Rubbermaid Sump

K

kaledrina

So I found a link a while on how to make a sump out of a rubbermaid container but I can't find it anymore... Anybody have any advice? I have a 45g tank so would a 22g rubbermaid container be enough? I can't find any advice on what to put in there and how to really make it so I'll just kind of be needing some advice on what kind of silicone to add and just pretend I know what I'm doing.

I got some Walmart Mainstays Clear All Purpose Silicone but apparantly it may have some antifungal in it? So I'm just going to get some GE silicone instead and not risk it... I want to have a built in refugium but will it make a difference if the container isn't translucent as long as light is coming down on it?

I'm guessing the only point of clear plastic is for my enjoyment (and to notice water levels, but with a waterproof marker I'll save myself that trouble right?) but it takes 2x more money to have that luxury. I'm trying to be cheap, I'm not exactly rich!

Thanks for all the help and for putting up with my silly questions! I don't know what I'd do without this forum other than be spending quite a lot of hard earned money on crap the LFS tells me I "need".
 
Hmmm... If you're wanting to use baffles, I'd personally stay away from Rubbermaid, they're too wobbly to get a good baffle to stay...

(Just my opinion, I've admittedly never tried)

How 'bout just a 20 gallon long glass aquarium? I had one of these as my sump on my ~250 gallon system for many years (Recently upgraded it to 2 20 gallon long aquariums drilled and connected end to end). These are $40 brand new in the LFS, and can often be found much cheaper on the forums...

Then you can use acrylic sheets cut to size, and either silicone 'em or use the EPDM weather stripping method ( http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/volume_3/cav3i1/Baffles/baffles.htm )

And if you're interested (Or masochistically bored! :wink: ) here's the writeup of my recent swap out from the 1 20 long sump to the 2 connected 20 long sumps - http://www.dfwmas.org/Forums/viewtopic.php?t=20551
 
I was thinking if I got a transparant one that having the lid on with some additional supports would keep it from bowing out.. There are some out there that are pretty thick. $40 isn't within my range for a sump tank, I was hoping around that much to cover everything. Too bad it isn't Christmas time so I can just ask my parents for a neato aquarium filtration system! Hehehe...

As for the lid I could cut out some holes to put in a light over the refugium and just have it closed off so evaporation wouldn't collect under the stand.

My main questions are really what size PVC pipe would I need, generally speaking, what size bulkheads... I'm probably overthinking this by tons although its better than getting it completed and finding that it doesn't work at all.

I was also wondering if you have any ideas for moving a biowheel filter down into the sump somehow? I need room for an overflow box and its pretty wide on the top of the tank (if not big and distracting)... Maybe some sort of shelving or just get a new filtration system entirely for that? I don't see many reef tanks with filtration other than skimmers and sumps, am I correct in that?
 
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