Possible to make a sump out of 10gal tank?

[CHOMPERS]

The height of my stand is 15.5" bottom to top, but how much of a gap should I leave at the top??

8"+
The more space the better really, it makes cleaning the beast less of a hassle...

That leaves 7.5 inches of height for the filter. If there isn't a post between the doors, it would be better to design a tank that can be drained and removed for cleaning. I was just thinking that the 15.5 inches pretty much rules out stacking filters, but now I am thinking that is an excellent reason to. Make a short sump with a small wet/dry that will stack on top of it. When it comes time to clean, just remove the wet/dry and you will have all the room you need to access the sump.

 

[MilitantPotato]

That sounds like a great idea.
Maybe a long shallow sump with two small wet/drys? See if you can unscrew the center brace if it exists.

Here's some cheapish (price wise) overflows (I use these, great stuff.)

1400gph (never can go to big)

600gph

They need to be hooked up to something with a venturi valve like a powerhead, or a syphon pump to pull air out of the syphon chamber, you could hide one in the sump or use one in-tank for current.

 

[JESTERX626]

Good point about the gap part, I forgot to realize it had to be cleaned, I was just trying to go for the biggest gal sump tank.

Ok so now that I need a gap for maintenance, the new tank specs are 45 inch long x 8.5 inch wide x 7.5 inch tall which equates to 12 gallons.

Question now is, can I use the 1400gph overflow? I dont know what are the correct equipment gph specs so yea. How about the powerhead?

 

[JESTERX626]

So does gph matter in the overflow I get and the powerhead? Can I get recommendations for the overflow, powerhead, and any other stuff Im forgetting?

 

[MilitantPotato]

You always want more GPH in your overflow than your pump can do, if it's then less or just at the pumps speed, you risk the tank overflowing.

Stuff I needed:

Pump A mag-drive is fine.
Overflow I listed two earlier, check those out, I use the big one.
Powerhead - I use one from marineland, I think it's called a penguin, I also snagged a reverse flow kit (has an intake sponge.) Ususaly stronger powerheads have a stronger venturi effect, which will pull air out of the overflow faster (good thing.)
Egg crate from a hardware lighting department.
Pot scrubbers from a dollar store for bio media
Polyester floss (No flame retardant or tactifyers) for mech filtration
Airline tubing
A semi fine grid to keep fish out of the overflow and returns (lost two loaches till I hacked up a XP3's shelving grid to stop them.
If your pump is going to be external, put a towel under it, if it's submersed use a sponge made for aquarium filters to stop the vibration.



TONS of PVC.

Also, look into making a Durso standpipe or Aquasilencer (also called a stockman standpipe.)

Two unions, 3 ball valves, tones of 90 degree's, couple 45's, some T fittings, a couple caps, half dozen reducing bushings, a bulkhead or 5.
Get the next biggest size in unions and ball valves, prevents a bottle neck.
You can always return stuff, look to make about 10 trips to the HW store as ya go along.

My pump outputs at 3/4ths, I upsized it to 1.25 inch PVC to reduce friction.
I also took the returns and joined those into a single 1.25 inch pipe to save some hassle, and my pump isn't strong enough to require two 1" pipes.



If you're making your own sump and baffles for the custom aquarium, check out this site.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/volume_3/cav3i1/Baffles/baffles.htm

 

[JESTERX626]

That seems too much for me to do =/. If I get the overflow and the custom sized sump so far I think, can I find somebody else to position the baffles and set it up? I dont know where to put the baffles at in a 45 inch custom sump.

 

[MilitantPotato]

For FW you'd do fine with putting baffles right after the area under the trickle filter, this raises the water level to the base of the container and reduces noise, add another after those (with a gap under it) and you could stuff media inbetween them for chemical filtration if ya wanted.

It's a breeze once ya get started, you could also use EPDM weather stripping and a sheet of glass/acrylic and make movable baffles.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/volume_3/cav3i1/Baffles/baffles.htm

Here's a pretty simple sump (has a trickle filter compartment.)
http://www.bigappleherp.com/Reptile...ustom_Acrylic_Aquarium_Sump_Tanks_101892.html

The baffles mainly reduce bubbles and give you space for media that has contact with alot of water (all the water flows between the baffles.)