DIY Sump for 14G Biocube

[Shane5223]

I am in the planning process for a sump under my Biocube 14. A few questions before I really get started with it...

- I am going to build it with 1/4" acrylic...Does the brand really matter..I have seen some rumblings about cast acrylic vs extruded acrylic...

- I was thinking of drilling into the back of chamber 3 with a simple elbow attached to 1" pvc facing up to overflow into the sump..Is this enough or too much for such a tank?

- I am looking at the sump being 12" x 12" x 16" high, which should get me about 7 gallons of water..I want to get as much volume as possible in this confined space, I was thinking about eliminating the baffles to give me more of a fuge area...Any thoughts on that

- My plan is to go with rigid pvc down to the fuge and then return with flexible piping directly through my current return..Is there any downfall to returning with flexible piping..I want to make sure the noise is kept to a minimum..

- I will be putting sand and chaeto in the fuge area...Any recommendations on the height of the sand bed...I was thinking 2" - 3"..

Thanks in advance for the help!

Shane

 

[beckisguy73]

I will be tagging along on this one.... I was thinking about doing this to mine.

 

[Shane5223]

Not really worth tagging along huh, no one seems to want to chime in!

I have to believe I am not the only one who has wanted to do this?!

 

[somewhereinri]

I'm interested. Waiting for the play-by-play on your project, and pics.

 

[Takara]

i would just suggest getting a new tank if you want a sump

 

[JohnK]

I can offer a little input

- I am going to build it with 1/4" acrylic...Does the brand really matter..I have seen some rumblings about cast acrylic vs extruded acrylic...
There is a tremendous difference between materials and brands.

Cast acrylic is much more expensive, but also much better to work with in a number of ways. Extruded acrylic is far cheaper, and still perfectly usable for many projects. The actual differences get pretty complex, but overall cast is easier to machine/cut, and will be stronger. Extruded is not as consistent to machine, is not as strong, and can be more difficult to work with (harder to get good seams and far less resistance to crazing)

Brand name is important because the name will differentiate the type of material, and the quailty of manufacture varies widely (and this has an impact on hard it is to get quality seams).

"acrylite" and "plexiglass" are good manufactures. Both make both cast and extruded materials. The letters after the brand name will tell you what it is. For example "plexiglass G" is a good cast material.


- I am looking at the sump being 12" x 12" x 16" high, which should get me about 7 gallons of water..I want to get as much volume as possible in this confined space, I was thinking about eliminating the baffles to give me more of a fuge area...Any thoughts on that

To do this, consider using a "herbie" or "bean" style drain system. A small sump like this without baffles will have tons of microbubble issues unless you prevent the microbubbles in the first place. A "bean" or "herbie" will accomplish this.

 

[Shane5223]

i would just suggest getting a new tank if you want a sump

I was thinking of setting up the 125 I have in storage from a previous lifetime, but just don't have the money or time to do that right now...I really like the small footprint of the nano and all is running great with it. I am going to add a chiller to it and would really like more volume in the tank for a more stable environment....and it will be a nice project for my son and I to work on. He is 7 years old and extremely interested in it!

 

[Shane5223]

I can offer a little input

- I am going to build it with 1/4" acrylic...Does the brand really matter..I have seen some rumblings about cast acrylic vs extruded acrylic...
There is a tremendous difference between materials and brands.

Cast acrylic is much more expensive, but also much better to work with in a number of ways. Extruded acrylic is far cheaper, and still perfectly usable for many projects. The actual differences get pretty complex, but overall cast is easier to machine/cut, and will be stronger. Extruded is not as consistent to machine, is not as strong, and can be more difficult to work with (harder to get good seams and far less resistance to crazing)

Brand name is important because the name will differentiate the type of material, and the quailty of manufacture varies widely (and this has an impact on hard it is to get quality seams).

"acrylite" and "plexiglass" are good manufactures. Both make both cast and extruded materials. The letters after the brand name will tell you what it is. For example "plexiglass G" is a good cast material.


- I am looking at the sump being 12" x 12" x 16" high, which should get me about 7 gallons of water..I want to get as much volume as possible in this confined space, I was thinking about eliminating the baffles to give me more of a fuge area...Any thoughts on that

To do this, consider using a "herbie" or "bean" style drain system. A small sump like this without baffles will have tons of microbubble issues unless you prevent the microbubbles in the first place. A "bean" or "herbie" will accomplish this.

Thanks a bunch, you have confirmed my thoughts on Acrylic..I have leaning towards going with Acrylite GP which is a cast acrylic. US Plastics has it and for my setup it will run me less than $100 delivered...Before I order I am going to stop by a couple of local glass shops and see if they have any scrap material they will sell cheaper, as most of the pieces I require are less than 12" x 16".

Thanks for the info on the drain styles, I will google them and see if I can see where changes can be made in my design...Everywhere I have read indicates a space of 1" between baffles...Do you think reducing that to 1/2" would still make them useful?

Thanks again..

Shane

 

[number1gsxxr]

The smaller the distance between baffles, the harder it is to get in there and clean out detritus. Also, I thought I read somewhere that the closer together they are, the faster the water will move over/under them. I might be thinking of the baffle height though.

 

[Shane5223]

The smaller the distance between baffles, the harder it is to get in there and clean out detritus. Also, I thought I read somewhere that the closer together they are, the faster the water will move over/under them. I might be thinking of the baffle height though.

Thanks for the input...I don't think detrius will be a problem as it should never get that far, but that makes sense about the height...

 

[JohnK]

Also as the distance between the baffles gets smaller the water velocity going through them gets faster, and because of that they become less effective as bubble traps. 1" - 1.5" is usually good.

Also, try checking with altec in boston. They may have what you need on hand.