors and canopy.

Black sand came in the mail today, things are starting to come along

Tomorrow I'll goto a glass shop, and order the glass baffles which should take about 2 days for them to cut, and polish the top edges


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## fltekdiver (Sep 27, 2015)

I'm having a hard time with the sump

The 40G Breeder isn't very high. So the wet/dry would make the water level low in the sump, which means the return could suck air. Also Theirs not enough room for the Bio Balls and sponges.

Only way I can make this work, is make a tower for the Bio Ball section, and get more height, or just run the Bio Balls and make a small section for chemical , then return pump as Andy has suggested to me in PM 

I'm spending hour and hours on the sump, as I want the more beneficial design and media I can fit under the tank

What would you suggest ?

I been spending hours looking for a acrylic sump , or the best way to DIY with a 40G breeder


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## fltekdiver (Sep 27, 2015)

Maybe something like this?


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## Narwhal72 (Sep 26, 2006)

Heaters in the same area as your return pump is a bad idea. Run the sump low and your heaters run dry. Horizontally and partially submerged they will not likely trigger their thermal cutoffs and that can cause the heating element to get really hot and shatter. Place them under the biotower where you will be able to maintain a minimum water level to keep them submerged.

I think you may want to consider dropping the Bioballs altogether. Use a thinner layer of BioMatrix or another porous ceramic ring type media. Maybe sandwich it between two layers of 10ppi Poret? Poret is fantastic filter media for biological (if you can prevent it from clogging) and can easily take the place of the bio balls. This will allow you to think up the Biotower vertically making more room for water in the sump.

If you use one of the Aqueon Quietflow submersible pumps with their low water level vacuum intakes (Model 6000 and larger) you can run the pump at a really low water level. Although it's better to run at the typical 4-6+" depths used for sumps.

Andy


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## fltekdiver (Sep 27, 2015)

Thanks Andy , I appreciate it. Yes, I thought afterwards, it wasn't a good idea putting the heater in with the return area.

I'm now researching Kladness K1 , this seems like the best way to go with a 40G breeder, and I'll be able to run allot more water volume this way

What do you think?


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## fltekdiver (Sep 27, 2015)

Think I found what I'm looking for :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9ovPRx ... t30FxTOvgH


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## Narwhal72 (Sep 26, 2006)

Works good until the airstones start clogging up and you have to replace them every few weeks. Get yourself an aquaculture grade sandstone airstone so it lasts longer and is weighted so you don't need to glue it to anything.

Fluidized filters are mezmerizing to watch. Almost as good as the aquarium. Like a big filtration lava lamp.


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## fltekdiver (Sep 27, 2015)

Yes, I have to admit, I love it, way more fun to watch then a bunch of pot scrubbies 

I was thinking of putting the mechanical in the first chamber with the drains and heaters, then the K1, then the return

I really don't want something like socks that have to be cleaned every few days and changed out.

I spent all most 4 hours tonight watching You Tube videos of FW sumps, I'm knocked out, starting the get a headache from it all, lol

I think I'm over thinking this somewhat, but I want to make sure I'm using the sump for the best filtration media possible, still not sure if K1 is the answerer to that yet either, lol. More reading to do over the weekend!


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