# diy sump, under $150



## illnino (Mar 6, 2004)

i have this puppy on my 125 gallon tank i just setup.

*MATERIALS*

--large(25-30g) rubbermaid container that is about 20" tall, be sure to get one with a recycleable 5 sign on it---------------about $5 at walmart

--1300 gph pump------- $60 here

--1,000 gph overflow box---$40 here

--2 4' sections of 1.25" inside diameter vinle tubing at hardware store-- about $15
--1 4' section of 1" inside diameter tubing----about $5 at hardeware store
--10 or so 1.5" screwy pipe clapmp/brace things-----$5 at hardeware store
--small can of pvc glue---------$2
--3/4" inside diameter, 1" outside dia. pvc tubing--------$1.50
--6 1" inside dia. 90 degree elbows------$.18 ea
--1" inside dia. T splitter thing.
--5g bucket of bioballs-------$27 at www.glasscages.com
--5g bucket-----$3
--filter floss or padding $5 at petsmart
-- .5" plastic ball vaulve
*TOOLS*
--almost any kind of saw
-- drill

1- *THE SUMP*- take the bucket youre planning on keeping the bio balls in, and drill a bunch of large holes in the bottom of the bucket, then on the second bucket, cut a 4" section off the bottom of the bucket, this will be the drip plate. for the drip plate, randomly drill a bunch of 1/8" holes, i say 100 or so holes will do fine. withe the larget section of the bucket you just cut, that will be the "stand" for the media chamber, so that the media will not be soaking in the water. with that piece of the bucket, drill about 50 or so .5" holes. place filter padding over the bio balls and thn throw the drip plate on top of that and close up the bucket to make sure it will all fit. next cut out two 1.5" holes in the bucket lid. put the pump and heater(s) in the sump
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2- *THE RETURN*- this is really simple and easy to make. the picture basically explaints it all, just assemble it so it will fit your tank how you want it to. glue the pipes togeather with pvc glue, this stuff literitally sets in a second so be sure it iswhere you want it. let the glue cure for a day. be sure to drill a 1/8" hole .5" above the water level so this will prevent the tank syphoning back into the sump if power goes out.
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3- *PLUMBING*- realy simple, attach the two 1.25" pipes to the bulkheads on the overflow box with braces, put the other ends in the two holes you cut in the lid of the bucket, drill a hole on the pipe about 1" from the end, and put a piece of k'nex (those plastic stick things) to keep the pipe from slipping out, so now it is almost impossible to take out. next, attach the 1" pipe to the pump with a brace, and then attach the other end to the return with a brace

4-*BALL VAULVE*- i needed this on my sump because the pump was too powerful for the overflow box, so the sump went dry. so i solved this problem by taking a t pipe, connecting that near the pump, and put a ball vaulve off of it, so it bleeds a little water out of the line, about 100 gph i guess. this may not be necessary, but it was for my tank. the top of my tank is about 4' high. but if yours is higher, this step may not be necessary,just keep an eye on everything.

and there you have it


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## 0123 (May 18, 2004)

cool

so are the bio balls or something in the 5g bucket?

ive seen something like this done but with one of those rubermade things that are sorta tall with drawers


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## illnino (Mar 6, 2004)

yeah, the bio balls are in the bucket, its basically like the drawer thing idea but more compact.


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## illnino (Mar 6, 2004)

i sense a pinned article in the diy section coming soon!


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## 0123 (May 18, 2004)

found the link


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## illnino (Mar 6, 2004)




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## 33truballa33 (Oct 18, 2004)

how much does this filter?


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## l2ob (May 22, 2004)

33truballa33 said:


> how much does this filter?
> [snapback]824574[/snapback]​


good question i was wondering the same thing...

and also ....illnino how tall would the whole sump be?


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## l2ob (May 22, 2004)

bump...


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## Fido (May 21, 2003)

bump for answer plz


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## CraigStables (Oct 5, 2003)

5g of bio-balls, going by the standards that some companies offer this would be good for a 300g tank. But IMO would add atleast another 5g bucket for anything over this size!


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## illnino (Mar 6, 2004)

im using it on my 125g tank along wiht a fluval 404. yeah yeah i know i have lots of filtration, but the tank is for rays, and thats why. but id say the sump is good for tanks up to 150g or so. the way i have my fluval 404 setup is it is sucking water out of the sump and filtering it, then pumping it back into the bucket to be filtered again. in all, id say its 20 or so inches tall, but i cant get an exact measurement at this moment.

craig- 10g of bioballs would be a ton. most people that have sumps (the non-diy) hooked up to 150g+ tanks with whayt looks like only 3-4g of bioballs at the max.

sorry for replying so late, i thought this was a dead topic, and i just found that it wasnt.


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## l2ob (May 22, 2004)

thanks alot,

iwas thinking of making one , but im going to get 3 ac500's for now...maybe in the summer ill add one of u diy sumps..

thanks for the info


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## Speedy (Sep 25, 2004)

Nice setup....And a quite a bit cheaper then mine


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## illnino (Mar 6, 2004)

you did a diy sump, right??

i think this is the absolutley chepest you can get, other than if you make your overflow, which i wouldnt trust myself with doing a part as important as that one.


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## Speedy (Sep 25, 2004)

Yeah....Check it out
The pics are on the same thread regarding my pump being too powerful.


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