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And so it begins.........
Arrangements have been made for me to pick up the 180 on Sunday but before the tank came to the house I wanted to get a jump on things so I had as little work to do as possible so I started on things which would be ready by D-Day.
<u>The Sump</u></em>
The sump is a used 50 Gallon. I pseudo-copied Marc Levenson's (Melev) super sump but I was worried that it just wouldn't work right. Low and behold he made an appearance on the boards and him and I exchanged PM's for a while and now I feel better that the design is solid.
This is the 4th or 5th sump that I have built and each one has worked better than the previous one but the jury is still out on this one.
Make sure that the tank is level before installing your baffles. I had to jack up the right side about an 1" to get it level.
http://216.77.188.54/coDataImages/p/Groups/404/404022/folders/299338/2389206sump2.JPG" alt="" />
One Fugly 50 Gallon tank!
Before I started construction, I knew that I wanted to raise my skimmer higher than where it is sitting in my current sump.
First order of business was to create a stand for the skimmer to sit on so I cut the baffle, cut a stand member and affixed the two together.
When bonding acrylic to acrylic you should use Weld-on but I just used plain old super glue and then siliconed both sides.
I only added one part of the stand because if I had added both there would have been no way to get the completed assembly into the sump.
[IMG]http://216.77.188.54/coDataImages/p/Groups/404/404022/folders/299338/2389205sump1.JPG" alt="" />
Next I took that assembly and put it into sump and positioned it where I wanted it and proceeded to square up the baffle side to side. Luckily, the attached stand part put the baffle level up and down.
[IMG]http://216.77.188.54/coDataImages/p/Groups/404/404022/folders/299338/2389208sump4.JPG" alt="" />
Looking at what I did I realized that by adding the second part of the stand, I would create a box under the skimmer that would trap water and gunk and would get no water movement at all so I pulled the assembly out, took a saw and took 1" off of the stand piece. When I cut the second part I will cut it 1" shorter before I put it in place.
I put the assembly back and re-squared it and secured it in place.
Next I added the piece of acrylic that would separate the return area from the refugium. The refugium will be drained via a bulkhead/stand pipe similar to the design Melev used on his Super Sump.
This panel will be the left side of the fuge and the tank wall will be the right.
Notice I drilled a hole and inserted a bulkhead about 3 inches up from the bottom in the center of the panel. Also, note this panel goes all the way to the top of the tank. This is the part that had me worried. More on this in a bit.
The baffles are made from acrylic and the tank is glass. Remember you can't bond acrylic to glass using silicone and expect the baffle to stay in place with water creating pressure against it.
Instead, the silicone has to act as a wedge which will hold the baffle in place. You must ensure that the bead is thick enough to hold the baffle nice and secure!
[IMG]http://216.77.188.54/coDataImages/p/Groups/404/404022/folders/299338/2389209sump5.JPG" alt="" />
Now you can see I have defined the three sections of the sump.
In the past, the sumps I have built have the return on the end like this:
Skimmer -----> Refugium ------> Return
however, This sump is set up with the return in the middle like this:
Skimmer -----> Return <------ Refugium
The only baffles on this sump will be between the skimmer and the return.
With the skimmer stand assembly and the refugium panel in place I then went to work on the baffle/bubble trap between the skimmer stand and the return.
Space between the assembly and the baffle is 1 1/4". 1" is the minimum according to Melev. I raised the baffle using my torpedo level which has a groove in it that holds acrylic perfectly!
Using blue painters tape, blocks and clamps I put the piece where I wanted it and secured it in place.
[IMG]http://216.77.188.54/coDataImages/p/Groups/404/404022/folders/299338/2389214sump9.JPG" alt="" />
Here is the handy torpedo level I use:
[IMG]http://216.77.188.54/coDataImages/p/Groups/404/404022/folders/299338/2389207sump3.JPG" alt="" />
Next I added the second part of the stand and secured it in place as well.
[IMG]http://216.77.188.54/coDataImages/p/Groups/404/404022/folders/299338/2389213sump10.JPG" alt="" />
When you are building a sump you end up using a lot of strange things to hold parts and pieces in place. Here, this box of carbon fit the bill perfectly.
In the past, I have used cigarette packs, wood shims, blocks of all sorts and a myriad of other useful things. Whatever gets you to where your going is ok!
This will now raise my skimmer 6" out of the water.
Ok back to the refugium panel.
[IMG]http://216.77.188.54/coDataImages/p/Groups/404/404022/folders/299338/2389209sump5.JPG" alt="" />
You can see that this will be the left side of the refugium. Remember, that the acrylic goes all the way to the top of the tank.
You can see where I drilled a hole and added a bulkhead about 3" up in the middle of the panel.
Next I added a 1" 90 pointing up in the refugium and one pointing down in the return.
The questions for Marc is would it flow enough water? and would it be noisy?
Marc assured me that there would be plenty of flow and that the noise should not even be noticeable.
I felt better because he is the master when it comes to sumps!
[IMG]http://216.77.188.54/coDataImages/p/Groups/404/404022/folders/299338/2389210sump6.JPG" alt="" />
90 Pointing up. To this I will add a 1" pipe which will stop about 2" from the top and add a screen to keep snails and algae out of the drain.
This may have to be redesigned after I fire this thing up and see what it does/doesn't do.
I left room at the top of the sump which gives me a water volume of 15 or so gallons for overflow if the return pump goes out. I will have to ensure that I calculate the siphon breaks in the tank accordingly.
[B][I]<u>Sump Pitfalls</u></em>[/B]
Sometimes you can learn as much from what you do wrong as what you do right.
I made a careless mistake on the sump which I had to correct.
After I test fit the sump into the stand, I realized that there would not be enough clearance for the skimmer with a six inch stand.
This was stupid because I didn't measure beforehand. Instead, I assumed because the stand seemed so big it would just fit and I was wrong.
As a matter of fact I will not be able to utilize any form of stand because the clearance is so tight.
When I post the stand part you will see what I am talking about.
Arrangements have been made for me to pick up the 180 on Sunday but before the tank came to the house I wanted to get a jump on things so I had as little work to do as possible so I started on things which would be ready by D-Day.
<u>The Sump</u></em>
The sump is a used 50 Gallon. I pseudo-copied Marc Levenson's (Melev) super sump but I was worried that it just wouldn't work right. Low and behold he made an appearance on the boards and him and I exchanged PM's for a while and now I feel better that the design is solid.
This is the 4th or 5th sump that I have built and each one has worked better than the previous one but the jury is still out on this one.
Make sure that the tank is level before installing your baffles. I had to jack up the right side about an 1" to get it level.
http://216.77.188.54/coDataImages/p/Groups/404/404022/folders/299338/2389206sump2.JPG" alt="" />
One Fugly 50 Gallon tank!
Before I started construction, I knew that I wanted to raise my skimmer higher than where it is sitting in my current sump.
First order of business was to create a stand for the skimmer to sit on so I cut the baffle, cut a stand member and affixed the two together.
When bonding acrylic to acrylic you should use Weld-on but I just used plain old super glue and then siliconed both sides.
I only added one part of the stand because if I had added both there would have been no way to get the completed assembly into the sump.
[IMG]http://216.77.188.54/coDataImages/p/Groups/404/404022/folders/299338/2389205sump1.JPG" alt="" />
Next I took that assembly and put it into sump and positioned it where I wanted it and proceeded to square up the baffle side to side. Luckily, the attached stand part put the baffle level up and down.
[IMG]http://216.77.188.54/coDataImages/p/Groups/404/404022/folders/299338/2389208sump4.JPG" alt="" />
Looking at what I did I realized that by adding the second part of the stand, I would create a box under the skimmer that would trap water and gunk and would get no water movement at all so I pulled the assembly out, took a saw and took 1" off of the stand piece. When I cut the second part I will cut it 1" shorter before I put it in place.
I put the assembly back and re-squared it and secured it in place.
Next I added the piece of acrylic that would separate the return area from the refugium. The refugium will be drained via a bulkhead/stand pipe similar to the design Melev used on his Super Sump.
This panel will be the left side of the fuge and the tank wall will be the right.
Notice I drilled a hole and inserted a bulkhead about 3 inches up from the bottom in the center of the panel. Also, note this panel goes all the way to the top of the tank. This is the part that had me worried. More on this in a bit.
The baffles are made from acrylic and the tank is glass. Remember you can't bond acrylic to glass using silicone and expect the baffle to stay in place with water creating pressure against it.
Instead, the silicone has to act as a wedge which will hold the baffle in place. You must ensure that the bead is thick enough to hold the baffle nice and secure!
[IMG]http://216.77.188.54/coDataImages/p/Groups/404/404022/folders/299338/2389209sump5.JPG" alt="" />
Now you can see I have defined the three sections of the sump.
In the past, the sumps I have built have the return on the end like this:
Skimmer -----> Refugium ------> Return
however, This sump is set up with the return in the middle like this:
Skimmer -----> Return <------ Refugium
The only baffles on this sump will be between the skimmer and the return.
With the skimmer stand assembly and the refugium panel in place I then went to work on the baffle/bubble trap between the skimmer stand and the return.
Space between the assembly and the baffle is 1 1/4". 1" is the minimum according to Melev. I raised the baffle using my torpedo level which has a groove in it that holds acrylic perfectly!
Using blue painters tape, blocks and clamps I put the piece where I wanted it and secured it in place.
[IMG]http://216.77.188.54/coDataImages/p/Groups/404/404022/folders/299338/2389214sump9.JPG" alt="" />
Here is the handy torpedo level I use:
[IMG]http://216.77.188.54/coDataImages/p/Groups/404/404022/folders/299338/2389207sump3.JPG" alt="" />
Next I added the second part of the stand and secured it in place as well.
[IMG]http://216.77.188.54/coDataImages/p/Groups/404/404022/folders/299338/2389213sump10.JPG" alt="" />
When you are building a sump you end up using a lot of strange things to hold parts and pieces in place. Here, this box of carbon fit the bill perfectly.
In the past, I have used cigarette packs, wood shims, blocks of all sorts and a myriad of other useful things. Whatever gets you to where your going is ok!
This will now raise my skimmer 6" out of the water.
Ok back to the refugium panel.
[IMG]http://216.77.188.54/coDataImages/p/Groups/404/404022/folders/299338/2389209sump5.JPG" alt="" />
You can see that this will be the left side of the refugium. Remember, that the acrylic goes all the way to the top of the tank.
You can see where I drilled a hole and added a bulkhead about 3" up in the middle of the panel.
Next I added a 1" 90 pointing up in the refugium and one pointing down in the return.
The questions for Marc is would it flow enough water? and would it be noisy?
Marc assured me that there would be plenty of flow and that the noise should not even be noticeable.
I felt better because he is the master when it comes to sumps!
[IMG]http://216.77.188.54/coDataImages/p/Groups/404/404022/folders/299338/2389210sump6.JPG" alt="" />
90 Pointing up. To this I will add a 1" pipe which will stop about 2" from the top and add a screen to keep snails and algae out of the drain.
This may have to be redesigned after I fire this thing up and see what it does/doesn't do.
I left room at the top of the sump which gives me a water volume of 15 or so gallons for overflow if the return pump goes out. I will have to ensure that I calculate the siphon breaks in the tank accordingly.
[B][I]<u>Sump Pitfalls</u></em>[/B]
Sometimes you can learn as much from what you do wrong as what you do right.
I made a careless mistake on the sump which I had to correct.
After I test fit the sump into the stand, I realized that there would not be enough clearance for the skimmer with a six inch stand.
This was stupid because I didn't measure beforehand. Instead, I assumed because the stand seemed so big it would just fit and I was wrong.
As a matter of fact I will not be able to utilize any form of stand because the clearance is so tight.
When I post the stand part you will see what I am talking about.
