Wood Sump?

[cduran02]

I have been thinking about this for a while. I have seen several people make aquariums out of ply wood, I guess this could also aply to a sump/refugium. Does this sound like a good idea to anyone, or should I completely forget about this?

[Doggydog911]

not to me, I think it will just rot away and how are you going to hold water in it? When you see the people making them i think the wood is just to hold it in place.

[A7ESF]

Actually there is an epoxy that you can coat the wood with that will make it water tight. Not knowing the cost of the epoxy, I cant say if it would be any more cost effective then just building one out of acrylic in the first place. It does seem like it would be easier however. I would think its "doable" either way, but more research would definitely be needed.

[gregb]

Get a nice new one, as large as possible.

[reefer90]

I know a person who did this and it has been up for aprox 2 years.He did use a epoxy base paint if you are still thinking of doing this I will find out the type of epoxy he used and let you know.

[nonot8946]

Rubbermaid containers will probably be easier and cheaper, unless you want your sump to have a glass front.

[8BALL_99]

A local shop just inclosed the bottem of there stands with plywood then used pond liner to hold the water.. Seems to work very well and was very simple.. The entire bottem of the stand is the sump... I thought it was a good idea

[cduran02]

I have been thing of the liner thing also. The reason for the wood in my case is because it is easier to build, I dont want a rubermaid because they have limited shapes and sizes.

[johnpoole]

wood will work and last if you use the right glues and paint to seal everything. i've seen wooded boats that were decades old. since your using ply, you should save money. i perfer plex for the view, to much stuff ends up in the sump that needs to be back in the tank. including some run away corals. after you get used to working plex, it's not that hard, but the $$$ can add up. i was luckey to get the bullet proof glass from a check cashing place that was going out of business. 20 ft by 4 ft, 7/8 myler in 6 pieces. guess a bullet proof sump is safer here in the south.

[TANGBOY5000]

Since you can build it to the exact dimensions of your stand, you can use the stand as support. That way you don't have to use fiberglass to reinforce the corners. Epoxy paint, some 3/4" plywood, and a weekend will get you a very nice sump. If you can do it outside that would be best, if not I hope you have plans to rent a big industrial fan because the fumes from the paint are dangerous. Good luck and let us see some pics when you're finished.

[josh_peter]

I would be worried about the strength on the stand. If I made it maybe, but if it was a prebuilt stand I would not trust it to hold water w/o being reinforced.

[TANGBOY5000]

Good point, but the amount of water would be pretty minimal. I wouldn't worry about it too much. A couple of 1x4 or 1x6s should strengthen it just fine.

[jaze36]

It depends on how big you want your sump, the epoxy paint is expensive, between $50 - $90 per gal. Plus plywood, silicone. Depending on size you want it might be cheaper to look for a used tank. If you are looking to build something and have some fun go for it, and keep us posted.

check out garf.org for more info on plywood tanks

[cduran02]

johnpoole:- your right, I would prefer to be able to easily see whats in my sump.

But what I could build instead is RO/DI water storage tank, and a salt mix tank. Cylindrical tanks take up too much space.

[laverda]

I think it sounds like a good idea that way you can get a large sump and still have good acess. I was thinking of basicly sealing off the bottom of my stand to catch any possable leaks/overflows as the tank is on carpet. wish I had thought of it when I was originally setting up the tank.
http://www.sanitred.com has what lloks like a very good solution for doing this.
Steve