Building a 30 Gal Sump
- Thread starter dsteelman
- Start date
Ok some post setup thoughts.
MEASURE EVERYTHING!
Just because you have a stand that is 24" tall doesn't mean a 22" skimmer will work out. It fit but you could not get the skimmer cup out from underneath the stand and out the door to empty it.
I also didn't measure the outside width of the 30Gal tank and the area in between the base of the 75Gal stand. It was a 1/2 inch wider. It would not sit on the floor.
MEASURE EVERYTHING!
Just because you have a stand that is 24" tall doesn't mean a 22" skimmer will work out. It fit but you could not get the skimmer cup out from underneath the stand and out the door to empty it.
I also didn't measure the outside width of the 30Gal tank and the area in between the base of the 75Gal stand. It was a 1/2 inch wider. It would not sit on the floor.
So at this point I have to decide what to do. My sump and protein skimmer setup does not fit under my 75Gal tank, and the tank is already tore down trying to fit the sump underneath. Well why not make a tank/stand change, I'm almost their anyway.
SO THATS WHAT I DID!
I had a stand that I built years ago that could accommodate up to a 120Gal tall. We also had recently gotten a 90Gal tank. So we swapped all the rock and fish out.
I DO NOT RECOMMEND DOING THIS ON THE SPUR OF THE MOMENT LIKE I DID!!!!
It took about 4 hours to swap out everything, but it got done. So now I have a 90Gal mixed reef tank and a 30Gal refuguim/sump setup.
SO THATS WHAT I DID!
I had a stand that I built years ago that could accommodate up to a 120Gal tall. We also had recently gotten a 90Gal tank. So we swapped all the rock and fish out.
I DO NOT RECOMMEND DOING THIS ON THE SPUR OF THE MOMENT LIKE I DID!!!!
It took about 4 hours to swap out everything, but it got done. So now I have a 90Gal mixed reef tank and a 30Gal refuguim/sump setup.
So this setup has been running for a few weeks now, and its all good. After the swap we did lose 2 fish.
One got trapped under a rock and another looked sickly from the get go. All of the corals looked great the next day.
Tuning the protein skimmer turned out to be a pain in the ass, But well worth it. It is making good dark green skim now. Turns out water height is critical for this type of skimmer to work right.
My new Brain Coral
One got trapped under a rock and another looked sickly from the get go. All of the corals looked great the next day.
Tuning the protein skimmer turned out to be a pain in the ass, But well worth it. It is making good dark green skim now. Turns out water height is critical for this type of skimmer to work right.
My new Brain Coral
I did find out this setup was real noisy. Sound of water running was louder than the TV. Simple fix was a couple of filter socks, one under the protein skimmer discharge and one on the tank overflow. Now all you hear is the protein skimmer pump humming along. If the stand was enclosed, which is in the plans for latter, it would be a lot quieter.
hello i am going to build a 30gal glass sump for my freshwater tank and i was just wondering what the sizes of glass is that you put in? i am kinda using what you did to help me 
I went to the local glass shop and had some 1/4 inch thick glass cut. I think it was cut 1/4 inch short of measurement to allow for flex.
i have one more question about how far off the bottom should the baffles be i was think 3 1/2 in?
luvmyjag;4998493; said:hello i am going to build a 30gal glass sump for my freshwater tank and i was just wondering what the sizes of glass is that you put in? i am kinda using what you did to help me
I'm also setting up a freshwater 30 gallon sump in a little while for my new 125. One thing to remember is that we can get a lot of other things stuffed into the sump because we dont need to give up space to the protein skimmer. That being said you might want to look through the DIY section a bit for some of the designs in there. To the OP: I agree that this is a really useful thread to help us do ours as far as how the work can be done best. Your setup looks great nice job!
