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Sculpin 
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 Topic: Wood Sump
Posted: October 27 2011 at 1:18pm |
So right now I'm currently building a "whole house system" (check out my thread, the link is in my signature) and right now I'm trying to find a big sump (around 90-120 gallons) for it.
I remember seing a few threads on RC about plywood tank builds. How hard is it? Has anyone in the club done one?
The way I'm setting up the filtration system I won't need any glass on the largest sump tank (it will house the skimmer, heaters, hook up to the return pump, etc..) and it needs to be big enough to take all the back flow from a 120, 2-40 breeders, and a 29 nano.
So why not build it out of wood?
Let me know if I'm crazy for thinking this, thanks in advance.
Micah
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pgravis
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Posted: October 27 2011 at 3:17pm |
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Stock tanks (big rubbermade tanks from farm stores) seem cheap and easy. I would suggest one of these rather than worrying about sump failure.
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Adam Blundell
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Posted: October 27 2011 at 3:30pm |
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me too
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Sculpin
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Posted: October 27 2011 at 3:56pm |
That would be find but I am dealing with a confined space of about 2.5'x5' and I can't seem to find any stock tanks that size.
Good idea though.
Micah
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russianrick
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Posted: October 27 2011 at 4:51pm |
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From my experience, if you are going to make a wooden sump, you will have to line it with fiberglass or something else to seal it so that the wood doesn't rot and also so that you don't run the risk of exposing your filter water to nasty water sealant chemicals.
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MIK3B
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Posted: October 27 2011 at 4:59pm |
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Had a friend who built one of these with a glass front years ago. Showed me a website and book that went over the whole process. If memory serves, it was basically 1" Marine grade plywood with a thick coating of dark green Marine Grade Epoxy, which was pretty expensive. It think he bought two 5G containers of it wholesale somehow but that it was still bucks. He built his into a wall in his basement and it turned out great. Then he ended up moving a year and a half later...He used really thick glass on the front, and my concern was the corners, joints and bowing, but he said he spent a lot of time framing and squaring it up and that once it was coated with a thick layer it was strong enough.
I think I would feel more comfortable making a form and pouring fiberglass reinforced concrete into it personally but that would be heavy and probably hard to plumb. You'd also have to seal it too to keep nasties from leaching out of the concrete.
Those Rubbermaid horse troughs are great but if you need a specific size and are handy, I'd say give it some good thought and read up, would love to hear and see your progress if you went for it.
Edited by MIK3B - October 27 2011 at 5:00pm
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ReefdUp
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Posted: October 27 2011 at 5:29pm |
I think MIK3B said everything for me already, but eh...here goes anyway. I saw another version of exactly what MIK3B is talking about. Marine-grade plywood with marine epoxy (but NOT the type that inhibits marine growth, like barnacles...that'll kill your animals). As mentioned, it was some SERIOUS $$. The one I saw used some glass b/c it was cheaper than coating the entire tank in the epoxy. I would suggest looking into building a custom acrylic tank yourself. I don't know what your budget is, but if you want custom, acrylic may work. It's not difficult. A LFS back home made some sort of fiberglass tubs built into plywood frames, but they said something leached insanely terribly for years...and they battled algae for years from it. They also had plumbing issues (fiberglass would crack around the bulkheads). I can ask for more details if you're interested.
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Diving since 2009, reefkeeping since 2007, & fishkeeping since 1987
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MadReefer
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Posted: October 27 2011 at 6:17pm |
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you could use wood and a pond liner. 45mil 10x10 is about $80 i think. pondliner.com. people build 2000+ tanks in their house to over winter koi. 90-120 shouldn't be too hard
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Sculpin
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Posted: October 27 2011 at 9:37pm |
I thought about the pond liner and it's not a bad idea but I do need to drill several holes into the sump and I'm afraid that it wont seal if I have to run a bulk head through the wood and liner.
Do you think I would have sealing issues if I did that?
I may stick with an acrylic tank or just buy a used 90 or 120, that would work pretty well too. I guess if I'm talking about the difference between 20 bucks ($100 for a used 90 or $80 for a home made plywood sump) I should chose easy and go for the 90 tank huh?
Well it was worth the thought. Thanks guys for your feed back.
Micah
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Deluxe247
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Posted: October 29 2011 at 5:48pm |
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Yeah, I'd spend the extra $20 for peace of mind. That would be a nightmare if the thing failed.
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90G Mixed Reef
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MadReefer
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Posted: October 29 2011 at 6:00pm |
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many people do the pond liner thing with many holes without any problems. i havent tried. the only reason i can see to go wood over a 90 would be to max the size in an odd space.
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russianrick
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Posted: October 29 2011 at 8:12pm |
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Im not sure how it would compare in cost, but bonding acrylic panels that can be easily cut to fit could be a really good option since it will only be one material to put a bulkhead through. If you use a pond liner with bulkheads though, I wouldn't recommend trying to gob silicon in there, because the bulkhead should be able to make a tight enough seal without caulk or glue.
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CapnMorgan
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Posted: October 30 2011 at 9:20pm |
Micah,
If you need any help let me know, I have hole saws to drill glass if you go that route, or I can help you build something in acrylic.
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Steve My Old 180G Mixed ReefCurrently: 120G Wavefront Mixed 29G Seahorse & Softies Running ReefAngel Plus x2 435-8
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Sculpin
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Posted: October 30 2011 at 9:41pm |
Thank you for the offer, I may call you on that favor Steve. However I decided not to do a wood sump. I was offered a 90 gallon tank already drilled for $100 so I can't refuse that offer. That said I'll need to put a few more holes in it along with a few holes in 2-40 breeders.
Check out my Whole House System build thread in my signature. I've been working on it pretty hard the past few weeks and I hope to have it up an running in the next month.
Micah
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Chad
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Posted: October 31 2011 at 11:42am |
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Malamine works good also as long as you make sure the joints get sealed good. It's pretty cheap and strong also.
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What?! You pooped in the refrigerator, and ate the entire wheel of cheese?! I'm not even mad.... That's actually amazing!
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Sculpin
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Posted: October 31 2011 at 6:37pm |
I would of never thought of that!
Honestly I want to try it just for the sake of seeing if it could work.
Micah
Edited by Sculpin - October 31 2011 at 6:38pm
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Deluxe247
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Posted: November 01 2011 at 7:51am |
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The melamine surface may be ok, but i would be really worried about the particle board underneath. When that stuff gets moisture in it it expands like a marshmallow and goes totally soft. I've seen tank stands fail because they kept in a little too much humidity (not even in direct contact with water). I would hate to see what would happen with something that actually held water. Since the malamine is only a surface laminate, it can peel, and it's really hard to seal all the edges.
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90G Mixed Reef
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