Is there a different way besides a sump?

[tomojsg]

It makes sense but how did you run a closed loop on a sump? My problem is even if I fit a tank under my stand I could never get into it for maintenance haha. Im leaning towards keeping my sump set up and just improving on it I guess :/

well i wouldnt quite say it's a cls but rather a cls style?i dont know...
anyways im not very good at explaining but if you want you can contact
me through pm and i guess i can describe it to you best i could lol... or
maybe i'll draw it ?? and text you thhe picture....lol i dont know... but ya
lmk.

 

[tomojsg]

you know if you dont like to see the sump on the side and you feel like putting in some work
you can always do what i did for my friend...

place the sump behind the tank but higher and and also put some plants in it. well thats what i did for my friend...

heres what i did...

i got his old 40g acrylic tank and scuffed it to paint the whole tank so it wont be transparrent.
then i drilled the holes for the intake & returns. after i got old bookshelf that was built like a
tank literally and drilled some holes through the shelves for plumbing... (this bookshelf was
perfect for this job since it was only 3" higher then the total tank setup height without the
canopy or lids & etc...) anyways with all the drilling the i filled the tank which is now a sump
with media and planted it with some big plants. next i put the shelf against the wall behind
the tank and plumbed it partially then pushed tank back all the way and finished the plumbing.
basically the sump was made so the returns would be returned by gravity with a waterfall
effect into the tank (no lids) and the water drained into the pumps and pushed into the sump.
and ya... hope you get the picture lol... the finished product was pretty nice... they covered
the sump and half the bookshelf with vines from a plant they planted in the sump and you
cant even tell the sump is up there lol

 

[wheatgerm]

oh i get it so its not a closed loop lol its a overhead filter lol it sounds like a very cool setup... my tank is 4.5 feet tall, this is why my stand is only 20 inches off the ground and i have about 2 ft of head room from the top of my tank to my cieling. so sump under the stand is out, sump above tank is out, pressurized filter system is not affordable...... anyone want to share a link of their favorite sump designs? or designs they think are really good ideas? i think ill keep the sump but i want to make it top notch and i would like to get the most out of it

 

[wheatgerm]

this is the only picture i could find on my phone with my tank and a little of this filtration in it was this.... over where the sump is i have a 75 and a 55 drilled on the side and are connected together and run to the pump. i have two floor drains in each corner of the tank and one drain that is the normal over flow box and i want to connect all 3 to the sump.. ideas for improvment please? i can post better picts of the actual filtration later

 

[tomojsg]

ya its a dope setup for a filtration system, got the idea from my friend who's hardcore into sw...

damm 4.5' tall is freakin tall!! how do you get up there during feeding time? must be a real pita... lol

well if a sump behind and above wont work and you dont like it on the sides why not get a custom one
made to fit in your stand? you can have the sump short but match the LxW dimensions of your tank. so
if your tank is 72" x 24" get a sump tank around there 70" x 22" this way you can have a good volume
of water and have it short enough to fit.

 

[pacu mom]

this is the only picture i could find on my phone with my tank and a little of this filtration in it was this.... over where the sump is i have a 75 and a 55 drilled on the side and are connected together and run to the pump. i have two floor drains in each corner of the tank and one drain that is the normal over flow box and i want to connect all 3 to the sump.. ideas for improvment please? i can post better picts of the actual filtration later

Nice tank! Have you considered making it an in-wall tank, or enclosing the area around the tank with removable panels or doors for easy access, so that the tank appears to be in a custom cabinet? Your plumbing would be hidden, and it wouldn't matter if your sumps were on the side of the tank. It would really showcase your tank and hide everything you don't want to see.

 

[wheatgerm]

Nice tank! Have you considered making it an in-wall tank, or enclosing the area around the tank with removable panels or doors for easy access, so that the tank appears to be in a custom cabinet? Your plumbing would be hidden, and it wouldn't matter if your sumps were on the side of the tank. It would really showcase your tank and hide everything you don't want to see.

Thank you, ans yes the plan is to make the tank look like a flat screen.. I am going to build a wall infront of the tank and sump so nothing is seen, before I do that I want my filtration to be perfect because im very anal about my sump and I usually change it every 6 months or so.. it will make it pretty hard to do that once its behind a wall lol.. I do plan to make the wall removable but still. Id just like everything perfect before I go to the next step. Sorry I have been exteemly busy I will post pictures of the sump today so I can get some ideas on how to build on it