Tank Journal Archive

[Ben Broadfoot]

Here's the story...
So I bought a 5ft x 1.5ft x 2ft tank, stand and sump for the stand alone. I wanted an oversized cabinet for the storage space and aesthetic appeal.

Chucked them all in/on the Astra...

Sold the tank, and covered the stand in plywood to make a backless cabinet with 4 magnetised removable doors.

Then our son was born (just after I moved the cabinet and got it out of his new bedroom).
Here he is pretending to stand up in front of the cabinet:

Now... I've still got the sump. It has 3 compartments, which makes 80l total volume when the compartments are full.
I know more water volume = greater stability and dilution, but is 80l overboard for a 120l tank?
All I'm going to put in there at the moment is the skimmer, return pump, heater and ATO outlet.

Here's a sketch of the dimensions. It's 350mm front to back.

 

[MagicJ]

If you are happy to have an 80l sump then go for it - there is no such thing as a sump that is too big.

What was your plan for the sump compartments? I assume the water travels from right to left in your picture - I'm not sure I like the spacing of the baffles.

 

[Buddy]

Good effort with the Astra :eek
That sump would be alright. It is a bit of an odd configuration but you could make it work.

 

[Ben Broadfoot]

Yeah the water would travel from right to left in my picture. I'd prefer the baffles to be around the other way, taking water off the top of each compartment.

I imagine it's no fun reconfiguring baffles in a completed sump. Is that right?

 

[Buddy]

Yeah the water would travel from right to left in my picture. I'd prefer the baffles to be around the other way, taking water off the top of each compartment.

I imagine it's no fun reconfiguring baffles in a completed sump. Is that right?

If there is enough room between the baffles and the tank, you might be able to run some fishing line or a blade down the gap to cut the silicone. I have done this a few times before.

 

[MagicJ]

Yeah the water would travel from right to left in my picture. I'd prefer the baffles to be around the other way, taking water off the top of each compartment.

No, water travelling under a baffle is good in the correct place as it helps to eliminate bubbles generated from the overflow and/or your skimmer. If the water is just taken off the top you will end up with dead spots in the sump.

I imagine it's no fun reconfiguring baffles in a completed sump. Is that right?

As @Buddy mentioned, it can be done and, if you are thinking about it, then now is the time to do it.

My concern was the spacing between the baffles. 100mm doesn't allow you to do too much - 160 and 170mm is going to be a tight fit for a skimmer.

 

[Ben Broadfoot]

I'm going to be running a Tunze 9002 HOB to start with which is quite small but can easily handle my current bioload. Moving the baffles would more be planning for future ease of upgrade.

Thanks guys, appreciate the thoughts.