Salt Water Aquarium Tips and Tutorials

Reef Tank D.I.Y. Sump part 1

Please support these videos by visiting: http://stores.ebay.com/limpits-reef
Part 1 of a video showing you how you can build a sump for your marine aquarium including how to drill aquarium glass.

Duration : 0:9:56


Fantastically Diverse Reef Aquarium at Greenwich Aquaria

Technorati Tags: aquarium, coral, DIY, drill, fish, frag, glass, marine, reef, saltwater, sump, tank

May 19th, 2008 at 8:54 pm


25 Responses to “Reef Tank D.I.Y. Sump part 1”

  1. LimpitsReef Says:

    DO NOT USE REGULAR …
    DO NOT USE REGULAR PLEXI TO DO THIS.
    Lexan can be found on many online sites, just do a search for it.

  2. LimpitsReef Says:

    Over time plain old …
    Over time plain old plexiglass will absorb a little water, swell and then the panels will either bow or crack the tank.
    Lexan does not absorb any water and is much stronger than plexi.

  3. krazykyle88 Says:

    Why cant I use …
    Why cant I use plexy glass?

  4. vanhalenman60 Says:

    what is a sump
    what is a sump

  5. LimpitsReef Says:

    Sure
    Sure

  6. 1weedman Says:

    hey, would this …
    hey, would this work on a fish only sw tank? im planning on a 35g sump for a 75g tank

  7. LimpitsReef Says:

    3/8″
    3/8″

  8. weedonl Says:

    Hello, What …
    Hello, What thickness of plastic did you use, it looks like 12MM?

  9. LimpitsReef Says:

    Check your local …
    Check your local Yellow Pages for “plastics”.

  10. paintball2extremes27 Says:

    where do i buy the …
    where do i buy the arcrylic sheets?

  11. LimpitsReef Says:

    I have only used …
    I have only used overflow boxes that I have built so I cannot comment on any one brand being better than the other.

    I have never had any issues with flex hose, I think it is more the installer than the hose that causes the issues.

  12. letour23 Says:

    Hey, I starting my …
    Hey, I starting my 1st saltwater tank with a 150 gal. I have a couple of questions that I would like your opinion on.

    1st since my tank is not drilled I will be running dual overflow boxes….any brand recommendation on what brand you trust most?

    2nd….I’m questioning the reliability of using flex tube on my overflow boxes instead of PVC…..have you heard of any reliability issues or recommend brands of flex tube?

    Thanks for all the informative vids and thanks!

  13. LimpitsReef Says:

    I would choose the …
    I would choose the ASM model over the Coralife hands down, there is no comparison between the two.

  14. TheOneAndOnlyProdigy Says:

    Hey, I was …
    Hey, I was wondering what type of protein skimmer you incorporated into this setup. I was thinking of going with an ASM G1x w/3500 sedra pump which is used or should I go with a brand new Coralife super skimmer? I was leaning more towards the ASM. What do you think? Thanks limpit

  15. LimpitsReef Says:

    It needs to be a …
    It needs to be a hole saw used for glass or tile cutting. All the ones I have are diamond encrusted.

  16. dinhy34 Says:

    I have a question …
    I have a question about drilling the glass, can i use any hole saw or should i use a carbide grit or diamond hole saw? thank you for the help

  17. LimpitsReef Says:

    You are correct or …
    You are correct or fabricate a different mount for the level sensor.

  18. AC2020x Says:

    Well, I want to get …
    Well, I want to get an auto top off and use it with this set-up and it says it is adjustable from 4-9″ from the top lip on the sump, So I would want to attach on the side in the last panel? Also i’m guessing I would have to make the last pannel a little little higher up?
    Thanks
    -AC

  19. LimpitsReef Says:

    You will see the …
    You will see the evap cause the water level in the very last chamber of the sump to go down. The level will stay the same in the display tank.

  20. AC2020x Says:

    question with this …
    question with this type of sump design when water evaporates out of the tank- will it reduce the water amount in the sump as well or will the sump stay at the same level and only the water in the main tank go down?

  21. LimpitsReef Says:

    Using a pipe like …
    Using a pipe like that comes with a canister filter for use as an overflow pipe to a sump is a very bad idea. You should always use a skim box in the display tank to eliminate draining the tank.

  22. sadeed2 Says:

    not only the water …
    not only the water in the pipe going from sump to tank would drop back down to the sump but also the depth of this pipe into the tank, tank water will be siphoned down to the sump until it reaches your pipe’s depth in the tank. therefore don’t put your in-flow pipe too far down into your tank and definitely not at the bottom. Also, don’t fill up your sump with water all the way to the top, incase power runs out and all the above water goes back to the sump, you don’t want to flood your basement.

  23. LimpitsReef Says:

    No pump is using in …
    No pump is using in the display tank itself, the overflows are a siphon and gravity feed. The overflow issue comes into play if you have a long run of overflow pluming running into too small of a sump. When the power would go out you have all that water in the pipes that has not made it to the sump yet and then the sump will overflow.

  24. 101MrMom Says:

    I am getting ready …
    I am getting ready to build a sump/refugium for my 75 gal. I noticed a comment on here about it overflowing if the power goes out. If the power went out wouldn’t all flow stop? You would need a pump out of the aquarium and a pump back into the aquarium, right? Very new any and all advise would be helpful. I am using a 20 gal tall that I have in the basement already.

  25. LimpitsReef Says:

    I use 1/4″ Lexan …
    I use 1/4″ Lexan polycarbonate for shorter panels and 3/8″ for taller panels.
    1/8″ regular acrylic is too thin and will bow from the pressure.

Leave a Reply