has anyone made a sump for 37 gallon column tank?

[hart.thomas]

Hi and thanks for reading I really want to setup a sump for my tank. But, the cabinet doesn't have allot of space. I have the perfecto 37 gallon column and matching stand i cant find a link to it right now. and I'm at work but when I get home I'm going to measure it and post the info.


Has anyone ever made a sump work with this setup? I have a hob octopus skimmer, 1 heater, a uv sterilizer, and an auto top off thing that came with my skimmer I want to put all that in the sump and have it out of my tank. I saw there was a few people on this site that have my same tank so I'm hoping someone can help. thanks

[kriv4o]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FA8fUdWDXas

Also you might wanna use the search option and look up a 5 gal bucket sump somebody on here made for their corner tank.

[hart.thomas]

Originally Posted by kriv4o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FA8fUdWDXas

Also you might wanna use the search option and look up a 5 gal bucket sump somebody on here made for their corner tank.

thanks for the info ill look intot hat bucket sump. ive watched that video a few times and its a different cabinet mine is more narrow. and he had a in sump skimmer i believe. ive never had or made a sump either so im pretty dumb when it comes to what to do

[reeftanknewbie]

I put my sump behind the stand for my 56 column tank since the stand is the same as yours. check out my build thread for details.

[hart.thomas]

if this helps the stand is 11 inches wide and 14 1/2 inches from from to back.

[hart.thomas]

https://picasaweb.google.com/1019554...09316638206978

thats my sump idea. no offense but the input didnt really help so i decided to try and make one that form fits basically into my cabinet. will this work? do i still need my hob skimmer with this setup? and is there a cheaper way to make this instead of using acrylic? please i really need some help with this. thanks

[hart.thomas]

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-W...520diagram.jpg

[Waddleboy]

Your going to create a lot of back pressure by having the return go under everything and push back up. you would be better having it flow down through the media and exit the bottom and some sort of bubble trap. If you want a skimmer you need the hob if not than you dont. Also dimension on the picture would help as i currently have it going vertical and not wide but that would change it.

I would do something like this:

And use this skimmer: http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/store/...n-skimmer.html

This would give you all the sections, ability to filter, and give you a little more than 3 gallons for backflow from the tank in case of power failure and such

Options are flexible just my opinion

[hart.thomas]

Mine was from a side view if I didn't put that on there and is ur diagram the view from looking down at it? I'm trying to understand it. I dint know much about this stuff but if ur works better than mine then I'd love to use ur idea. And I was to use my Skimmer only because I spent 270 bucks on it. Its the reef octopus one with an auto top off.

[Waddleboy]

ya mine is top down. The best way to explain it is that the drain is from your tank water flows in the skimmer section, gets skimmed, then flows over the first wall (baffle) goes in to the fuge(which is a place for live rock, sand, algae ect). Then it goes through the bubble trap to eliminate micro bubbles. Lastly it goes to your return and back to your tank. The return section of the sump is the place that fluctuates when water evaporates that is why you put the ATO if there.

I am not familiar with a protein skimmer with a built in ATO, so I dont know what your skimmer is. Maybe posting the model number would help. Also you dont have to use the skimmer it was just an idea of how the system would work for better explanation. Hope that helps clear it up. any more questions feel free to ask

[hart.thomas]

its not really build in it just came with it. heres a link
http://www.saltysupply.com/Reef-Octo...r-p/oc6120.htm

also can u explain what u mean by back pressure? i dont really understand. and if i dont buy that skimmer (cause i dont want to spend that much more) will the biological filtration be enough?

[Waddleboy]

ah i understand. To be honest a half gallon of top of is gonna last you like 20 seconds ( not really but it wont last long) Your going to be constantly refilling it and getting a small Tupperware or garbage bin might serve you better.

Okay back pressure so based on your picture your drain is going to the bottom then turning up and then forcing up through the filter media and over into another section where the skimmer and return are? So half that pipe is going be covered with water. The more the pipe is below the surface of the water the more the water coming down from the return has to push against (back pressure in basic terms). So because the drain on the tank works off of gravity it is going to have to push the water out of the pipe and drain very slowly. Thats why most drains into the sump only go a 1" or 2" just below the water because it reduces back pressure on the drain.

The skimmer you dont have to buy. The skimmer you have will work, it just hangs on the side of the sump. People usually go with nonHOB when they have room but you can use the HOB. Maybe upgrade later? Who knows call. Biological filtration and protein skimmers work slightly different. Protein skimmers remove organic particles out of the water, like surprise surprise protein. They are effective because proteins are charged and the amount of bubbles protein skimmers make create enough of a charge to allowing sticking of organics and full removal. Algae will help with nutrients and i am sure they do some organic filtering but not much. Carbon removes chemicals and dissolved stuff. GFO does phosphate. Live rock adds to your biological filtration so that helps. Certain bacteria will break down organics, some do ammonia, ect. Could you get away without a protein skimmer? Sure people do it. Others say no way. It really depends on the demand of your system and how well your filtration biological or mechanical can keep up with it.

Now that i have given you essay to read hope that makes sense. Again feel free to ask questions

[hart.thomas]

first i want to say thank you for taking the time to help me. now i understand what your saying about the drain going to deep. would it make a differnce that the water will be falling like 4 or 5 feet from the tank into the bottom of that sump?

ive just yesterday setup the auto topoff and ya i realize it isnt very big lol. i would like to set something else up i just dont know how to. im assuming i can use the same sensor. can i use the same pump its pretty small idk if that matters. the only reason i want to use my hob skimmer is because i paid 200 bucks for it and dont want to buy a different one. im kinda cheap. can u do a side or front angle of your drawing because i dont really understand it. and i know this is dumb but can u show the flow so i better understand?

[Waddleboy]

Of course. This is what this hobby is about. Helping and sharing so everyone can have a successful tank and feel comfortable doing it. I was there and i learned.

Your ato i think based on what i read can be taken out and implemented in another system. You dont want a huge pump on your ato that puts 500gpm in your tank when you only need 1/4 gallon so smaller might work. The skimmer thing i completely get. NO reason changing if it works and you bought it. Also i tried my best to redo the sump to explain flow and set up. again ignore the skimmer it just was faster

[TriNewbie24]

This is the sump i made for a friend of mine on NR for his Cube setup.

[hart.thomas]

Originally Posted by Waddleboy

Of course. This is what this hobby is about. Helping and sharing so everyone can have a successful tank and feel comfortable doing it. I was there and i learned.

Your ato i think based on what i read can be taken out and implemented in another system. You dont want a huge pump on your ato that puts 500gpm in your tank when you only need 1/4 gallon so smaller might work. The skimmer thing i completely get. NO reason changing if it works and you bought it. Also i tried my best to redo the sump to explain flow and set up. again ignore the skimmer it just was faster

dude that 3d thing is awesome. and i get what your saying now so with that setup u drew i wont need a skimmer? cause if i can sell mine and get the in sump one ill do it. but i just dont get where ill put it. and would that be efficient at those dimensions? also someone mentioned a algae scrubber on a different forum would that be beneficial and if so not to trouble u more but any idea where to put it in that system?

[hart.thomas]

also what all the pipes and stuff in the skimmer section do i ignore that too?

[Waddleboy]

hmm okay now you have me confused haha. The sump i drew has a skimmer, and the insump one is another kind of protein skimmer. I personally think in sump or external ones are much more effective than HOB. If you get in the in sump it goes in the chamber like shown above. Those are to scale so it will fit inside. As far as efficiency sumps work on a principle of adding water volume to the system, hiding equipment, and providing more filtration so bigger is better but in your case this is as big as you can make it due to your size limitations.

As far an algae scrubber, I have never used one read up on it and i can explain the basic concept of it. Its a system that you intentionally grow algae to take the extra nutrients out of tank and make it cleaner and nicer. This is really good thread... super long but has everything. read the first couple pages to understand and then move towards the ends to see where it has evolved to: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=1977420.

Putting into your system may be more difficult. I would probably suggest making a manifold off your return pump to plumb it. But thats another story. read up on it first and if you decide that route, we will have to talk a lot more haha. Again any questions just ask

Pipes in the skimmer section the one is your drain from your tank, the other white thing is a skimmer. The pipes on the skimmer work to allow air into it to create the bubbles

[hart.thomas]

My only thought about the skimmer is that its almost 7" wide and there's only 11" total. Is that an issue? I'm going to read that post and see if a algae scrubber would be worth it

[Waddleboy]

ah i see i had the 7" long skimmer running the 12" side. Its tight but it gives you almost an inch of wiggle room

[hart.thomas]

If I read the dimensions correctly the sump is like 6.5" at the base and there's only 11" from left to right and with having 3 different walls probably 1/4" thick that only leave about 3" for the chamber with the return pump. Right?And is that enough?Also is 1/4" thick enough I was thinking about picking it up today. And u think 3 24"x48" sheets will work?

[Waddleboy]

total sump dimensions are 11x12 using 1/4 material. First section Are you using glass or acrylic? Acrylic cannot be glued with silicone just fyi, you need weld on. Glass silicone can be used.

As for dimensions i knew i was tired yesterday. Lets try this again: These are the dimensions you should use.


The first skimmer section internal dimensions are 5"x8". Fuge internal dimension is 3.25"x10.5". Return sections dimension is 9.25"x5.25". You can make the fuge area bigger by sliding the bubble trap further down if you want to make the return section smaller. I wouldnt go smaller than 7"x5.25" personally.

Either way all your cuts are as follows if using acrylic (all based on 1/4 material): Base: 12x12. Two long sides: 12x11.75. Two short sides: 10.5x11.75. Dividing Baffle: 8x11.75. Skimmer/Fuge baffle: 5x8. 1st baffle of bubble trap: 5.25x7. 2nd bubble trap baffle: 5.25x10.75. 3rd bubble trap baffle: 5.25x6

If you use glass shorten the length of each dimension by an 1/8" to allow for a 1/16" gap for silicone application. Glass has to have a gap silicone is a perfect fit.

Running those pieces i could get them to fit all on one 24x48, so I am not sure where you need 3 from but double check my math. Hope that helps

[hart.thomas]

What I'm saying is I kike the idea of getting a in sump skimmer but it doesn't fit if the space is 5"x8" I'm pretty sure the Skimmer won't physically fit in the space. And if I'm reading that right which I'm probably not lol is it only 12 tall?If I make it 24" tall is that bad? Is 12 enough?

[Waddleboy]

Going to 24" will adds more volume which is fine but then you need to raise the skimmer to the correct height Also at that height the acrylic needs to become thicker unless you put a top rim on it if not it could blow out. Lastly height of sump makes it difficult to work in a stand so remember that. I cant say what to do 100% part of it is gonna be how you feel about it

Lastly the skimmer is: 6.8"L * 4.3" W* 17.5 "H which will fit into the 5x8 area. Just got to rotate it. The 4.3 goes in the 5" length and 6.8 goes in the 8" length

[hart.thomas]

i just want to make sure its usefull and not a minicule difference is all. that size would be what 5-10 gallons? is that enough? also i went and picked up the piece of acrylic its .220 in thick. and a scoring knife. i read you can score acrylic to cut it up to .25 in thick. and i couldnt find the weldon stuff. can u point me to what i can buy at walmart or lowes or menards or something? and if i do the 12in tall sump now coudl i just add to the walls later and make it taller?