[AmandaK]

I just wanted to make sure what I just built was not a complete flop. :2911:

I wanted a hybrid sump where the water would hit the skimmer first and then leave the doors open for a refugium if that is something I wanted just do I did not have to do a complete rebuild in the future.

The sump I have put in this blog post at the bottom is the "final" product.

Attempt at a DIY Sump | SandBarAquatics.com

Water enters on the right in the 5" square box and then spills out of the bottom panel where the books are. The inlet for the skimmer will be right there and then the water will spill into the next box into the refugium section which holds about 5 gallons, and then it will spill into the return section which is around 3 gallons.

We have created a blog about our story on getting a saltwater aquarium up and running for the first time if anyone is interested. We just got started on it but we hope to keep it updated often. We hope it will help inspire others to get into this wonderful hobby!

SandBarAquatics.com | Saltwater Aquarium Blog

Thanks in advance everyone! This is my first post on here! :victory:

 

[Crow]

Welcome to the addiction!
The sump looks good. I like the box you guys made for the intake, you could fill that area about 1/2-3/4 with rubble rock to help with adding micro-bubbles.

Since you have cut the glass yourselves I just want to put out a warning about the very sharp edges. As I found this out the hard way three days ago by cutting my finger down to the bone and it required 4 stitches. :wacko:

 

[Jessemac]

Looks like a nice sump. Make sure you leak test each section, better to find a week area now then have a baffle blow out on you later when it is up and running.

 

[BriGuy31+]

Here is the sump I made. I plumbed it a bit different. I had one drain tube going into the skimmer section(on far right), then into the return section(middle), and the the fuge is on the far left. The return pump feeds the fuge. I know it is a bit inefficient but the point is that your fuge should have a low flow. By doing it this way, I can control(with a ball valve) how much flow my fuge will get.

Here is where I looked to research different options when making my sump. This page has the basic idea of what I did. Although, I reversed the setup for some reason and I chose to feed the fuge with my return pump.

Melevsreef.com | Acrylic Sumps & Refugiums