Internal Sump??

[P.Sherman]

I ordered a 40G breeder tank (36x18x16) and planned on making a sump/fuge for it. Then I came to thinking.. what if I get a tank that's a foot longer and use that extra foot as the sump?

So, would it be possible to partition the tank using acrylic, have it overflow to where the skimmer would be then go through a baffle before returning back into the tank via submersible pump. Wouldn't that eliminate the need for complicated plumbing and the potential of the tank/fuge overflowing? What are your thoughts? I attached a picture to hopefully explain it better. I was planning to have the tank viewable on both long sides so that my diy stand and canopy would actually cover the sump area. So only 3 feet of a 4 foot tank would be viewable.

Laurente

[P.Sherman]

Here's a 3-D picture... I know the drawing sucks but it's the best I could do. :D

[Trackz]

Why not? In fact, I think there is a company out there that actually sells systems like this (probably got a patent on it and YOU WILL GO TO JAIL IF YOU MAKE IT)....j/k. Seriously though, I'll see if I can locate it. Maybe give some good ideas as to how to set it up.

[xxaquanutxx]

Hey sherman... I have a 5 gallon Nano on my desk and didnt want to have any filters of HOB's outside the tank lessening its appeal. At the same time I dont have any space for a sump under the table so I purchased a 1/8 cut glass and siliconed it in my aquarium. Very similar to your drawing. The only thing I did differently was have the overflow run across the whole width and have the return pump connected with wire water hose across the canopy and returning at the otherside of the tank.

[xxaquanutxx]

Here is an attachment of a quick sketch. Sorry, I'm not a picasso... I know its kinda lame, but I hope you get the picture.
``Basically there is a 1/8' piece of glass siliconed in. I added egg crate at the top so my snails and fishy would stop slidding over.
``Once the water falls over the overflow into the first chamber it fills until it flows over the first baffel. Then it goes through the filter media ( which is held in place with a little plastic shelf siliconed in) and into the chamber where the return pump sits. The pump has some wire water hose connected to it and the hose runs along the top of the tank (clipped onto the back of the canopy) and returns of the opposing end of the tank.

Thats about it. Its not glamorous, but it works! Goodluck:cool:

[P.Sherman]

Aquanut, that's similar to what I want to do but I'm worried if the glued on partition will be able to hold the pressure from a larger volume of water.