Ok, my Hubby is feeling ambitious and wants to build me a sump filter for my 55gal that I will be setting up. He thinks it will be quieter than a HOB.

He has been discribing one his bro had that 3-4 chambers with floss, carbon and some other stuff he can't remember.LOL He said that it had a tube that drew water from under the UGF down into a box with what sounds like a powerhead returning the water to the tank. He also said that the heater was in the sump.

So, how big would a sump for a 55gal have to be and how hard would it be to build one?
Any information would be greatly appreciated.

while i think a sump is a great idea, i personally don't think they are quieter than a power filter(at least i know mine isn't) being enclosed in a stand and making a durso stand pipe would quiet it down considerable though. i think a 20 gallon tank would be a good size sump for a 55, i'm sure there is some sort of size ratio that would tell you exactly what size sump would be best for a particular tank but i don't know what it is sorry. one question though, is your 55 drilled already? the reason i ask is i have heard some people do not care for hang on overflow boxes (i never personally used them)and that would be the route you would have to go if your tank wasn't drilled or if you weren't willing to have it drilled. if it's a glass tank you may be able to have a glass company drill it for you, or if it's acrylic you could drill it yourself.

kingvinnies

simple wet/dry



here's a couple links you and hubby might find useful.

Cool, thanks. I really like the second link.

The tank isn't drilled and I don't plan on having it done. It has some scratches on it and if I'm going to go to the effort of having a tank drilled it's going to be a nice one and bigger than 55gal :laugh:

We are going to have to build a stand for it so we will put the sump on a shelf underneath, behind closed(possibly insulated for sound) doors. I plan on using deck wood for the stand and using 1/4" X 2 1/4" lag bolts to assemble it.

here's a rough sketch glaive whipped up for me. this is basically how i built mine. the blue is the drip plate the yellow is the filter pad, and the stuff below it is lava rock which i used for my bio media. the sump is divided into 3 equal 12" chambers with the second bulkhead being about an inch shorter than the first. in the middle chamber i planted a bunch of wisteria and anacharis to help with my filtration.

Is a durso stand pipe strictly for a drilled tank?

yeah it sits in the built in overflow chamber of a drilled tank.

here's a link.... standpipe

I haven't looked at the links that Cich posted but probably the most important thing to remember with a sump and its associated plumbing, is that it needs to be made in such a way that there is no danger of the main tank emptying completely if the return pump fails (or there is a power cut and the pump turns off). The reason I mention it is that taking the feed for the sump from the bottom of the tank would certainly do that unless you build in measures to stop it. This can be overcome quite simply by drilling a hole in the intake pipe an inch or so below the water line to break the syphon. The downside is that it wouldn't automatically start draining again when the power came back on, so there is a chance the pump in the sump would over fill the main tank and it could over flow the main tank. A wier like Cich mentioned is the best way to go IMO, as it will restart again when the pump restarts. They can be DIY'ed from standard plumbing pipe.

Side note, when you go with a sump you don't use a UGF plate. Typically when one keeps cichlids UGF plates go bye bye as well, the cichlids dig too much.

edit: typos

Ok, the tank is not drilled and I don't plan on having it done so I will have to go with an overflow box. Thanks for the info.