Hello everyone. I once again seem to be running into another difficulty with my setup. I was originally looking for a 30gallon aquarium to work as a sump for my 55gallon setup. However, after taking a few measurements of my new stand, I only have about 12" of width to work with. The interior dimensions of the cabinet that I have are about 12" wide by about 46" long. To be more exact, it is around 12 1/4" wide. That being said, I don’t know if I will be able to find a 30 gallon that will fit in there. The height doesnt matter too much to me really. I have about 27" of clearance from the top to the bottom, so I dont think I need to worrk about it. Does it sound like I will be lookin for an acrylic tank to use as a sump? Seems a little overboard for something nobody will be looking at. Plus I don’t plan on spending $100s on a sump.
My last resort would be to just find a food safe rubbermaid container that fits the dimensions. Does that sound about right? If so, does anyone have any suggestions where I can find them? Would they be at Walmart, or Lowes, or somewhere like that?
You’ve got a couple options. The first is the rubbermaid container sump. You can pick them up anywhere, Walmart, Lowes, Home Depot, some grocery stores, etc.
Another option, and one I wish I had the room for, is to make the fuge it’s own display piece by putting it on a stand next to your DT. I personally love all of the life and things going on in a fuge and hate the fact that we hide it all under the stand, or in a closet.
Of course that’s just MY opinion - my wife would not agree.
Yeah, my wife does not agree with you either… As for the rubbermaid container, it has to be foodsafe am I correct? If it is not, it has the potential to leach chemicals into the water, right?
Unfortunately, I am pretty heartbroken over not being able to find an aquarium that will work. I have even thought of maybe backing down to something a little smaller than a 30. Does anyone know if there is a 30 gallon tank that is maybe only 10 or 11 inches wide? and maybe 30 inches long? Like I was saying, the height is not that big of a deal to me.
The other thing I failed to mention is that this sump will also house my ASM G-1X, a return pump (unless I decide to plumb it outside of the tank), and a heater.
Well I guess that answers that. As far as I can tell, most of the tanks I would be using are 12 1/2". I am also assuming that size is with the frame.
Has anyone ever removed the bottom frame from a tank, and would you think it would lessen the integrity of the tank? If I could remove that bottom frame, I could probably squeeze a 29 or 30 gallon tank under there.
I’m not sure how much structural integrity is in the framing around a tank. It’s really just flimsy plastic. I also don’t think you’re going to gain that much wiggle room by removing it. You really don’t want the sump to fit in the stand too tight. You’ll be amazed at how much time you actually spend working in the sump. You’ll also need to be able to get it in/out of the stand in case of emergency or maintenance - if the sump is too tight in the stand then you won’t be able to turn it at all to remove it.
Take the skimmer height in to consideration as well, you’re going to need to make sure you can get the skim cup off the skimmer and out of the door for emptying and cleaning.
People have been known to add an armoire or fancy cabinet to the room next to the tank and use it to hide the sump/fuge in.
[quote=“Cdangel0, post:6, topic:1342”]
People have been known to add an armoire or fancy cabinet to the room next to the tank and use it to hide the sump/fuge in.[/quote]
Now that is something I may be able to work with… Of course this is going in my Dining room. I wonder if I can find a china cabinet or something that would fit next to it… hmm…
I got another suggestion from a friend of mine. I could use 2 15 gallon tanks. and just cut holes in both of them to allow for water to pass between the two. That would allow me to get the tanks in and out pretty easily and separate my skimmer from my refugium. Trick would be to find a way to cut the two tanks. I’ll have to check out the DIY tank drill in the other forums.
[quote=“Cdangel0, post:6, topic:1342”]
People have been known to add an armoire or fancy cabinet to the room next to the tank and use it to hide the sump/fuge in.[/quote]
Now that is something I may be able to work with… Of course this is going in my Dining room. I wonder if I can find a china cabinet or something that would fit next to it… hmm…
I got another suggestion from a friend of mine. I could use 2 15 gallon tanks. and just cut holes in both of them to allow for water to pass between the two. That would allow me to get the tanks in and out pretty easily and separate my skimmer from my refugium. Trick would be to find a way to cut the two tanks. I’ll have to check out the DIY tank drill in the other forums.[/quote]
That would be pretty cool, you could separate things in your fuge, pretty easily that way as well.
Yeah. I checked out the DIY tank drilling. Looks like it may be something I can do, just need to get the correct hole saw. I will have to think a little more about this. Might be something I upgrade to in the future. For right now, I may start looking for 1 or 2 rubbermaid containers. I think I may have the same problem with size if I go with 1.
Plumbing 2 tanks together is a good idea - and does eliminate a lot of issues with the small stand. Keep in mind when drilling the smaller tanks though that the glass is thinner and weaker and thus more difficult to drill without cracking.
You may want to consider picking up 2 of the drill bits you’re going to use as well as a couple “practice” 10g tanks to work on first. 10g are cheap and disposable - heck most of us probably have one or two lying around.
If you do plan on drilling the tank and you need a bit, I have one that you can use. It drills holes for bulkheads that accept 1" pipes. It is BRAND NEW. It has only drill one tank, a 10g. It isnt that hard to drill thinner tanks, you just have to take your time.
would use a larger pipe inbetween the small tanks 1 1/2 for flow between tanks. also in a kitchen or living room you could always purchase a nice antique cabinet to place tank on and make it big enough for sump area and other storage of tank components hiding as much as possible. i have even seen cabinets with with corian tops used. tank does not have to fit the demensions perfectly can have a few inches around tank. just centering it on top and utilizing space underneath to full potential
Yeah I am still trying to decide what to do with the sump (or sumps). I have actually been doing a bit of research, and drilling the tanks has me a little worried. I have already put more money into this than I was initially expecting, so the wife is starting to resist spending too much more. And I just don’t know how she would react if I just throw money at a couple of 10gallon tanks that are only for me to practice putting holes in.
That being said, I am wondering if there is another way to move the water from one tank to the other. I guess I could probably just buy a second identical pump to the return pump I am using to move the water, but that is taking up more space in my first sump.
Trying to match up 2 pumps is a disaster waiting to happen. If she thinks building a proper sump is expensive you should see what it costs when you cd0* the floor. Trying to match up 2 pumps is dangerous as one will inevitably get clogged and thus reduce flow meaning the water will be pushed in to that chamber at a rate faster then the pump in that chamber can remove it.
With an offer of a free bit to use, $14 for bulkheads, a 1 foot section of spaflex, it really should cost you that much to make the sump / fuge.
But I do understand, I remember having to explain to my wife that I was about to drill holes in my brand new 75.
*cd0 = the uncanny ability to create a wet floor environment at the worst possible times.
Well I don’t think you need ‘a couple’ 10gs, 1 of them has four sides. I’d just say do your research and take your time on the ones you want to do. PS 10gs are only $10-12
Craig always messes things up the first time around so he’s speaking from his experience, you probably won’t have as much trouble! j/k
I have already put more money into this than I was initially expecting
Do you think I could leave the actual skimmer body out of the sump? The only thing that would be sitting in the water would be the skimmer pump. Then plumb the output pipe of the skimmer back into my sump? Or do you think that would take away from the skimmer being able to do its job? I will try to put up a sketch of what I am talking about in a few minutes.
Does it matter if the actual skimmer is in the water? I am hoping that the only thing I have to worry about is that the bottom of the skimmer sits even with the bottom of my sump. I haven’t seen anyone do this yet, but I haven’t seen anywhere on any websites that say not to either.
A friend of mine that works with metal quite a bit has asked if he would be able to build me a stainless steel tank to use as my sump. He has the ability to weld the metal together, and it is stainless which is used in the food industry all of the time. Do any of you think that would be a bad idea?
As for the rubbermaid container, it has to be foodsafe am I correct? If it is not, it has the potential to leach chemicals into the water, right?