Need help with sump

[kisscouple]

Hello I think i have the basic idea for making the actual sump part but i need help with an over flow. I have a 55 gallon tank and im thinking of using a 20 gallon long tank for the sump. Planning on glueing some baffles in it. Should be simple enough (ya right). I have no clue on how to do the overflow part of it. My 55 is up and running so drilling is out of the question. I basically just need some way to direct the overflow to the sump correct? The a water pump to send it back up to the main tank right? I wish i could draw a picture on here to show my idea for the sump. Basically I was thinking putting 3 baffles on the input side leaving the center of the tank for the fuge part with the sand bed and lr and 3 more baffles before the output side. Does this make any sense to you guys? Someone please help with my over flow problem its driving me nuts lol. Please use little words and type slow lol. I was thinking of making my baffles 1 inch apart is that to close or to far apart or did I get that right? Thanks in advance I know someone out there can help you always have before :) Thanks Bill

[larryl]

Hi Bill -

For ideas about sumps and sump designs my favorite site is Melev's Reef Site: www.melevsreef.com His sumps are made of acrylic but the same design ideas work if you put baffles in a glass tank.

For getting water down to the sump without drilling you need to look at an overflow siphon box, there are lots out there but a lot of people like the ones from Lifereef: http://www.lifereef.com/siphon.html

For getting the water back up to the tank you will need a pump, either external or submersible. Since you're using a glass tank it will probably be easier to use a submersible pump. Lots of opinions out there on Reef Central if you search around, my personal preferences would be either MagDrive (cheap and reliable but can be noisy) or Eheim (extremely reliable and quiet but more expensive).


Larry

[kisscouple]

I was kinda looking for plans of some sort to make one as funds are kinda limited right now. They dont show a good enough pic of one to give me an idea of how to make one. Thanks :)

[dwdenny]

go to garf.org and look in their DIY pages and put in your size and make it out of glass. I am going to build one and it will cost about $55 for all the glass then an extra $10 for silicone so about $70 total. HTH

[sales weasel]

Since it's a 55g, I'll give you some valuable advice: Measure the inside of your cabinet THREE times before you go out and buy a 20g tank. I have a 55g with a stand that I built to larger specs. A 20H will barely fit inside. That's mainly because I over-built the cabinet so it could handle the weight of a 90g.

[dwdenny]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7007918#post7007918 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sales weasel
Since it's a 55g, I'll give you some valuable advice: Measure the inside of your cabinet THREE times before you go out and buy a 20g tank. I have a 55g with a stand that I built to larger specs. A 20H will barely fit inside. That's mainly because I over-built the cabinet so it could handle the weight of a 90g.

This is why I am building mine. I would love to use acrylic but I have to drive 4 hours to get it(the good stuff) so I opt for glass probably not the best choice but oh well. You can get it cut the lengths you need and it is easy to work with(not saying acrylic is hard)

[kisscouple]

Thanks for the info guys. I got the sump part figured out I think. What im really needing is plans for a overflow box. Thats the part thats got my stumped. Ive never really seen one up close and i cant find detailed pictures of one. I cant drill it because tanks full so i know i need a hob kind but I have no clue how to make one

[sales weasel]

Do a search on ebay for aquarium overflow box. You can get a pretty good look at one and could probably duplicate it. Most people seem to favor the type that use u-tubes. Also, most 55g tanks I've seen are all tempered glass for some reason. I know mine is tempered on all five sides and can't be drilled.

Here are a couple:
http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?sofocus=bs&sbrftog=1&from=R10&satitle=aquarium+overflow&sacat=-1%26catref%3DC6&bs=Search&fsop=1%26fsoo%3D1&coaction=compare&copagenum=1&coentrypage=search&sargn=-1%26saslc%3D2&sadis=200&fpos=30019&ftrt=1&ftrv=1&saprclo=&saprchi=

http://search.ebay.com//search/search.dll?from=R40&satitle=aquarium+overflow+box