Today on the BRS 160 we are going to unveil the sump we used as well as give you a few
tips on building your own DIY sump.
Hey guys my name is Ryan, welcome to another week of the BRS 160 where every week we do
our best to help you guys, members of the reefing community enjoy your tanks and find
new ways to explore the hobby.
We do that by following the set up and progression of this one hundred and sixty gallon reef
tank.
Today we are going we are going to explore sumps, what they’re for, different types
available including a DIY option , show what we selected for this tank and install it.
A sump can mean a lot of different things to different people but its really just a
place to install equipment that wouldn’t fit in or on the tank itself and helps makes
sure the tank looks clean and presentable in your living space.
Many reefers will tell you that a sump is a necessary component to a successful reef
tank which is really more of a guideline than a rule.
You can absolutely have a perfectly functional tank without a sump in fact my first aquarium
was a ninety gallon with a bunch of hang on equipment and for a beginner I would say it
was pretty successful.
Even as someone brand new to aquariums basically anything I put in the tank thrived using only
hang on equipment and a good maintenance schedule.
However from that point on every tank I set up has had a sump of some sort because there
are different levels of what success looks like.
I want to use better larger equipment to reduce dependence on maintenance like water changes,
remove the hang on stuff which is not attractive, makes the tank look cluttered and I just want
to avoid as many cords, top offs and heaters in the tank as possible.
There are some additional advantages sumps bring to your system like a larger system
water volume which leverages that dilution factor we talked about in last weeks episode
and makes the system more stable.
It also increases the surface area exposed to air which increases gas exchange and keeps
the water oxygen rich.
There are four basic types of sumps out there starting with something relatively new which
are tanks that have a small sump integrated into the back of the tank, there are a variety
retail sump options available, you can make your own custom sump using a glass aquarium
and of coarse you can have a custom sump made specific to your needs typically out of acrylic.
For the BRS 160 we asked Rick over at Synergy Reef Systems to build us a custom sump because
we had some specific needs.
Sump turned out spectacular but before we dive in to that we are going to give you a
quick overview of all the options.
I think innovative marine tanks are probably the best example of the sump being incorporated
into the back of the tank.
Had these been available when i started my first tank I would have seriously considered
it because this type of design has a good portion of the benefits associated with sumps
without the complexity associated with plumbing and maintaining a sump.
The compartment in the back allows you to hide a small return pump, your heaters, an
auto top off, has compartments for filtration media and can even hold a tiny protein skimmer
or other filters.
I think this is a great solution for new reefers as well as people looking for a quiet easy
to maintain tank for their offices and other low maintenance environments.
Most of you are aware of innovative marine’s smaller desktop nuvo tanks and cubes but they
as have tanks up to six feet wide and aesthetically look a lot sharper than a typical tank with
a bunch of hang on equipment.
there are a variety of retail sumps out there.
The aqueon and octopus sumps are pretty popular.
Most of them have an area for some filter socks which capture the larger floating particulate
matter and foods that went down the overflow, an area which can be used as a refugium or
protein skimmer and an area for the return pump.
Notice there is a baffle between the last two chambers.
This stabilizes the water level for the skimmer and helps remove micro bubbles from the water
before it hits the return pump.
The octopus models are a bit more simplistic which really provides a lot of flexibility
for the type of equipment you might want to use in the future, some come with filter socks
and an adjustable baffle.
Also looks like Vertex is on the verge of releasing their new sump design which you
should expect to be pretty sharp as well so be on the look out for that.
It’s likely you can find a retail sump that fits your needs but if you cant you might
need look to the one of the companies that specialize in advanced reef sump designs or
you could even build your own do it yourself sump designed around your particular needs
and equipment.
The most common DIY sumps use a twenty long or forty gallon breeder glass aquariums.
Nice thing about using a glass tank is they are cheap, available at basically any pet
store and you can customize them to your exact equipment.
To create the baffles and compartment dividers you can select between glass and acrylic.
Both have benefits and challenges.
Best practice is glass and a reef safe aquarium silicone like this one from ASI to secure
them.
This is because silicone creates really strong bond between glass.
Glass does present challenges because it’s harder to cut, the edges are super sharp,
decent tools and materials are a bit harder find.
Best advice I can give today is use safety gloves and goggles the entire time.
The glass edges out of the box are super sharp, the glass may brake and little bits of glass
can fly out during the scoring and cutting process.
Eye protection and gloves are really a necessity if you don't want a bunch of bandaids or worse
at the end of this project.
Cutting the glass isn't particularly difficult, use a scoring tool to mark where you want
to make the cut and snap it or use a tool to pop the two pieces apart.
You can find a super cheep tool like this one at a typical big box hardware store near
the glass sheets, it does work however a new user might have a somewhat difficult time
cutting a strait line.
I found these two options which are much easier to use at a local art and craft supply store
called blicks.
One has a self lubricating wheel and a handle which makes it much easier to apply pressure
and cut a strait line.
The other uses a guide block which makes it difficult to mess up, even more so if you
also pick up the interlocking guide bar as well which makes it almost impossible to mess
up the scoring.
After you cut the pieces you will need to polish the edges and remove the sharp irregularities.
If you skip this step expect to cut yourself either during this project or over time as
you put your hands in the sump.
This can be done by running some medium grit sand paper over the edges.
I found this emery cloth works well and stands up to abuse better than typical sand paper
sheets.
As to where to get the glass itself most large hardware stores stock up to three sixteenths
thick glass in various sizes.
In most causes I prefer quarter inch glass but you are probably going to have to look
up a glass shop in your area , order it and go pick it up.
Honestly if you have never cut glass before you might just want to save yourself the hassle
have them cut and polish the edges it as well.
This is especially true if you don't own any of the cutting equipment already.
Acrylic on the other hand is much easier to work with, less dangerous and almost every
large hardware store stocks it in quarter inch which are significant benefits and why
so many reefers use it for projects like this.
There is one significant disadvantage, silicone does not bond to acrylic very well so it is
not as structurally sound as glass to glass bonds.
Many reefers say it is good enough and I will agree that it is in most cases however we
should know what we are talking about when we say good enough.
The bond is actually much weaker than most people realize.
to demonstrate this we set up these two demos of three different types of silicone on glass
and acrylic.
You can see on the acrylic I can break the bond with my little finger and on the glass
it is basically impossibly to get off without using a tool of some sport.
We did a more accurate test here where we bonded glass to glass as well as acrylic to
glass similar how you would do with a sump baffle you can see while the silicone that's
on the glass wont come off it is pretty easy to brake the bond it has with the acrylic.
On the glass to glass bonds it is impossible to separate the two from each other and I
am going to break the glass before I brake the silicon bond to the glass.
After seeing that you might ask why many people say it is good enough.
Thats because you are adding the baffles to an aquarium which is already water tight and
the small leaks between compartments that develop over time are likely not a huge deal
in most cases.
More or less the silicone here can really just relied upon to hold the acrylic baffles
in place.
For that reason it is a good idea to use a generous amount of silicone when you do your
bond.
Cutting acrylic is super easy.
Just score it a few times with a tool like this one an snap if off.
Give the edges a quick sand and you have a useable baffle you can silicone into place.
Regardless of if you use glass or acrylic put a healthy bead of silicone on both sides
of every seam that comes in contact with glass and then wipe away the excess with your finger.
You do need to make absolutely sure to not damage the silicone on the tank itself when
you install either type of baffle.
I suggest cutting a bit off the corners if you are going all the way to the bottom.
so you completely avoid touching the tanks original silicone bonds.
I am going to be open and honest here, DIY sumps like these are a great project and extension
of the hobby.
If you are a handy detailed oriented person that owns some of the tools already this can
save a good deal of money as well.
However if you have never done anything like this, a measure once type of reefer and don't
own any tools be prepared to mess up a few pieces, measurements and material while you
get a handle on it.
The cost of materials and tools in this case are going to likely exceed the savings over
the retail sump options but it will be a fun project.
The last and coolest sump option is using a company that specializes in advanced reef
sump designs, they probably already have what you are looking for in a stock design because
they live and breath reefing.
You can also have companies like this do a custom designs but be aware custom designs
will probably cost twice as much or more than stock designs because of the time and expense
related to developing new plans, revisions and programing the CNC machines that cut the
plastic for a one time use.
This is also going to take a lot longer receive your sump so expect to be at the end of a
fairly long waiting list in most cases.
However going custom means it can be designed around the equipment and filtration you plan
on using in your particular system.
We needed something big so we can fit a lot of equipment in the tank as well as give us
space so you guys can get a good view on the installation and really see what we are doing
so we went custom.
I find myself going to Rick at synergy reef systems anytime I need a sump, he does focus
on his stock work which is all spectacular and will fit most peoples needs but If I beg
him long enough he will find some time to build something custom for me.
Rick produced the smoked sump and overflow for the seventy gallon in my office.
as well as the auto top off box for the clown harem tank in our lobby.
The sump he created for us here is top notch work.
from left to right I will call out a few of the cooler features Rick implemented.
There are two bulkheads for our overflow plumbing which feed into the four filter stock array.
Filter socks are one of those things many people love or hate.
I personally find as long as I maintain them they are a good solution to reduce the floating
particulates in the water column as well as some nutrient reduction by capturing food
that goes down the overflow which gives us an opportunity to remove it from the tank
before it breaks down into nitrate and phosphate in the tank.
There is also a nice port down there which allows us to clean this area out as part of
good maintenance or rescue crabs, snails or even a unfortunate fish that might make it’s
way down there.
If we would ever want to bypass the filter socks in the future this port would allow
us to do that as well.
There is a polycarbonate lid on most of the compartments to reduce noise and any salt
spray.
Polycarbonate doesn't warp like typical acrylic lids and a nice upgrade.
He also included a refugium chamber we will use to grow macro algae.
All of the flow holes are laser cut and clean which means they are less likely attract algae
growth like milled holes that leave rough edges.
While a refugium isn't typically going to remove all of your nitrate and phosphate anything
that naturally reduces these nutrients and the need for water changes is a good idea
in my book.
The side benefit of being a safe haven for microphana like copepods and amphipods to
reproduce and populate the tank is a welcome advantage as well.
You can see the man chamber is huge.
We can fit basically any skimmer or filter in this area and have room to grow as the
industry comes out with new technology.
There is also a bulkhead for the emergency overflow on our bean animal style overflow.
Emitting here means it will make noise as it splashes to the bottom and let us know
there is a problem with the main overlfows.
You could also use this to bypass some of the return water around the refugium if you
wanted lower flow in that chamber for some reason.
Down in the corner there are some nice probe holders as well as and adjustable baffle so
I can manage the water hight for various skimmers.
Up top here Rick installed some quick connect dosing ports because he knows i am a big fan
of two part.
These could also be used for an auto top off as well as a whole variety of trace elements
or additives.
you can see the tubes empty into a high flow area between the baffles of the sumps which
is quickly sent to the main tank via the return pump.
There are some protective covers on the base plates which will keep larger snails, chunks
of macro algae and other random items that some how made its way down here from entering
your return pump.
The thumb screw knobs make it easy to remove these if needed so you can clean this area
out.
The last chamber is for the return pump.
You can see there is a lid here with some nice cut outs for the power cords.
There is also a bulkhead.
it is pretty common to connect your return pump to some silicone tubing which is then
connected to hard pluming to reduce vibration transfer and noise.
This is going to make this super easy to do.
There is of coarse the laser etched synergy reef systems symbol.
Overall this just sweet sump with an excellent attention to detail and going to serve our
needs really well as we explore reefing and setting this tank up with all of you.
We are going to do the actual plumbing of the tank in week five so today’s set up
is going to be pretty simple.
All we need to do is place it on an ultra flat surface so any irregularities in the
surface of the table or acrylic don't create pressure points.
Some people use flat sheets of pink installation foam from a hardware store but black closed
cell PVC foam is a lot more attractive.
Search for a local plastics dealer in your area and they should be able to provide the
closed cell PVC if that is what you prefer.
On a larger sump I think it is wise to take it one step further and throw a piece of eighth
inch neoprene on top of the pvc which is going to provide an ultra safe surface for your
sump to rest on.
Couple last tips related to sumps.
Everyone asks which silicone brands are reef safe and the answer to that is the ones that
clearly state on the packaging that it is safe for aquariums like the DAP and ASI silicones.
Outside of that we are just guessing and trying to save $10 bucks based on that guess which
is kinda silly in my opinion when you consider the cost of building the tank and stocking
it.
Its also important to keep in mind that it is possible for anything to leak on a long
enough time line and some piece of equipment could go crazy and splash water around so
it is a really good idea to throw a couple of moisture detectors around the sump which
will set off a pretty loud audible alarm if they ever detect a leak which means you can
catch them before there is any damage to your stand, floor or home.
next week we are going to talk about a very important topic related to aquariums which
is redundancy, redundancy is the most essential component of owning a long term successful
reef tank so before we get into installing the equipment we do a redundancy deep dive.
so start jamming on the subscribe button you don’t want to miss it or any of the future
BRS one sixty episodes.
If you are interested in checking out more information on synergy reef and all the custom
acrylic work they do or the innovative marine tanks we talked about hit this link where
we compiled all of this information on our website.
Rick’s work is super cool so it is absolutely worth checking out.
See you next week with Week four of the brs one sixty, Redundancy!