When sumps don't fit....

[medusa]

So I'm working on setting up a 55 gallon tank. Decided to use a 20 gallon long tank for the sump. Bright idea until... it didn't fit in the stand. I know there are fancy sump kits out there, but I'm looking to do this on the cheap end - hence wanting to just use a standard tank size. There's a local place that cuts glass for pretty cheap so it'd be easy to make dividers. But the 20 long seems to be a no-go, and I'm not seeing many other options that aren't $100+. But 55 gallons are common enough that I figure other people must have run into this.

What advice do you have for a sump that I can physically get into my stand? Now that I've been smart enough to actually sit down and measure it, it's 10" wide on the inside (10.25 technically... but it's going to need some maneuvering to get in there). The doors are 16" wide. Any suggestions for cheaper pre-built options, or easy DIY?

Thanks!

 

[lmforbis]

A 10 gal is probably your only choice.

 

[2quills]

Yep not a whole lot of good options out there for 55's. If you're willing to drill the tank you can connect two 10g tanks together to make a 20.

Or glass is cheap enough you can simply get the pieces cut to size and make your own tank.

 

[beaslbob]

On my old 55g I used a plastic storage container for my sump. I placed it in my stand with the long dimension fore and aft. And surveyer's sticks to make the top of the bottom of the stand level. The back end stuck out of the stand where I could run my drain straight down from the tank.

I even built a wet dry from plastic window acrylic to form a wet dry which I used crushed oyster shells as filter media.

my .02