# sump advice



## somebody (May 13, 2014)

Are you familiar with sumps? Im just curious to hear from someone familiar with them to give me some feedback on my design. If I'm on the right track or did I completely mess it up. 








in is on the left and out is on the right. The top part of the trickle filter area will house bio balls and the lower part will house sponges/pillow stuffing to help silence the filter. The ato float will go on the right side and I have a 12 gallon storage container that will rest on top for water. My evaporation rate is approx 7 gallons a week. I have a cs150dx hob overflow rated at 800 gph and a taam Rio 20hf 1200 gph return(950-1000 gph @ 5ft head). It comes with a flow valve that I will adjust. I will be using fx5 hoses for the overflow and the return. I'm still working on the "spray bar" design ( I'm thinking jets). I will also tap a hole in the return for a siphon break as well as have a check valve. ATO float will go on the right. I know there is a design flaw in the picture but it has since been fixed (the bubble trap area after the trickle filter). Filter socks won't be used because I want any food or other detrius to fall into the sump because the "fuge" will house The "cleanup crew" aswell.
As for the "trickle plate" design....








Pretty self explanitory, wood burner to create the holes


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## sumthinfishy (Jan 26, 2013)

i may be a little confused, but if intake is on left from my point of, it appears that u will need to have the entire sump filled up enough for water to make it over final baffle into the last chamber. this means that the entire chamber with media in it will be fully submerged. u do not want media submerged


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## somebody (May 13, 2014)

That's the original design I built and yes I encountered that problem but the water line to the right of the filter is now the height only that last baffle I just cut that tall one in half and to not let anything go to waste I made the two halves a bubble trap. But the water line you see in the picture is what the actual water line is


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## lilscoots (Mar 13, 2012)

Looks good if submerged media is what you were going for. Many people run submerged (myself included). Nice work on the holes in plexi with the wood burner, I tried drilling it once, I gave up and went with light diffuser, I'll have to get a wood burner, or try an old soldering iron and redo a drip plate.


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## somebody (May 13, 2014)

Yea I attempted to drill a few pieces and broke all of them at about the last 2 or 3 holes. Now the only thing I have left to do is try to find a way to seal the trickle plate to the top and still be able to access it to tend to the media in the future.


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## lilscoots (Mar 13, 2012)

You could run a thick bead of silicone as a sort of ledge for the plate to sit on...it won't look great but it would be somewhat functional. alternately you could go without a drip plate and submerge the media a few inches below the water line. Since you're running submerged media instead of a wet/dry system, the drip plate isn't crucial.


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## somebody (May 13, 2014)

The media will not be submerged I fixed the baffles to where the bio balls will be in the top chamber and the water line will be maintained 1 inch below the top chamber. I tried the silicone but it doesn't sit well with the acrylic and ends up being pulled off.


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## sumthinfishy (Jan 26, 2013)

my only other suggestion would be to put sponges before media. this will catch debris before they end up in the media. otherwise u will have to clean the media itself, which the less u do that the better. on a side note (im sure it goes without saying) but only clean media with tank water.


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

You can silicone 4 small ledges to the glass sides of the tank to support your drip plate. Plastic mirror clips may work though you may have to trim the 'lips' off so the drip plate will clear them.

If you can find long nylon or plastic screws/bolts, you can attach them through a couple holes in the drip plate to act as handles when you need to remove it for servicing.

Did you use acrylic to make the baffles?


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## somebody (May 13, 2014)

The nylon screws are a good idea for handles. Yes acrylic was used in the making of this sump. I was also thinking of this "tape " that 3m put out. It's sticky on one side and about a 1/16" foam thickness and about 1/4 inch in size. But I have no way to attach it to seal the sides against the glass. I need to find something quick because it's getting setup in two days when I get home.

As for sponges before the media, my lfs sells a 12 x 4 x 4 sponges I might wedge it between the glass before the filter. good eye.


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## sumthinfishy (Jan 26, 2013)

a quick, easy, and cheap way to fix your shelving problem is not to stick something to the tank to hold each level, but use corner supports that sit beneath each level. i just cut smaller pieces of eggcrate/light diffuser. i attached to the corners of each level with plastic ties. they act as stilts supporting top shelf by sitting on the shelf beneath it. i hope this makes sense.


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## somebody (May 13, 2014)

It does and I didn't even think of that. That's a good idea. But I already did in the shelves with corner protectors but I'll remember that for next time


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## somebody (May 13, 2014)

This is the new version after I fixed the baffles


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