My New Sump

[Jill & Brian]

After switching over my Maxi Reef wet dry to a sump and adding a skimmer, I was struggling with many many little bubbles. I have tried a couple of things with the maxi-reef to both eliminate the bubbles, and baffle it without having to take it out and glue it all up.

I added a piece of 1/2" lexan into the existing slots in the filter to act as a baffle to keep the water level constant on the skimmer side. It worked great for keeping the water level, but made the bubble problem worse from the waterfall effect on the other side.

I then took the sponge that came with the maxireef and put it under this slide in baffle so that it forced the water underneath. This eliminated all of the bubbles, but the skimmer level changed with the water level in the sump .

My other problem is that I added a bag on my return line to reduce the bubbles coming in and to mainly stop the spray. I also filled the bag with some of the bio balls so not to take all of the bio ball filtration out at once. This proved to be a nasty detrious trap, turning nice and brown after a few hours and building up some nasty nutrients that would have been better off skimmed out .


Well after all of this I decided to just go ahead and build my own sump out of a glass tank. I origionally wanted to use a 29 gallon, and add a fuge on one side of the sump. This would have been nice, except that it would not fit into the stand on my bowfront tank. After a lot of measuring I ended up with a 20H and split it with just a skimmer and return section. Attached are some pictures of the sump (and my kitchen counter).

I am putting the new sump in tomorrow. I have water mixing tonight for the changeout. Wish me luck!

-Brian

 

[smeagol]

From personal experience and in my personal opinion, one should consider the size of their hands when installing baffles. Sooner or later something will get caught in there

This isnt a negative commentary on the previous sump designs, they actually look quite nice, just a point that future DIY sump builders may want to consider.

 

[Jill & Brian]

I completly agree, I had to use a piece of tubing to get between the baffles to smooth the bead.
My siliconing skills have proven to be pretty bad so far. I think my 4 year old would have been neater with the silicone than I was, but Hey! it works!

 

[NateHanson]

Just don't let your wife catch you telling your daughter to slide her nice small hands in between these sharp glass baffles to smooth out that silicone bead for you.

Nice work! Looks good to me.

Nate

 

[Jill & Brian]

The stupid sump didn't fit

I may have an engineering degree, but apparently that does not mean that I can use 3rd grade geometry. The 20H tank is a little to H to fit under my stand. I can not fit it in lfat through the front door, and I can not turn it down if I put it in the stand sideways. I have a nice picture that I will post tonight of the sump not quite fitting.

The best part is that my dear wife was mad at me for getting the thing in the first place, so when I told her it didn't fit, she just smiled nicely at me. She didn't even need to tell me "I told you so"

Ahh well, life goes on....

anyone want to buy a custom made 20G sump that WILL NOT FIT under a 72G bowfront stand.

-Brian

 

[NateHanson]

That's a bummer!

For the sake of your sump sale, it will fit under a 72 if lowered in from the top, right?

 

[Jill & Brian]

Correct!! It would easily fit if there was no tank on the stand. I think it would even fit in from the back (I did consider cutting a hole in my living room wall for a minute last night )

 

[RichConley]

how much too high is it? you might be able to cut off part of the top trim on one side if its just a little...

 

[Jill & Brian]

I considered that, and then measured the corner to corner length. It is about 3/4 of an inch too big even if I removed the top and bottom trim.

I found someone who wants it, so all is not lost. At least someone will enjoy it

 

[NateHanson]

Brian, FWIW, it's suprisingly easy to slide a full or half-full tank/stand away from the wall if you put those "moving men" slider pads under the stand. You might consider that. It's quite easy to do if you're on hard floor, or anything but the plushest of plush carpets.

Nate

 

[Jill & Brian]

My house is 100+ years old, and the floor is not exactly what you would call level. I have multiple shims under the tank, so moving it would be a real pain. I did consider that, but I just couldn't bring myself to try given the shim situation.

I do appreciate the suggestion though.