DIY sump vs. manufactured sump

[windmill]

I'd like to get some feedback from those who have built their own sump. I'm trying to figure out if building my own how I want it set-up would be safer/easier than buying a kit or a whole sump assembly. Cost is the main issue so an entire sump assembly is out of the question (unless it's under $100-which there aren't any). Second concern is safety - I WILL DO EVERY SINGLE THING IN MY POWER TO ELIMINATE THE RISK OF FLOODING. Half of my first tank ended up on my floor and I've learned my lesson.
I'm planning on building my own soon and would like to know some horror stories, lessons learned, or tips. Right now I have a general direction I want to go but need some input on sound levels and maintenance.
First concern: Safety/Flooding. A glass aquarium with everything in it (no drilling, no bulkheads, majority of plumbing vertical, submersible pump) or acrylic box with external pump (side bulkheads for pump intake, horizontal plumbing to pump). The acrylic set-up would involve atleast one bulkhead and plumbing not above an aquarium/sump/catch (meaning possible leakage onto stand/carpet). In addition, it seems that acrylic isn't the easiest thing to glue together and I don't know if any bulkheads need a special adhesive/sealant or if the same glue to bond pieces of acrylic can be used.
Second concern: Noise. The acrylic box would probably be more quiet and an external pump that I could brace and soundshield is very attractive. My experience with submersible pumps especially ones under stress/pressure leads me to believe the glass set-up would be much more noisy.
Basically-those who have a sump: didya make it or buy it and do you love it or hate it and why?

 

[sleasia]

Personally, I feel building your own of everything except maybe the pump skimmer and uv is more satisfying because you can customize it to exactly what you need and want. Manufactured sumps are fine, but they may turn out to be too small for your skimmer, or not allow for a healthy water level which will allow you to leave things for a weekend without worry...stuff like this you begin to realize is very limiting with manufactured things. Everyone's set up is different, everyone's set up may need a few different special features to make things run smoothly.....but it is also true that building things can also be a pain...thankfully there are alot of very experienced people on this site to talk you through the process, if you go the diy route.

 

[psycho]

I built my sump/ref. about 2 months ago. I took a 20 gallon all glass aquarium and went to lows to buy some plexi glass, my husband help me cut it to fit in the aquarium, and we used 100% silicone to secure the baffles, I made it all for around 50.00. it works great for me.

 

[thangbom]

build your own.. it;s way cheaper . go out and buy glass aquarium ( the shorter the better but the more water it can hold it better ) reson why shorter is better ?? well you will find out as soon ans you do your maitence ( it make it esier to work in and out of ) and more water it hold means it can fit more stuff in it, go online and look up some pics of fuge/sumps ( you will find out shortly that it's just a container with baffles to devide and make sections for different needs ( like a place for sand and algea, skimmer,heater ect. ) then plan go the HD or lowes and buy yourself a sheet of plexi-glass and a tube of 100% pure silicone for outdoor use ( more shure you reed it carfully that it has no anti funguss or of the likes ( that will poison your water ) grab a tool with fine tooth ( i used a jigsaw ) ohh and some masking tape then home you go to plan and design your fuge/sump. put masking tape on the area of the plexi when you plan to cut ( this is so you can draw the line on the tape to see where to cut, it also help chipping and fractures ) and you cut and silicone the baffle to wherever you like . last thing you need is a overflow to get tank water iinto the fuge/sump.
ohh and the fuge/sump dont need to be drilled to be able to use a external pump. you use gravity/syphon to de that for you. just prop the fuge/sump so that it is higher then the return pump and you just plumb the intake into the fuge. you just prime the line once via feeding water into the output side ( i just stick a powerhead w/ a hose into the output line from the pump) then you start her up and it should work.
Good luck

 

[stanlalee]

I have both. the DIY is uglier and heavier. I had to repair a crack in the premade acrylic one before I ever put it in service. I trust glass more but the baffling on the store bought acrylic is more secure and precise than my home made sump and it sure is pretty!
Basically the only practical advantage of a pre made acrylic sump is you can look at it and say "it sure is pretty". they usually come in more practical sizes for cabinets than standard size tanks used for DIY but if you have a glass tank the size you need it to be and you can have glass baffles cut I dont see any reason to buy one.

 

[acrylic51]

I would never buy a sump and haven't....I usually build everything I can, and no I honestly couldn't have built my sump for $100.00, but you look at the cost of some of these store bought models and their worthless IMO.......and the price tag on them to boot.....They just don't offer enough room......I would build my own, and aside from poor seams (joints) you shouldn't have any leaks in a DIY......Practice is the key to getting good glue joints bubble free.....The big key is your edges need to be square and flat and you should practice the proper gluing techinque......A good site to check out is melevsreef dot com. Excellent site with alot of good info to help you make a wise decision........
Here's a pic of mine, can't take a whole pic do to being to close to the unit, but you'll get the idea.....This is just the sump 150 gallon and the fuge is on top of it in the rack system and that's another 150 gallons as well.

 

[tx reef]

Originally Posted by windmill
I'd like to get some feedback from those who have built their own sump. I'm trying to figure out if building my own how I want it set-up would be safer/easier than buying a kit or a whole sump assembly. Cost is the main issue so an entire sump assembly is out of the question (unless it's under $100-which there aren't any). Second concern is safety - I WILL DO EVERY SINGLE THING IN MY POWER TO ELIMINATE THE RISK OF FLOODING. Half of my first tank ended up on my floor and I've learned my lesson.
I'm planning on building my own soon and would like to know some horror stories, lessons learned, or tips. Right now I have a general direction I want to go but need some input on sound levels and maintenance.
First concern: Safety/Flooding. A glass aquarium with everything in it (no drilling, no bulkheads, majority of plumbing vertical, submersible pump) or acrylic box with external pump (side bulkheads for pump intake, horizontal plumbing to pump). The acrylic set-up would involve atleast one bulkhead and plumbing not above an aquarium/sump/catch (meaning possible leakage onto stand/carpet). In addition, it seems that acrylic isn't the easiest thing to glue together and I don't know if any bulkheads need a special adhesive/sealant or if the same glue to bond pieces of acrylic can be used.
Second concern: Noise. The acrylic box would probably be more quiet and an external pump that I could brace and soundshield is very attractive. My experience with submersible pumps especially ones under stress/pressure leads me to believe the glass set-up would be much more noisy.
Basically-those who have a sump: didya make it or buy it and do you love it or hate it and why?

Where in Texas are you?
I didn't want to take the time to build one, so I just spent the extra cash.
$255 shipped for a 15 gallon fuge with return pump, overflow, bulkhead, PC fuge light, and Coralife SS 65. Seemed like a heck of a deal to me.

 

[sleasia]

I was going to post a pic of my diy sump/wet-dry, and then Comcast showed up to fix something and I had to shut down..here it is...I used a $12 sterlite container I got at target or wallmart. Its definately not pretty, but works 8000x better than the amiracle mr300 I had previously...

 

[acrylic51]

Sorry forgot to post pics.......

 

[windmill]

I'm northeastern Texas, about 70 or so miles north of Dallas, on the Oklahoma border. For those that have heard of it - right next door to Lake Texoma.
That sounds like a very nice kit you purchased TXReef, I'd buy something similar if I could find one. Where'd you buy yours? Now if I could build something like that with the light and pump and all that stuff for cheaper than a kit, i'd go that route. But for some reason I have this feeling that trying to buy the return pump and light and putting the thing together would be more expensive and more a hassle than buying a kit like yours. What size tank you using that with?
Acrylic51, that looks like a terribly noisy sump. Noise is one of my biggest concerns seeing as my aquarium is in my room and I like a quiet environment to sleep. Water falling into water, water gurgling through downpipes, and a vibrating pump are things I don't want to hear. Are any of these issues with you too? I've thought that putting a bunch of filter floss or foam where there is a bunch of water noise would eliminate it, but that's not always possible or practical.

 

[tx reef]

Originally Posted by windmill
I'm northeastern Texas, about 70 or so miles north of Dallas, on the Oklahoma border. For those that have heard of it - right next door to Lake Texoma.
That sounds like a very nice kit you purchased TXReef, I'd buy something similar if I could find one. Where'd you buy yours? Now if I could build something like that with the light and pump and all that stuff for cheaper than a kit, i'd go that route. But for some reason I have this feeling that trying to buy the return pump and light and putting the thing together would be more expensive and more a hassle than buying a kit like yours. What size tank you using that with?
Acrylic51, that looks like a terribly noisy sump. Noise is one of my biggest concerns seeing as my aquarium is in my room and I like a quiet environment to sleep. Water falling into water, water gurgling through downpipes, and a vibrating pump are things I don't want to hear. Are any of these issues with you too? I've thought that putting a bunch of filter floss or foam where there is a bunch of water noise would eliminate it, but that's not always possible or practical.
Shoot me an e-mail jmiller@shallowford.com
The one I bought is good for up to a 75 gallon tank.
The nest step up is only $10 - $20 more and rated for a 125 or 150 gallon tank.
I will be using it on my 55 gallon.

 

[acrylic51]

Originally Posted by windmill
I'm northeastern Texas, about 70 or so miles north of Dallas, on the Oklahoma border. For those that have heard of it - right next door to Lake Texoma.
That sounds like a very nice kit you purchased TXReef, I'd buy something similar if I could find one. Where'd you buy yours? Now if I could build something like that with the light and pump and all that stuff for cheaper than a kit, i'd go that route. But for some reason I have this feeling that trying to buy the return pump and light and putting the thing together would be more expensive and more a hassle than buying a kit like yours. What size tank you using that with?
Acrylic51, that looks like a terribly noisy sump. Noise is one of my biggest concerns seeing as my aquarium is in my room and I like a quiet environment to sleep. Water falling into water, water gurgling through downpipes, and a vibrating pump are things I don't want to hear. Are any of these issues with you too? I've thought that putting a bunch of filter floss or foam where there is a bunch of water noise would eliminate it, but that's not always possible or practical.
You should do alittle more search on sumps......The issue with water dropping is a way understatement......Where the water enters the sump where you see the PVC pipe will have filter bags in place which hinders noise a bit, then the chamber where the water falls into will be filled with LR as well as the filter bags and the chamber water level is rather high as it is if you look at the baffle it goes over......There will be more live rock in the next chamber to break up possible issues of micro bubbles from the skimmer.....Haven't decided if I'm going to build an overflow for the skimmer to make the bubbles disperse before going on.......
The issue alot of people have with noisey sumps is letting water fall a good distance just what happens in many peoples overflows......Depending on the water level and such that is designed for the sump can make it rather quiet.......The only adjustment which I have to make to the sump is pull that last baffle before the return pump bulkheads.....That area of falling water is noisey and thank god I didn't glue it in.......I'm running a HammerHead pump and the thing is dead quiet without that last baffle in place.....I put that there to see what would happen with noise and if it wasn't bad I was going to use it for carbon bags, but decided because of noise issue to make a carbon reactor and run it in the active mode to get the most out of the carbon.........

 

[acrylic51]

Windfall what type of pump are you planning on using or are currently using......The Sequence is so quite running you have to walk over and put your hand on it to see if it's running.......Can't say that about to many other pumps on the market.....

 

[windmill]

I have no clue. I'm not quite that far along yet. Still in the process of trying to find a good overflow box. I think I found a good one (a little overkill though - rated 1200gph on my 55 gal) so i'm just going to go ahead and buy that bad boy. I'll be looking for a pump to match that flow.
You said you're using a Hammerhead and it's wonderfully quiet? Any issues with noise in the overflow box or downpipes to the sump?
I actually sat and listened to my room a while before I went to sleep last night and my aquarium is pretty much silent. All powerheads and filters are well beneath the surface of the water and my prizm is set on a timer with my lights (I wonder if I should do that with my UV Sterilizer....?) So the only thing you can even remotely hear is a very very slight hum from my powerhead, and that's only noticable when my ceiling fan is off - perfect.

 

[tx reef]

Originally Posted by windmill
I have no clue. I'm not quite that far along yet. Still in the process of trying to find a good overflow box. I think I found a good one (a little overkill though - rated 1200gph on my 55 gal) so i'm just going to go ahead and buy that bad boy. I'll be looking for a pump to match that flow.
You said you're using a Hammerhead and it's wonderfully quiet? Any issues with noise in the overflow box or downpipes to the sump?
I actually sat and listened to my room a while before I went to sleep last night and my aquarium is pretty much silent. All powerheads and filters are well beneath the surface of the water and my prizm is set on a timer with my lights (I wonder if I should do that with my UV Sterilizer....?) So the only thing you can even remotely hear is a very very slight hum from my powerhead, and that's only noticable when my ceiling fan is off - perfect.
Hey, I accidentally deleted the e-mail you sent me. Could you resend it?
jmiller@shallowford.com