lets see your diy sump setups

[spiffyfish]

hi all, i have been looking at building a sump, i do not have any holes drilled into my tank and would like to keep it this way. i have seen a few siphon setups, and a few with hang on overflows. there are good and bad comments on both of those setups. what i am looking for is if people can post pictures of their diy sump and maybe explain a little about it. thankyou all for any help.

Chris

[Chad Hughes]

Chris,

Are you looking for non drilled overflow systems or any sysem? I have both systems. The non drilled is a purchased setup. The Drilled is my hatchery setup. I'm in Ohio at the moment but would be happy to post some pics when I get back.

Best wishes!

[spiffyfish]

preferably non drilled as that is what i am looking to do, but others can be posted to give ideas, and maybe help others too.thanks chad

[Chad Hughes]

OK. I'll send you some shots when I get back.

Best wishes!

[spiffyfish]

I know there are alot of people on here who have built their own sumps, where is everyone?

[Chad Hughes]

Actually there may not be THAT many. The reefers are the sump folks. LOL! I promise I'll post up some pics this weekend. Just been a bit busy. Sorry about that.

[Larry Bugg]

I'll try to take some pics of mine this weekend also. Mine are drilled though.

[jcardona1]

Here's my 10g sump on my 57g planted tank. I will never again run a traditional wet/dry setup with pot scrubbies or bio balls. My setup eliminates the need for messy drip trays, dividers, or baffles, since you use submerged ceramic media.

This sump has a Quiet One 4000 1017gph pump and 2x 4" 25 micron filter socks (best mechanical filtration you can get, aside from a diatom filter). All you need is an old tank, filter socks on the inlet, ceramic media in the middle (either in a basket or mes laundry bags), and a pump on the other end. That's it! Cheapest and easiest sump you can build :)

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=512154&thumb=1&d=1279767546 (http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=512154&d=1279767546)

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=512156&thumb=1&d=1279767546 (http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=512156&d=1279767546)

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=512157&thumb=1&d=1279767546 (http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=512157&d=1279767546)

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=512160&thumb=1&d=1279767546 (http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=512160&d=1279767546)

[spiffyfish]

pretty cool setup how often do those filter bags clog up?

[jcardona1]

Thanks! I'd say I get 5-7 days use out of them. After that I just toss them in the washing machine, water only. If you add filter socks to an existing setup, they will clog quickly, maybe even after a few hours. It will take a few days of constantly swapping them out until all the crud gets filtered out of the system.

Oh and if you need a good place to order filter socks from for dirt cheap, get them here. They come in all shapes, sizes, and flavors :)

NOTE: there's 4 pages of filter socks, click the links up top http://www.mcmaster.com/#filter-bags/=a38uli

[spiffyfish]

if you dont mind me asking why do you not like using pot scrubbies or bio balls?

[jcardona1]

if you dont mind me asking why do you not like using pot scrubbies or bio balls?

Two main reasons:

1) They need to be exposed and have water dripping them, requiring more complicated setups with dividers and drip trays
2) They have poor surface area compared to highly porous ceramic media. Don't know the exact numbers, but you'd need a lot more room for bio balls/scrubbies than if you were using ceramic. Big issue if you don't have a lot of room to work with.

[spiffyfish]

i believe some bio balls you can get with ceramic media, i dont know wheather it is porous or not but would that still not be a large enough surface area of media to make a good filter system?

[jcardona1]

Well, I'm not saying that you can't make a good system with bio balls only and not using ceramic, because you most certainly can. And it's been done like that in the hobby for years. I just prefer a simpler sump that doesn't require a "wet/dry" setup where the water drips over the media. This is just to show you that you DO have options when building a sump, and aren't restricted to using only bio balls or scrubbies that have to be above the water level with water dripping over them. Whether you choose bio balls, pot scrubbers, japanese matting, plastic army men, hair curlers, ceramic media, lava rock, etc, etc, the end result is the same; and that is, surface area for bacteria to grow on to provide biological filtration. Each type of media will have its pros and cons. And for me, the pros of ceramic media (huge surface area/cubic ft and the ability to be used completely submerged) are reason enough for me to never use bio balls again :)

[jcardona1]

And it's not a new idea either, folks in Asia have been running sumps this way for years.

This was my 90g sump on my 400g tank
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l55/jcardona1/Aquarium/0630091931.jpg (http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l55/jcardona1/Aquarium/0630091931.jpg)

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l55/jcardona1/Aquarium/DSC07396.jpg (http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l55/jcardona1/Aquarium/DSC07396.jpg)


Some old photos from the web
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=56234&stc=1&thumb=1&d=1208905436 (http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=56234&stc=1&thumb=1&d=1208905436)


http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=56235&stc=1&thumb=1&d=1208905436 (http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=56235&d=1164968740)


http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=86415&stc=1&d=1177534417 (http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=86415&stc=1&d=1177534417)

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=86416&stc=1&d=1177534417 (http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=86416&stc=1&d=1177534417)




http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=86417&stc=1&d=1177534417 (http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=86417&stc=1&d=1177534417)




http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=86418&stc=1&d=1177534417 (http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=86418&stc=1&d=1177534417)

[jcardona1]

Found some actual stats, this is for Seachem Matrix. Same concept as other porous ceramic media though:


Each liter of Matrix™ provides as much surface (>~700 m2) as 170 liters of plastic balls! Plastic bio-materials provide only external surface area, whereas Matrix™ provides both external and internal macroporous surface area

http://www.seachem.com/Products/product_pages/Matrix.html

[spiffyfish]

pretty cool stuff right there thanks for the link, i made this thread because i am new to the whole sump thing and am in the process of building one just trying to see what works for people. i plan on making a sump with three stages would the first with either pot scrubbies or some sort of other filter materiel be sutable enough for that? the second section i will definatly use some sort of ceramic media,more than likely ceramic rings, and the third will be the pump. is there anything that i can use filter wise for the first section that will last longer than a few days, as you said the bags usually only last about that long. that just sounds like a lot of time and money either having to clean them constantly due to getting clogged so fast or replacing them.

[jcardona1]

First stage of the filter should be mechanical regardless. Filter socks tend to get dirty quicker because they are pulling out more particles from the water. You could always get a bigger micron size, like 200, but your water won't be as clean as if you had 25 micron socks. Regular filter pads let a lot of particles get through, which is why I don't like them. I'm a fiend for sparkly water, so I like runner finer socks.

As for replacing them, not really. I just wash them in the washing machine and they come out good as new. I've washed them a good 20-30 times already and they're still good. And they're not expensive either, about $3-4 in the link I posted earlier.

Let me know if you have more questions!

Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk

[spiffyfish]

i drew up a rough design of what i wanted to do but i cant seem to get it on here to get feedback

[spiffyfish]

i think i got it up, i dont know how well the qaulity of it came out but at least i think i got it up there, this is what i plan on doing for my sump.

[leeishom]

Wow.
Those setups in japan?, in your home? Very niice. The look, feel of heavy duty trumps all.

[waterfaller1]

Bump please

[Lenin]

OK I want to build this exact one do you have plans? a list of things needed, this is exactly what I need for my 55


[QUOTE=jcardona1;706375]Here's my 10g sump on my 57g planted tank. I will never again run a traditional wet/dry setup with pot scrubbies or bio balls. My setup eliminates the need for messy drip trays, dividers, or baffles, since you use submerged ceramic media.

This sump has a Quiet One 4000 1017gph pump and 2x 4" 25 micron filter socks (best mechanical filtration you can get, aside from a diatom filter). All you need is an old tank, filter socks on the inlet, ceramic media in the middle (either in a basket or mes laundry bags), and a pump on the other end. That's it! Cheapest and easiest sump you can build :)

[Darrell Ward]

Been there, done that with the micron socks. Constant maintenance, or the socks clog. I recently made a fluidized bio reactor in my 55 gal. sump for a 240 gal. tank. I am very pleased with the results. It took some tinkering, because I was unfamiliar with them, and never actually seen one running in person, but it's really quite simple, and fantastic filtration. All I did basically was wedge a 4" thick piece of Poret foam across a section of the sump, added an airstone in each corner with 2 more in the center, put a few handfuls of kaldness bio media in there to get the cycle started, and wedged another piece of the Poret foam on top to act as a pre filter. Water from the tank enters above the prefilter, drains to the bio media being churned by the air from the airstones, and runs thru the Poret foam divider, where it is pumped back into the tank. Because the bio media is being churned around, it constantly self cleans itself of dead bacteria, and the water is super oxygenated from all the forced air. This also removes the C02 from the water. Brilliant concept. This picture is from when I first set it up. I have since added more media. You should add to it gradually to get it to fluidize. The media takes a while for bacteria to coat it, then it fluidizes really easy.

[Chad Hughes]

Sorry for the HUGE delay, but here are some shots of mine. There are two twin sumps that run all 26 of my tanks on two seperate systems.

http://i1139.photobucket.com/albums/n553/SanDiegoDiscus/DSC02080.jpg

http://i1139.photobucket.com/albums/n553/SanDiegoDiscus/DSC02079.jpg

http://i1139.photobucket.com/albums/n553/SanDiegoDiscus/DSC02078.jpg

http://i1139.photobucket.com/albums/n553/SanDiegoDiscus/DSC02077.jpg

Let me know if you have any questions....

[Second Hand Pat]

Chad, your pictures did not show up.

[Chad Hughes]

I'm working on it.... sorry! Picasa is not cooperating.

[Chad Hughes]

OK..... Photobucket worked. LOL!

Here's a video of the automated topoff system. As the system drains, the float vlaves open and the pump kicks on. When it's full, it stops! :D


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmGQbafdafU

[spiffyfish]

i hate to open a thread i started a year ago, but i havent seen jose post on here for awhile, anyways does anyone know where i can get these style mesh bags?
71365

[Darrell Ward]

If Aquatic Eco Systems don't have them, probably won't find them anywhere.

[spiffyfish]

Thanks darell that looks like them.

[Len]

Aren't they pretty much the same thing as laundry bags sold at the dollar store?

[grader]

What is the pros and cons of a sump. Drilled or non drilled.

[Yashua]

I have been throwing around the idea of using fluidized bed system... K1 I believe right? Are there any disadvantages of utilizing whole sump as a fluidized bed... I've seen a few videos on it and in reality it would be much cheaper for me to buy a tank and make it my sump for a fluidized system rather than a tricked out sump. Will I loose great benefit from not using plants and media?
Thoughts?

[Frankr409]

Here's my 10g sump on my 57g planted tank. I will never again run a traditional wet/dry setup with pot scrubbies or bio balls. My setup eliminates the need for messy drip trays, dividers, or baffles, since you use submerged ceramic media.

This sump has a Quiet One 4000 1017gph pump and 2x 4" 25 micron filter socks (best mechanical filtration you can get, aside from a diatom filter). All you need is an old tank, filter socks on the inlet, ceramic media in the middle (either in a basket or mes laundry bags), and a pump on the other end. That's it! Cheapest and easiest sump you can build :)

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=512154&thumb=1&d=1279767546 (http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=512154&d=1279767546)

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=512156&thumb=1&d=1279767546 (http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=512156&d=1279767546)

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=512157&thumb=1&d=1279767546 (http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=512157&d=1279767546)

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=512160&thumb=1&d=1279767546 (http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=512160&d=1279767546)
Where did you get the basket that you keep the ceramic media in?

[Len]

Jose hasn't been here in some time, but you can get a basket like that in any dollar store pretty easily.

[Frankr409]

Thanks!

[andyman105]

My Overhead Sumphttp://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/11/10/se3y9amu.jpg

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

[Boyd Luth]

806788067980680 these two sumps are tied together, with slow flow through the refugium....Had some left overs from the SW days. A sump/refugium can add area to your tank providing additional air, etc. I have lucky bamboo, water sprite, eco substrate, lights, heaters, UV sterilizer, PO4, and Purigen reactors, ceramic rings, bio/balls....just whatever, figured it could not hurt :-)....of course, I do know that water changes, you really do not need all this stuff.....I kinda enjoy it, and my extra sumps, pumps, etc. are being used. Cool to watch water flow, recirculation, and soon, I will add the auto top off ? Other projects have taken over :-)