Bucket sump
- Thread starter swalke2
- Start date
I did a 10 gallon plastic tote for over a year. Did some minor mods to it, as in i gota smaller on withthe width and filled with bioballs for thebwater to runbin. I then cut some hols the the smaller on and the water then drained into the 10 gallon with the skimmer.
IMO, for a simple sump, there is absolutely nothing wrong with it, as long as you don't end up with a microbubble problem. The lack of baffles make that hard to fix, but may not even be an issue depending on how you handle the flow into the sump and the exit from the skimmer.
If you are talking "Wal Mart storage bin" tubs then yes; I assumed the OP was talking about the Rubbermaid livestock troughs like many people use. Those will stand up to water freezing in them and being stuffed full of every speck of live rock they'll hold. Of course, they are also as expensive as some sumps anyway.
I used rubbermaid tub as a example. And was refering to something without baffles. I will probably use my old 29g tank. I got the est on having glass cut and im only looking at 35$. But I guess I was wondering if I were to just have my overflow drain into the empty 29g tank would I run into any issues? Guess I should have asked it that way first. My bad
And let me add one more question. Can pvc be used to plumb from pump back to the tank or do I need something else?
Thanks!
And let me add one more question. Can pvc be used to plumb from pump back to the tank or do I need something else?
Thanks!
PVC is absolutely fine. You can do as you described with the overflow, but you may have microbubbles to deal with. I used a 29g as a sump on a 55g quarantine tank for about 3 months, and to fix this (and to give the skimmer a constant water level) I put a cheap 10g inside the 29 to act as a sort of "first chamber". The overflow went to the 10g and the skimmer sat in it. All the water then spilled over the sides into the "rest" of the 29g, where the return pump was. Worked like an absolute champ for my needs.
Not a problem at all. I have been using a heavy duty storage tote from Lowes for about 2 years now. I think it was around $20 bucks. They are in the storage section with the yellow lid.I just run the drain on one side where my skimmer is at and put the return on the other side and live rock rubble and chunks in the middle. No problem with micro bubbles as the LR breaks those up. I have some mangroves growing in there and if I ever decide to go with a bigger skimmer etc. I have plenty of room.
As a side note there was a member here from a while back that used empty cat litter buckets as a sump. Dudes tank rocked.
As a side note there was a member here from a while back that used empty cat litter buckets as a sump. Dudes tank rocked.
If you make a box out of crate(or plastic shoe box with holes) and put live rock in it that will help with the air bubbles. I keep my chaeto in a plastic shoe box tied to the side. Water goes under it and thru the holes I drilled so the water can move slower going thru the shoebox and the pods have a chance to breed. Plastic gets brittle over time so you need to remember that but it will work.
Nope. Dont have any pictures of it but as I remember he stacked them, drilled holes in the bottom, put the media in the top 2 and used the last one as the return chamber. Only saw it once and that was 3 or so years ago. Perhaps some of the older members here have some pictures of Jin's kitty litter sump. It went all against conventional wisdom as far as filtration goes but it showed that sometimes conventional wisdom aint all its cracked up to be. It also showed that you dont have to spend big bucks to have a good sump.
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