Hey everyone again!!!
So, I was able to scoop up a 55G tank at Petco's $1 per gallon sale and figured I'd add a sump to my many ongoing projects around the house. I've made some progress, but only being able to commit one day a week to the project it is gonna take me a while.
For those that didn't see my earlier posts I'll give a quick recap to explain what I'm doing.
I used to have a 125g FW African Cichlid tank with a sump all in one kit I bought off of ebay with a 1400gph pump. Granted it was overkill for the filtration, but the water changes weren't as frequent and my water stayed crystal clear. When I moved from GA to Ca I knew the tanks wouldn't make the move in one piece so I got rid of everything. Now 4 years later, I finally got the go ahead from the wife to put another in the upstairs living room. Long as it was a NEW tank the chance of a leak like what happened with my 125 CL tank would be less. Anyways, My plan is to start building my own sump, then the stand, grab a tank, then do the plumbing. Granted being honest with myself with everything else I've got going on this is going to be a long term project.
Skip back to present, I picked up the tank a few weeks ago, been tinkering with it, watching WAY too many videos online, scanning through the DIY sections here and figured I'd throw out my questions before I silicone the baffles in.
I decided against the Filter Sock option. I occasionally might be gone for a week at a time so I'd rather not have to worry about the sock setup that would need cleaning once a week minimum. I went to my local Acrylic store, went through their scrap pile and got the stuff to make not only the drip tray but also all the baffles and a top as well. All for $1 per sheet. Luckily the pieces were the right width to fit without having to get a special cut size. I used a 3/16" bit to drill the holes in my drip tray. I have a 1/4 acrylic bit if I need to make them larger later after I get the pump. My plan is for a 125G main tank, with around a 1000gph pump.
I'll attach pics after this post to show you what I'm talking about. But my thought is to put filter floss in the drip tray, then scrubbies in the first section, followed by some BioMax and other submerged media to raise the ph in the next section. Followed by my heaters in the bottom. I left a section in the middle in case I decide to try my hand at a refugium. Worst case It would only add water volume which couldn't hurt. Followed by the final section for the return pump. My thought was to have the water level in the sump just below the scrubbies.
My question is with the baffles. I've seen some that have 2 baffles in between each section, others have 3. I plan on putting some foam in between the heater section and the middle part. Not sure if it would be needed in the baffles section before the return section. I guess that would depend if I add the refugium section or not I guess.
Thanks in advance for your suggestions. the baffles are just shoved in, not permanent yet.
So, I was able to scoop up a 55G tank at Petco's $1 per gallon sale and figured I'd add a sump to my many ongoing projects around the house. I've made some progress, but only being able to commit one day a week to the project it is gonna take me a while.
For those that didn't see my earlier posts I'll give a quick recap to explain what I'm doing.
I used to have a 125g FW African Cichlid tank with a sump all in one kit I bought off of ebay with a 1400gph pump. Granted it was overkill for the filtration, but the water changes weren't as frequent and my water stayed crystal clear. When I moved from GA to Ca I knew the tanks wouldn't make the move in one piece so I got rid of everything. Now 4 years later, I finally got the go ahead from the wife to put another in the upstairs living room. Long as it was a NEW tank the chance of a leak like what happened with my 125 CL tank would be less. Anyways, My plan is to start building my own sump, then the stand, grab a tank, then do the plumbing. Granted being honest with myself with everything else I've got going on this is going to be a long term project.
Skip back to present, I picked up the tank a few weeks ago, been tinkering with it, watching WAY too many videos online, scanning through the DIY sections here and figured I'd throw out my questions before I silicone the baffles in.
I decided against the Filter Sock option. I occasionally might be gone for a week at a time so I'd rather not have to worry about the sock setup that would need cleaning once a week minimum. I went to my local Acrylic store, went through their scrap pile and got the stuff to make not only the drip tray but also all the baffles and a top as well. All for $1 per sheet. Luckily the pieces were the right width to fit without having to get a special cut size. I used a 3/16" bit to drill the holes in my drip tray. I have a 1/4 acrylic bit if I need to make them larger later after I get the pump. My plan is for a 125G main tank, with around a 1000gph pump.
I'll attach pics after this post to show you what I'm talking about. But my thought is to put filter floss in the drip tray, then scrubbies in the first section, followed by some BioMax and other submerged media to raise the ph in the next section. Followed by my heaters in the bottom. I left a section in the middle in case I decide to try my hand at a refugium. Worst case It would only add water volume which couldn't hurt. Followed by the final section for the return pump. My thought was to have the water level in the sump just below the scrubbies.
My question is with the baffles. I've seen some that have 2 baffles in between each section, others have 3. I plan on putting some foam in between the heater section and the middle part. Not sure if it would be needed in the baffles section before the return section. I guess that would depend if I add the refugium section or not I guess.
Thanks in advance for your suggestions. the baffles are just shoved in, not permanent yet.
