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5 Gallon Bucket Sump DIY! Yes, a Bucket sump!


Michael_Price

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Michael_Price

Hello every one, a few days ago I posted pictures of my new stand that I built. And in the pictures some of you saw my Bucket Sump and had some questions, so ill go into detail for you, and anyone else who is interested!

 

First off, why would you want a bucket sump? A few reasons, Its certainly not for a Refugium, or for extra filter options. Although what you put in yours is up to you. There are a few reasons I see this as a benefit for small tanks like ours. (This is Nano-Reef.com after all!)

 

First off, Water Volume! (one major reason I went with this idea) I like fish! I like corals! And although 5 more gallons is not much, it all adds up. Anyone will tell you, I see it all the time in the new member discussions "Should I get a 35 gallon of 40 Gallon" and every one suggest "The bigger the better, more stable with more water volume" so this makes my 30L a 35L!

 

Second off, Easy water changes! Cut the flow, swap the bucket, turn the pump back on. DONE!

 

Third, well, I don't have any. You could make it a canister filter if you wanted, and there are a ton of other things you could do with this, but I'm about ease. And the last thing I personally want is more filters to clean. So no filters in this bucket for me. Its pretty much an Airtight, Canister filter/Sump.

 

The build!

 

 

 

IMG_2963.jpg

 

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Items Needed:

  • Gamma Seal Lid (Two if you want easy water changes)
  • Bucket (Or Two) I went with 5 Gallon Buckets, but they say they fit 3 to 7 gallon buckets.
  • Water Lines, I went with 3/4 Rubber Tubing.
  • One Inlet Valve and Fitting
  • One Outlet Valve and Fitting
  • One Pressure Relief Valve and Fitting
  • Some hose clamps, or Zip Ties,
  • 3/4" Paddle Bit (In my case)
  • JB Weld (This is what I chose to use as a sealant for my fittings)
  • Sand Paper
  • Silicone

 

 

First Off, You will need a Gamma Seal Lid, this is the most important part of the bucket sump. There is no overflow control, so an airtight lid is Crucial so that it will not leak in the event of a power outage! Each lid cost me about $18. Search Google, I found mine on Amazon!
IMG_2979.jpg

 

 

I only made one bucket sump, and the other bucket is just for swapping out, since this is a special lid, in order to swap it out with a fresh bucket of water, they both have to have a Gamma Seal Lid.

IMG_2978.jpg

As you can see here, the lid separates from the rim, it now screws on allowing you to tighten it on by hand for an airtight seal.

IMG_2980.jpg

 

Now once these rims are put on the buckets, they will never come off. you would have to destroy it to get it off, in-fact you have to tap it on with a hammer! So to be safe, (I don't like leaks) I sealed the rim of the bucket with Silicone first, then I put the Rim on the bucket.
IMG_2981.jpg

 

So then you drill a hole for the 3 water inlets (And the Water Pumps Wire that I forgot and add back later :lol: )

IMG_2982.jpg

 

This is after I put in all the fittings, and then put the JB Weld around them. The JB Quick Weld is just a resin that bonds and sets within a few minutes. It is rated for over 1000PSI, so its a bit over kill, but for 7$ who cares! I did sand the plastic down around the fittings before applying to make sure it was a strong bond for a good seal (Once again, anti leak!)
[P.S. you can tell I started with the fitting on the left, and got better with my skills as i worked to the right :P ]

IMG_2983.jpg

 

So now it was all test fit and ready for the Pump! And after this picture is when I thought to myself "Oh crap! The pump!"

IMG_2984.jpg

 

So I drilled another hole for the power line, and sealed it from the inside. You can also see here I have attached the tubing to the fittings inside and zip tied them in place.
IMG_2985.jpg

 

So this is what the inside looks like, the tube on the left will be water from the tank, going to the bottom of the bucket, and the pump will suck water in from the middle, and push it back up on the right.

IMG_2986.jpg

 

So on the bucket, and lines, I got color coordinated. Blue is water too the tank, and red is water from the tank. The Valve in the middle stays closed, unless making changes. More details in a moment.

IMG_2996.jpg

IMG_2994.jpgIMG_2995.jpg

 

And here is the lines running up to my Display tank, you can see the line on the left has a Red Tag on it, so its taking water to the sump bucket, and the line on the right is blue, pumping the water back in on the next baffle over.

IMG_2987.jpg

 

And thats it! Next comment will explain Valve controls, and easy water changes. Here are some more pictures of my setup to give you and idea of the layout. Let me know if you have questions!

IMG_2997.jpg

IMG_2991.jpg

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Michael_Price

Ok, now for Easy Water Changes, and Valve Control.

So I have three valves that we can see below. The inlet valve, Outlet Valve, and Pressure Release Valve. Ill try to explain this the best I can. You can also see the water line in my bucket below.

IMG_2992.jpg

 

If I turn off power right now, the water ling would rise in the bucket right? Because its over flowing from the tank? Thats how it would normally work yes... but not in this case because its air tight!

 

I have tested this already, and I can make a video that goes into more detail for you all if you would like a better understanding. If my power goes out, or if I cut off the pump, my water line will not rise or drop. However, if I open that valve, I can change my water lines level. I can speed up the pump and cut off the return to take water out, or I can slow down the pump, and let the water line rise. Once its where I want it, I just close the pressure valve, and thats it.

 

As for water changes, I simply kill my pump, and close both my water lines valves. Then open the pressure valve on my bucket and swap buckets with a clean water, set the water line back where I want it, and done!

 

I can make a video when I do a water change Friday if that helps :lol: I am good at my own DIY Projects, and they all make sense in my head, but when I try explain them Via text, I dont know if it comes out the right way :wacko:

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Michael_Price

Pretty sweet! I wonder if you could use it as a fuge if you tossed some waterproof leds in there.

Probably could! I thought about it, but just wanted to keep it simple.

 

 

Neat for WCs :)

Don't get lazy on that vacuuming ;) haha

Yes, Super Simple! And ha ha yeah, ill still do that once a month.

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I made a sump like this a few years back for a pico tank I had running. It wasn't set up as a closed loop like this though, so it relied on an overflow to stop the water from draining out of the tank. But it had mechanical filtration, fuge (with a 25W MR16 halogen lamp that grew chaeto like crazy), and a return pump. Worked great for it being so simple.

 

I do like what you have done with the setup for fast water changes. It's a really slick setup. Most of us usually have 5gal of water mixed up for water changes anyway, so why bother pumping it in and out when you can just swap buckets.

 

As a slight improvement to this (it's really more for the stand than the bucket), you could put the bucket on a slide out shelf so that it's not as hard to get in and out of the stand.

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Michael_Price

I made a sump like this a few years back for a pico tank I had running. It wasn't set up as a closed loop like this though, so it relied on an overflow to stop the water from draining out of the tank. But it had mechanical filtration, fuge (with a 25W MR16 halogen lamp that grew chaeto like crazy), and a return pump. Worked great for it being so simple.

 

I do like what you have done with the setup for fast water changes. It's a really slick setup. Most of us usually have 5gal of water mixed up for water changes anyway, so why bother pumping it in and out when you can just swap buckets.

 

As a slight improvement to this (it's really more for the stand than the bucket), you could put the bucket on a slide out shelf so that it's not as hard to get in and out of the stand.

 

Its funny you mention that, I have considered putting Chaeto in mine. Would be easy enough to add a Light, and when swapping buckets just pull it out and drop it in the new bucket, as it just floats around really. Does it help with Nitrates pretty significantly? Mine hover a bit higher then I would like, so this could be a great solution!

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Nitrate export should be pretty good considering the size of the bucket. The biggest problem with fuges is that they are generally too small for the tanks they are on (like using a back chamber of an AIO). Using a 5gal bucket would allow for a lot of macro growth and should keep nitrates and nuisance algae in check.

 

When I was using a bucket for a fuge, it was divided into quadrants for the different gear, with the fuge being one quadrant. I was pulling fist sized chunks of chaeto out every week or two. It's was nuts.

 

Now that you have started talking about this, I'm starting to get the itch to make a bucket fuge myself. At the very least it will make water changes easier.

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MedievalITGuy

 

I can make a video when I do a water change Friday if that helps :lol:

 

 

I personally think a video would be great. I've got two picos that I've been considering putting sumps on, and this just may be a good solution for one or both of them. Clever thinking :)

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Why are there zip tied tubing to the tubes that are inside the bucket?

 

I was going to say something about the metal valve, but as it's just a pressure release it never touches the water.

This is also a great way to add a hidden heater, but you would have to be more careful when you switch out the buckets.

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Chambers in the bucket is genius.... now Im going to have to do this. Clear 5 gallon buckets are available as well. And quick release fittings sure would make the change easy.

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Michael_Price

Nitrate export should be pretty good considering the size of the bucket. The biggest problem with fuges is that they are generally too small for the tanks they are on (like using a back chamber of an AIO). Using a 5gal bucket would allow for a lot of macro growth and should keep nitrates and nuisance algae in check.

 

When I was using a bucket for a fuge, it was divided into quadrants for the different gear, with the fuge being one quadrant. I was pulling fist sized chunks of chaeto out every week or two. It's was nuts.

 

Now that you have started talking about this, I'm starting to get the itch to make a bucket fuge myself. At the very least it will make water changes easier.

Ha ha now I think I want to add Chaeto, I have already been thing about it. How much is it, and where can I get it? Do LFS normally carry this?

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Honestly, keep the bucket opaque. It will just help minimize algae issues in the sump itself.


Ha ha now I think I want to add Chaeto, I have already been thing about it. How much is it, and where can I get it? Do LFS normally carry this?

You can usually find it locally either at an LFS or a local reefer. The stuff grows so fast that some people can't give it away. When I've bought at my LFS, it was $5 for a decent fist full.

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Michael_Price

 

 

I personally think a video would be great. I've got two picos that I've been considering putting sumps on, and this just may be a good solution for one or both of them. Clever thinking :)

I'll post one next week sometime when I do my weekly water change
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Michael_Price

Why are there zip tied tubing to the tubes that are inside the bucket?

 

I was going to say something about the metal valve, but as it's just a pressure release it never touches the water.

This is also a great way to add a hidden heater, but you would have to be more careful when you switch out the buckets.

 

My heater is hidden pretty well in the back chambers, so I don't mind. Although you could do that! You would just have to be careful as you said.

 

Chambers in the bucket is genius.... now Im going to have to do this. Clear 5 gallon buckets are available as well. And quick release fittings sure would make the change easy.

I thought about quick release fittings myself, but I got lazy and kept it simple ha ha.

 

Honestly, keep the bucket opaque. It will just help minimize algae issues in the sump itself.

 

You can usually find it locally either at an LFS or a local reefer. The stuff grows so fast that some people can't give it away. When I've bought at my LFS, it was $5 for a decent fist full.

Good deal, I have a few local people that have hooked me up with corals, nems etc. I'll have to see if one of them have some they can spare!
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Do you think a magnetic led would provide enough light through an opaque bucket to grow chaeto? I'd like to add some small pieces of live rock for pods to seed in the sump. Then rotate the seeded rock into the DT during water changes for a constant source of live food.

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Michael_Price

Do you think a magnetic led would provide enough light through an opaque bucket to grow chaeto? I'd like to add some small pieces of live rock for pods to seed in the sump. Then rotate the seeded rock into the DT during water changes for a constant source of live food.

I think it would, and I am considering doing this myself.

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Do you think a magnetic led would provide enough light through an opaque bucket to grow chaeto? I'd like to add some small pieces of live rock for pods to seed in the sump. Then rotate the seeded rock into the DT during water changes for a constant source of live food.

You can buy a submersible pond light that will work fine. A led through a bucket I wouldn't think would work

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MedievalITGuy

Do you think a magnetic led would provide enough light through an opaque bucket to grow chaeto? I'd like to add some small pieces of live rock for pods to seed in the sump. Then rotate the seeded rock into the DT during water changes for a constant source of live food.

I don't have a whole lot of experience with pods, but if the macro I just got from the LFS is any indication, it might be more effective to just place a chunk of your algae from the sump into the display. The piece of blue hypnea I got was crawling with pods. You can get something decorative like Dragons Breath, or the blue hypnea instead of chaeto, if you're worried about aesthetics.

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Michael_Price

Since adding my sump, I have seen an increase in Pods on my glass. I can't really say if it has any relation to the sump as its just an empty bucket with water lol but I'm happy to see more roaming around in my display!

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  • 2 months later...

I am so loving this idea. Going to make one for my new IM 30L. It's in my office at work so doing water changes can be a PITA especially with my 15gal nano I have now. Draining 5 gals exposes some corals which I know is no big deal but then added it back in sometimes can be messy with the water splashing and disturbing everything as it's so shallow. This way you just swap buckets and be done quickly. No mess. no fuss.

 

Like others mentioned I'll add quick disconnects to make swapping buckets easier. And so tempted to use with an old external Marineland Magnum 350 external canister filter I have for the pump.

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