The quest for a new sump/refugium continues

skennelly,
I ran into a similar problem as you have. I wanted a bigger sump in my stand.
So I built one. I actually smashed out the old one as it could not be removed from the doors in the front. Then built my bigger sump in place. I had an acrylic shop pre cut some 3/8 acrylic and I assembled it in the stand. Worked out great

J

 

J,
I can get my old sump out without smashing it, but assembling the sump in the stand is a good idea. Do you recall how much the sheets of acrylic cost you?

Thanks
Sean

 

I went 1/2s with someone else because I could only get 4X8 sheets and only needed 4X4 so cut to my spec and everything was like $150.00

full 8X4 was $250

for 3/8s

J

 

I recently found this on Ebay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...8&ssPageName=MERC_VI_RSII_Pr12_PcY_BIN_Stores

what do you guys think its a good price and the dimensions almost exactly what I'm looking for.

 

Looks great and prices are great, but what about using a 30g long tank?

 

Check this site for some ideas on building a sump/refugium. http://www.melevsreef.com

He has built a lot of them. I used one of his design to build a 34gal for myself using 1/4" acrylic that I had cut locally. Also check my site, http://www.podzilla.us/aquascapeDS/sump/sump.html

Melev used a couple of 2 x 4 braces to brace the tank up in his cabinet and removed the center post to allow him to put in a custom built sump specifically designed and built by himself. I used a cardboard sheet I cut as a template for the bottom of the sump. And kept working with it until I could slide it into my cabinet and built the tank with those bottom dimensions.

Be wary of using plexiglass... I would recommend either acrylic or lexan. If you use enough bracing you could get away with 1/8" on a very small tank as long as it does not exceed about 12" in height. You can also get 1/4" or 3/8" square acrylic rods that you can use in the corners to strengthen the tank. They are easy to cut with a hacksaw.

Drew

 

Raven,
I can't use a 30 gallon tank, I can't fit it in the stand while the tank is running. I'm leaning towards the Ebay item and assembling it inside the stand like Jason did. If I was smart I would have thought about this before I setup the tank and I could have put a sump through the top of the stand.

 

You can also try 2 smaller rubbermaid tubs connected together by a couple of bulk heads to make 1 big tub.

 

Okay I've come up with a new design that I'm pretty sure will work. Attached is a pic.

Here's how I plan it to work. I have a new 10 gallon rubbermaid container that I put 2 bulkheads into and it will sit next to my existing sump. I'm going to put a T in my return line along with a ball valve to feed the new fuge which will in turn feed back into my existing sump through the bulkhead fittings. I plan on having the fuge sitting a little higher then my main sump. The main sump will receive the water from my display tank, contain my protein skimmer and whatever other equipment. When its all said and done I should have around 20 gallons of total sump capacity.

Sean

 

Looks good Sean. That should work just fine.

J