Sump/refugium project

Discussion in 'I made this!' started by ShawnsTank, Jan 30, 2010.

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  1. ShawnsTank

    ShawnsTank Fire Worm

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    I plan on building a sump/refugium for my 55g reef tank. Now i have pretty little space to work with since my stand is very wierd but there is two dorrs in the front which have a 13.5 inch opening and im not sure if i can manuvuer a tank through there. and the back also has two opening which are 18 inches but id have to move the whole tank since the back is close to the wall. Now the other options are to build the sump/fuge myself inplace, or buy two small tanks and have the sump and fuge seperate. By the way the stand is 27 inches high and about 47 long. Let me know which option sounds the best :)
     
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  3. NASAGeek

    NASAGeek Eyelash Blennie

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    I had this same problem... I ended up cutting the stand door frame and making it removable so that I could get a bigger sump/fuge in there.

    If you can't do that, I would suggest that a refugium is "naturally" separated from a pump and skimmer section. You could have two small tanks. One as your fuge and one as your sump. I would raise the fuge tank so that it could gravity drain into the sump.

    Just a thought.

    Mark
     
  4. ShawnsTank

    ShawnsTank Fire Worm

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    Yeah I think I'm gunna do the two sperate tanks. I would rather cut a hole in the side but the stand isn't straight on the side. I'll post pics when I get home cause i'm on my phone now. I actually might be able to cut it now that I'm thinking about it.
     
  5. NASAGeek

    NASAGeek Eyelash Blennie

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    Here are some pics of what I did, maybe you can get some ideas to help your design.... or maybe you can give me ideas to improve mine...

    http://www.atamartialarts.biz/Aquarium/PhotoGallery.cfm?PhotoSubDirectory=Stand
     
  6. ShawnsTank

    ShawnsTank Fire Worm

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    Your idea looks like it works and its fairly simple. I just wish my stand was a rectangle. Im gunna make another thread of this cause i need an ID on it but look what i just caught on my camera! Everynight ive been trying to get a pic of it and by the time i have my phone up he goes back in. Heres my stand pics btw.
     

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  7. NASAGeek

    NASAGeek Eyelash Blennie

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    What is the height and width of the door opening?
     
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  9. ShawnsTank

    ShawnsTank Fire Worm

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    Each door opening is 13 1/2 in wide and 27 inches tall
     
  10. NASAGeek

    NASAGeek Eyelash Blennie

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    Here is a thought then.... you be able to take a tank that it 13" tall and 20+" long and stand it up on its side to enter the door and then tip it into position. That should be a 10 gal tank. You might be able to fit two 10 gal tanks in there by rotating them after squeezing through the door.

    I believe in maximizing your total water volume for overall stability in water chemistry. Thus, the more the merrier.

    Mark
     
  11. ShawnsTank

    ShawnsTank Fire Worm

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    Yeah I deffinatly think that your idea will be better. But my biggest problem is only having 10 and a half inches to work with for depth. So I was looking at common tank sizes on the Internet and there's some it says that are only 8 1/2 inches deep but I haven't been able to find any in my local stores that are less than 12. Has anyone seen tanks less then 12?
     
  12. NASAGeek

    NASAGeek Eyelash Blennie

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    My 10 gallon is 10" depth, 12" height and 20" width. You should be able to get that in there.

    M