This is what I should have really thought of more before building the stand, so I could have built in specific room for the sump, which I sort of did but took no measurements or even decided how big I wanted the sump. One thing I definitely wanted was the ability to take the sump tank in or out if needed. So on the stand I designed the two outer section to be wider to accommodate this. But I was left with some odd dimensions and couldn’t get a common tank to fit. But I was thinking of just using a Rubbermaid or similar tote anyhow. But I just couldn’t find one to fit the space efficiently until I went to the Container Store. They had about the perfect size to fit the end compartments in my stand - a 33g. Was a little pricey there but decided it was the easiest way to go. I also wanted plenty of volume so I could do water changes out of the sump easily, and since my stand would accommodate two, I decided to go with two, and that would provide the shortest possible plumbing with each sump under the bulkheads on each end. Each sump would have its own return pump. if needed I could shut down one and just use the other too, like for an extended cleaning, etc. The only problem would be balance, so I put a bulkhead in each and connected them together - if one was filling faster than the other the extra would level out through the connecting pipe. Well all this was the original idea, I’ve changed it somewhat since, but will show the pics and explain it as it really happened.
The 33g tote. Since this is going to be in the cooler room in the house, on slab floor, and against the outside wall, I am insulating everything I can to make it more thermally efficient. So I got some foam insulation and am lining the sump tanks as well as the base and back of the display tank.
The bulkhead I put in the side of each tank to connect them together.
Sump tank in the stand. I lined (but not stapled in place yet) the whole bottom of the stand with heavy gauge black plastic lining to hopefully catch the stray splash of water so it doesn’t soak into the carpet underneath.
There is a small amount of bowing [expected] and I think I will also add some bracing to prevent the bowing later. I cut a slot in the foam in the front and am going to mark the sump level with gallonage marks.
I probably could have custom built the whole thing from acrylic but I was hoping this would save time and money, at least since I wasn’t going to mess with chambers and baffles, etc. The sump is merely a holding tank of water. I plan on putting a large 250 micron media bag over the drain outlet to catch debris, and sort of visible in the last pic I am going to make filter boxes the return pumps will be sucking through, with a large piece of floss and some bio media inside. Hopefully this will be easy to maintain. Time will tell. And I apologize if this looks kind of ghetto rigged, with duck tape and all... lol
. If it clogs too fast I might make a larger box. Or the other option I was contemplating was two layers, a more coarse filter pad on top of the floss maybe...
