Acrylic Sump Build

[jamesucla]

Building a sump out of 1/2" acrylic for my 300 gal aquarium. It is going in the stand built here:
300 gallon stand build

Sump dimensions will end up being 90" long x 16" wide x 13" tall (approx 80 gallon).

I got an old POS tank as well as a sheet of 1/2" acrylic off craigslist,that I used to cut the panels to size. Then I glued together with weld-on. Acrylic and that glue is some really nasty stuff. Cutting it smells terrible & the glue is really noxious stuff. My edges were not perfect so there were lots of bubbles in the seams. I am going to have to come back with some Weld-on 40 epoxy in the inside corners to make sure i have no leaks. Progress pics thus far:

 

[jamesucla]

Done with the sump, on to the plumbing. Updating all the pics here for posterity. Thanks to those who helped with input on my questions in the filtration thread here: Sump Design Check. The main goal for the sump was to be completely silent & excellent flow. All the crossings between sections happen under the baffels so there is no "trickeling" sounds.

All the sections (mechanical, bio) are supported by egg crates with flow coming down through the entire cross-sectional area of the section, reducing the flow velocity through each section, which allows for more effective trapping of particles (probably). In theory it should work great, if not i will adjust. Note there will be more filter pads installed in the mechanical section when it is in commission, they hadn't arrived yet.

After all baffels are epoxied in, leak test & rinse:


Flow test nearly silent with (2) Jaboa 18000 pumps at 60%. Think I have enough bio?

Looks like I measured right, it fits in the stand I built.

Diagram of how this flows:

 

[BIG-G]

Looks good. Glad your measurements were correct.
What kind of flow/GPH do you think you are getting from those pumps?
I know the manufacturer rating is always high or rated at 0 head pressure.
I really like the adjustable flow rate on these pumps.

 

[jamesucla]

Looks good. Glad your measurements were correct.
What kind of flow/GPH do you think you are getting from those pumps?
I know the manufacturer rating is always high or rated at 0 head pressure.
I really like the adjustable flow rate on these pumps.

I am pretty impressed with the pumps on first glance. I really have no idea on flow rate at this point but I can tell you that they are very powerful & dead silent. I could measure the flow rate when the whole setup is complete but that will take some time. They do supply a gph vs head pressure graph that could be used to estimate.

 

[NCHornet]

What are you using for bio media? I assume it's not Bio Home Ultimate unless you hit the lottery, lol!!!! Just curious what the stocking of this tank is going to be to possibly require that much media? There will only be so much Bacteria allowed to survive derived by the waste load in the tank. I see a lot of people thinking that more media means more bacteria and that is true to a point. The biggest factor in the amount of bacteria is the bio load in the tank, It's always better to have more than enough bacteria, but this looks like enough media for 1,000 large goldfish being fed 6 times a day, lol!!! I assume heaters will be included near the return pumps laying horizontal, but what size and how many are you planning on? Thanks for the pics, well done.
NCH

 

[Predator07]

Building a sump out of 1/2" acrylic for my 300 gal aquarium. It is going in the stand built here:
300 gallon stand build

Sump dimensions will end up being 90" long x 16" wide x 13" tall (approx 80 gallon).

I got an old POS tank as well as a sheet of 1/2" acrylic off craigslist,that I used to cut the panels to size. Then I glued together with weld-on. Acrylic and that glue is some really nasty stuff. Cutting it smells terrible & the glue is really noxious stuff. My edges were not perfect so there were lots of bubbles in the seams. I am going to have to come back with some Weld-on 40 epoxy in the inside corners to make sure i have no leaks. Progress pics thus far:

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Nice!. Is weld on glue safe for aquarium? I heard mix reviews about the product

 

[ryanmfk]

This is a very good guide and clean build - how long did it take you from start to finish out of curiosity?