DIY Sump Plastic

Sumps provide extra filtration and water volume to your aquarium system. Usually a sump is located in a hidden area such as underneath or behind the aquarium itself. Building your own sump is fairly easy. You can customize it to fit your space requirements. Plastics such as acrylic, Plexiglass and plastic containers are easy to work with and safe for freshwater and saltwater aquariums. The sump itself is basically a container where water flows into one side, through the filtration media, then back into the aquarium.

Things You'll Need

  • Plastic container
  • PVC pipe
  • PVC primer
  • PVC glue
  • Acrylic sheets
  • Aquarium-safe silicone
  • Water pump
  • Filter media
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Instructions

    • 1

      Fit the plastic container into the area where you will build the sump. You can usually purchase a plastic container from a hardware store to fit your need. Some examples are plastic storage bins, plastic trashcans (clean) and plastic feed tanks. The sizes can range from a gallon to hundreds of gallons. When choosing one for your aquarium set-up, the larger the container the better.

    • 2

      Plumb the aquarium so that water can flow out into the sump. Use PVC pipe. Prime and glue the pipe together after dry-fitting to ensure a proper fit. Let the glue fully cure before you let it come in contact with the aquarium water. Direct the water in the aquarium to go over an overflow before it can enter the pipe. Otherwise, all the water will drain from the aquarium.

    • 3

      Connect the pipe from the aquarium to one side of the sump. If your sump is under the aquarium, let the pipe hang into the sump; however, you may have to drill a hole in the side of the plastic container and insert a bulkhead, depending on your set-up.

    • 4

      Insert two acrylic sheets vertically into the plastic container so that they form two walls.Make the top edges of the sheets an inch and a half shorter than the top edge of the container. This way water will flow over the top of the sheets before it flows over the edge of the container. Use the aquarium-safe silicone to fasten the sheets to the sides and bottom of the plastic container.

    • 5

      Add your return pump to the opposite side of the container. The size of pump you will need depends on the size of your aquarium. You want four times the total water volume of the aquarium to flow through the sump every hour. For example, if you have a 30-gallon aquarium, you need a pump rated at 120 gallons-per-hour (gph).

    • 6

      Plumb the return pump to the aquarium. This pump will take the filtered water from the sump and push it back into the aquarium.

    • 7

      Add your filter media to the center chamber of the plastic container. Good choices for filter media are filter floss, granular activated carbon, "bioballs," live plants and phosphate sponges.

    • 8

      Turn on the water pump to start the system. Water should flow over the overflows in the aquarium, through the pipes, into the sump, over the first acrylic sheet, through the filter media, over the second acrylic sheet and should be returned to the aquarium by the return pump.