People ask if I'll build and ship a sump to their location, and I always forewarn them that is is very expensive. Here's why.
You've got this large acrylic vessel that has to get from Point A (Ft. Worth, Texas) to Point B (somewhere else in the U.S.)...
Peter, a member of DFWMAS wanted a large sump to consolidate all the smaller units he's been using under his 3' x 5' open top display tank. This tank was used last year at MACNA XIV, for Clam and SPS sales. Peter brought it home, and made an amazing SPS reef. Check out some of the pictures I took.
Richard Harker continues this topic in Part 2:
Close-up of carbons tested in this two-part series. Clockwise from upper left-hand corner: Carbon from Lifegard, Hydrocarbon 2, carbon from ESV and carbon from Seachem.
A local vendor contacted me about building a new system to hold livestock as it arrived. They drew up the plans, purchased the materials and started cutting up the pieces. When I arrived, my job was to show them how to assemble the parts successfully. The project came out great in the end, but a lot of things were learned along the way. The top two sections hold 200 gallons each, the bottom on holds 250 gallons.
This was a sump I built for a LFS near me. The challenge was making a sump big enough to hold water from about 20 tanks draining into it, and be able to handle a new shipment of livestock that arrives. All those bagged items quickly increase the total system volume. And then throughout the day, water is taken as each piece of livestock is sold, dropping the total system volume.
Glenn, a member of DFWMAS contacted me about a 34 gallon hexagonal tank he wanted to modify, and incorporate a sump with a refugium.
I was asked to build a small sump to house a skimmer made by DAS. It's a self-contained skimmer that usually draws water in from the surrounding area. The rest of the available sump is purely the return zone.
This sump & refugium is designed to fit under a smaller tank. Dimensions are 26" x 18" x 16" and can also be made cube shaped (20" x 20" x 16" for example). What is nice about this sump is that the refugium spans the entire front so you can enjoy seeing the macro algae grow and the pods scurrying about.
Fragging corals is a big part of the hobby. Being able to acquire frags from others has benefits. Corals are shared rather than the constant harvesting of wild colonies in the ocean, and they are already accustomed to dwelling in a closed ecosystem. The giver prunes the colonies in their reef, allowing for better flow. They are able to 'bank' a coral with you in case theirs perishes for whatever reason. The receiver enjoys watching the little piece grow into something beautiful over time, and then will one day be a giver as well.
By special request, this sump was designed to fit under a 90g bowfront tank.
Dimensions: 32" x 12" x 16" (26g maximum volume)
