Freshwater Aquarium Sump Tank Design

Standard freshwater sump design.

Freshwater aquarium sump tank design.

Sep 1 2017 explore rodney parry s board sump design on pinterest. The water flows from the display tank located above towards the aquarium sump generally through a filter sock that removes debris or any large particles present in it. There is no real reason not to do it since it s not a marine specific technique. Last updated on july 3 2020 by anne thynne.

It has been used in waste management and on fish farms for many years but has only recently been brought to the aquarium hobby. The basic design of an aquarium sump consists of the following. How much turnover should we have. With a small sump a 2 chamber design will allow the return pump chamber to hold enough water.

If you want to build it yourself the filter kit comes with pre cut panels. This filter sump refugium is rated for aquariums under 200 gallons. If a small tank must be used say 10 20 gallons then you will probably have to alter the design and not use the center chamber. The diy kit doesn t include filter socks or inlet hardware.

Actually the truth is that plenty of people also use sumps for their freshwater tanks. This is a revolutionary self cleaning filtration method that utilizes a floating plastic media called k2. Glue the pieces together to form a 30 x12 x15 sump and refugium. Acrylic sumps are nice but the materials tend to be more expensive and if you do it yourself cutting the acrylic can take a lot of time.

But it is a great choice for freshwater aquariums as well specially if you are thinking to go for a big tank. For example i found a used 55 gallon tank for 10 bought 30 in glass and 10 in aquarium silicone and had a custom glass aquarium sump. Yes you basically need one to have a good marine reef tank but many of the benefits a sump brings to marine tanks can also work for tropical aquariums. A basic freshwater sump filter can accommodate more filter media than any canister filter or power filter or hob filter.