my sump build.

alright. im not an expert or anything on this but this is what i got going on for my self.

i have a 40 breeder with discus in it so i need a low current for them. this tank will also hold my 3" or bigger BN to grow out even bigger.

i have a Eshopps over flow rated for 1600 GPH.. a little over kill for my tank but i figured for 20$ more why not. its has 2 1" pipe fittings on the bottom. so if u wanted to do a wet dry and some other type of sump u could.

i personally use 2 tanks. so one pipe goes right into the main sump. the other goes into another tank, from this tank into the main sump. this is so i can keep other fish in this 2nd tank and not have to worry about them fighting or hurting my discus. i use it for smaller discus. till they are big enough not to get picked on by the bigger discus.


on my other tank in my front room. its a 60 gallon with a 10 gallon sump. this has a eshopps 800 GPH. 1" down pipe.

on both the tanks i am using a quiet one 1200. rated for 330 GPH. so i get low current in both set ups. also i go bigger on the over flow since i like to dump 5 gallon buckets of water into the tank and not have to worry about over flowing.


only down side to using a bigger set up is they are so loud. i found a Standpipe set up works great. i see these online for sale. dont buy them. make it your self. find it on use tube. they are so easy to make.

Nice!

have you ever thought about drilling the back of the tank and going with an internal overflow box? That is what I have ordered on my new 5fter because i hear they are quieter. do you reckon this is true?

its not true. it will sound like a toilet inside the tank. unless u put a T fitting on the back side with a cap.... in this cap drill a 1/8 inch holes so it doesnt make the gurgling sound....


yes i thought about doing that but i have not saved enouigh money for the glass drill bit yet. i also have to try to do my first cuts on my 10 gallon tanks first b4 i try that.

if u flip over a 2 liter bottle and let it drain. it chugs the water. this is the same reason why it makes so much noise. if u do the T fitting with the cap on the top with the hole. its the same concept as swirling the water in the 2 liter bottle as u let it drain.

Roger that!

Consider it done...When i get the tank

also. a 1/8 hole is used a lot in building a DIY sump. if u have a problem with siphoning then drill a 1/8 inch hole where ever you want the level of the water. so it will stop sucking water when ever it sucks air. its a pretty nice fail safe.

Well done, I told you people would appriciate the thread. You've even managed to impart some valuble info to the orracal of the BN community (Doug). Any pictures that you can take and add would enhance it even more.

Excellent advice with the hole and the siphoning set up to the Sump. So simple yet I would never have thought of it and just worried about it over flowing if the pump packed up.



Jon.

the sump backing up isnt an issue. if u fill the tank and let it over flow into the sump with the pump OFF.... you can see where the water level is in the sump. then turn the pump on and let it go. if the pump dies it will not flood the house.

you also can look into a DIY over flow box that hangs on the side like a HOB filter. i dont trust them since if they get air in them they stop and flood the tank... i got the Eshopps over flow box and have had no problems. i also think u should take the prefilters out of the box if you do end up getting one..

i personally have a cat fish in my sump to nab up all the extra food. i also throw in some blood worms every 2 days so he doesnt starve.

i will post some pix of my next build. the pix i take of my current set up wont help since you cant see much...


also .... i recommend getting a dual ported eshopps box. just so you can controll the flow. and you can move it to a bigger setup later if needed.

on my discus tank i have one of the ports going to a 2nd tank. this line i can turn the flow off to. so i can drain all 35 gallons and refill it without turning the pump off. it allows me not to disturb my discus tank. i also can let the water set in here for 24-48 hours.

so i fill this extra tank with tap water. treat the water with pryme. then open the valve and slowly let the cold tap water in to the main system. it works awesome.

on a bigger scale i want to add 6-12 20 gallon tanks into this type of system. im going to use 2x 55 gallon drums as filters. the water will drain from the top tanks into one drum. then to the next drum. then to the bottom tanks.... from the bottom tank the water will go into a 30 tall tank at the other end where the pump is. puttin the water back into the top tank.... all bottom tanks will be linked. all top tanks will be linked. so it makes a big circle of flow..


i can put plants in one tank to help with filtering out nitrates. i can grow out all differnt fish in each tank.

also.. you might want to look into how to section the tank. i have not done this my self since i have no way to cut the plastic.

but you can putin bubble traps and all kinda of good things. i personally use a plastic tub that is lifted off the floor of my tank. its filled with bio rings. this allows the water to splash into this. it also takes care of all the bubbles.

this pic is of the bio rings in the tub.


here is a pic of the screen i made for my pump. it slows down the flow of water into the filter. i lost a cat fish to too much suction so i fixed it with this.



here is a pic of the whole tank.



here is a pic of the tank stand i built. b4 i painted it and moved it to my house.