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Hi Everyone!

First of all, I had most of this posted somewhere else but I’ve asked for it to be deleted so I can put it in this category and to reduce the clutter I created in that post.

I have finally decided that it’s time to turn my 29 gallon freshwater tank into a Saltwater tank with 10 gallon sump. I am looking for any help/suggestions/assistance that you all can give me. I have tried to read as much as I can about this process but I’m sure I have not covered every possible scenario that can and will come up. I have never had a sump or overflow so this is all new. So if I’m doing something OBVIOUSLY stupid, you might want to mention it as I might not find it as obvious or just haven’t thought of it. So in advance, thanks everyone for the time you’re spending for me.

Just a little note. I have tried to be as prepared as possible with my posts so I have “drafted” out as many of my ideas as I could. The measurements on the drawings are as accurate as possible. In these posts I am quite sure that I’ll “round” a lot of these figures because I’m lazy I apologize in advance. On the other hand, if there is a big discrepancy in the numbers, I might have made a mistake! Don’t be afraid to point that out. Thanks once again!

Now for the real meat of the post:

I have a 29 gallon All-Glass Aquarium (30”Lx12.25”Wx18”H). It is currently setting on a stand that contains a shelf below (23”x12”x19” . Below are the dimensions of the current tank and stand. I have attempted to color coordinate a bit so it’s a little easier to follow, my stand is really not black and pink I have excluded the doors that set on the front of the stand and it’s “locking” device. The doors will stay but I will have to re-engineer the lock, no big deal though.

Front View of Stand:


jmara attached this image:


-Josh

Top View of Stand Setup:

jmara attached this image:


-Josh

Top View of Shelf:

jmara attached this image:


-Josh

As you can see from the above diagrams, a 10 gallon sump would fit well in the space provided and would be a cheap alternative to building one from scratch.

The part of this whole transition that I’m most uncomfortable about is the overflow box. I most fear a flood and this part of the new system is the focus of most concern. I have seen many commercially available overflow boxes and from everyone’s opinions that I’ve read, there doesn’t seem to be consensus on what is best. Therefore, ALL suggestions here are greatly encouraged. I found on one site the plans for a “weir” style overflow box using acrylic to fabricate. I would like to fabricate an overflow if it is going to be cheaper than a commercially available one. However, I don’t want to pinch the pennies too much if it means a failure/flood. I don’t think my future landlord would appreciate that failure either.

These are the plans for the overflow box:


jmara attached this image:


-Josh

jmara attached this image:


-Josh

As you can see I am going with a 1” Bulkhead that will feed the water into the sump below. (There is a 2” section of acrylic that is very difficult to see on the drawing on the right side, near the 4.5” dimension marking). I have read some articles that say a tiny hose NEEDS to be placed at the top of the “U” to suck air and others say they are unnecessary. So I am going to ask your opinion. Is one needed?

If I were to buy a commercially manufactured overflow box, which would you recommend? Which brand and model if for my system, if you don’t mind sharing?

I think I’ve kept this pretty simple thus far. Hopefully the rest will go as smoothly.

To help me visualize where my “extras” I made the following diagrams. They just show where on the stand my sump will sit. I think the stand is almost perfect for this application as there is not too much room but just right.

Front View of Stand:


jmara attached this image:


-Josh

Top View of Shelf:

jmara attached this image:


-Josh

I know that acrylic and glass do not bond well together so I will have to use glass baffles. I am really unsure how tall to make the baffles so I have chosen 9” (and 10” on the center baffle). I chose this because one of the articles used this dimension for a similar sized sump. One concern with my design is the height of the overflow box receptor. I think that 10” might be a little tall. Is the water suppose to flow over this enclosure? Or are there suppose to be “vents” in the middle?

Front View of Sump:


jmara attached this image:


-Josh

Top View of Sump:

jmara attached this image:


-Josh

I think I’ve covered all the “extras” except one now, plumbing. I have had some experience with a little plumbing so this isn’t as daunting as some of the other parts of the entire change over to saltwater. This system has two-fold purposes. First, this is going to be some added filtration for the tank and way to “hide” my heaters from the main tank. Secondly, I want to use this as a device to eliminate the possibility for stagnant water in the main tank (to create current, in other words). I have looked at SCWD devices and I would like to avoid that right now. They seem awfully expensive for what they do. Are they important to have so that stagnant water does not form? I would imagine that a series of well planned, strategic outputs, like I have planned out, would accomplish that task as well.

I previously asked which type of tubing would be best and the answer I received was, what ever is best for that purpose. With that in mind, I decided that I wanted to use PVC piping as much as possible. I like PVC because it seems easy to work with and it’s rigid (so it supports itself a little bit). One question I have is this, however. I have read somewhere that the chose of pipe should be based on the out diameter of the pump. The pump I will be using is 0.5”. I know that means my bulkhead in my overflow box should be 1”, does that mean that my PVC from the sump back to the main tank should be 1” also? I have initially planned that to be the case as I didn’t know the answer but I have a feeling it should be 0.5” diameter.

Anyways…

The following are the plans for the plumbing. The bright-greenish pipes in the “Plumbing Back View” and “Sump To Main Tank Plumbing” diagrams mean that the details for that section of PVC is elsewhere. I had to do this because the pipes were not always two dimensional, they sometimes bent into the plane of the paper. In addition, I am not certain what I should use for the “U” where the PVC turn 180 degrees into the tank from the sump to the main tank. Should I use a manufactured “U”, two 45-degree fittings, or 90-degree fittings? I obviously want as little flow loss as possible.

One important set of items that I’ve forgotten to include in my diagrams are ball values. I would assume that two would be sufficient, one between the overflow and the sump and one between the sump and the main tank.

Plumbing Key:


jmara attached this image:


-Josh

Back View of Plumbing Setup:

jmara attached this image:


-Josh

Plumbing Overflow to Sump Setup:

jmara attached this image:


-Josh

Plumbing Side View of Setup:

jmara attached this image:


-Josh

Top View of Sump Plumbing:

jmara attached this image:


-Josh

Top View of Main Tank Plumbing:

jmara attached this image:


-Josh

The last thing I have to decide, I think, is what pump to use. I believe that I am going with a Mag. People seem to recommend them VERY highly. If my calculations are correct, I have approx (very roughly) 125” of PVC. That includes 1 ball value, three 90-degree angles, eight 45-degree angles, three wyes, with four outputs (with nozzles) using loc-line hose. I only included the PVC from the sump back to the tank. I think that’s the correct method. Anyways, the flow will approx be 288 GPH with the Mag 5, so I think I will use that pump.

I’m exhausted after all of that typing. I guess I’ll let that absorb for now. The plan is to cover the PVC in the bottom of the tank with sand, by the way.

Well if you have any questions or comments, let me know! I’m sure there will be a bunch. Thanks everyone!


-Josh