2.5 gallon with builtin sump, acrylic top and JBJ PC light

[bdelaney]

Here are some pictures of my 2.5 gallon with builtin sump.

 

I used a 2.5 gallon tank from PetSmart to start. I build an acrylic divider and cut slots in it with my dremel to make an overflow. The sump is divided in half by another acrylic partition down the middle of the tank.

[bdelaney]

Here is another picture with the pump and heater in the sump. I built an acrylic cover with a mounting tab for the JBJ clamp on lamp. The soda can is for scale. A hole was drilled in the middle of the acrylic partitiion for the pump outlet, and the pump is connected via an elbow.

[bdelaney]

Here is the whole thing running with 2lbs of live rock, sand, macroalgae, a small xenia frag, and a mushroom (can't see it in the picture).

[bdelaney]

Finally, here's a view from the back of the tank showing the sump with macroalgae refugium.

 

The only thing I would do differently would be to use an opaque piece of acrylic instead of clear, and I would cut overflow the slots in the divider a little deeper next time.

 

Also, the acrylic top is starting to warp. I might have to look into making it out of glass if it gets much worse.

[Twins Guy]

hey delaney-

sweet looking tank! i love internal sumps and overflows made of acrylic. really a beautiful way to filter a small tank. surface extraction, hidey compartment for heaters n stuff. i've always used straight sheets of acrylic and they do a nice job too (rather than dremeling-which you did very nicely!) just wish blue or black opaque stuff were more readily available.X)

[Twins Guy]

for anyone considering this kind of internal overflow setup. the baffles in the sump area will allow you to maintain a constant height (dependent upon the height of the baffle) in one or more compartments (where he has his refugium setup). the water level will only fluctuate in the compartment with the return pump! works really nice for heaters which you don't want to emmerse (expose to air) or el-cheapo air driven co-current protein skimmers like the berlin airlifts, sander's piccolo, or even coralife or Lee's POS. these things work well when used with a constant depth of water (evaporation always was their undoing). i did an airlift 60 on a ten gallon and it worked great driven with a small air pump. hope that helps someone or gives someone ideas.

[bdelaney]

Twins Guy: Thanks for the feedback. I think a flat sheet of acrylic would work great, but I wanted a way to keep the critters in the main tank and out of the sump. I might throw a small blue leg or a snail in there, and I don't want him spend all his time in the sump munching on my macroalgae.

 

To make the slots in the acrylic, I used a dremel with a router attachment and guide to keep the cuts straight. (In case anyone wants to try it themselves.)

 

I think www.usplastics.com has some opaque acrylic in blue or black. I might order a sheet and build another one in the future. I'll see what other bugs show up with this design before I do though.

[edying]

I had the same problem with an acrylic top on my 2.5g. I ended up cutting some strips of acrylic and running those across the top with super glue gel (Glue them so the strips are perpendicular to the your top)... Seemed to fix the problem.

 

-Ed

[Korbin]

Awsome! I thought about doing the same type of thing when I set my 2.5 up. Except I never planned it out like you did. I used a small piece of thin acrylic on the top of my tank to stop evaporation at one time, and it warped right away. It was because of the heat.

 

Sweet setup. Good luck.

[bdelaney]

There's a guy over on reefs.org that had a glass cutter make him a glass top for this tank. I need a few slots cut for the heater/pump wires, otherwise I'd use the top that came with the tank. This would fix the warping problem, but I can't figure out how to attach the light. I like the simplicity of a little acrylic mounting tab on the cover, but I'm not sure how to glue something like that to glass.

 

Edying: Your idea is a good one. I might try that first.

[Korbin]

I cut little notches in the black plastic along the inside top edge of the aquarium. That way, power cords could fit around the glass top. And its easier than cutting glass. Also, look at my post in the members' section. I used silicon glue to stick 2 bathroom tile strips onto the glass top. This keeps the light just off the surface of the glass. I have the exact same light as you, BTW. Oh, I took the arm aparatus off the light, so I just have the strip light connected to the cord. Or better yet, why dont you clip the light to something nearby and hang it over the tank?

 

 

;)

[kimura]

I've been trying to plan a very similar setup for my wifes Jellyfish tank. This is very inspiring:)

 

Please Keep up posted.

[bdelaney]

Korbin: I think notching the plastic rim would work for the heater cord. However, the pump is a micro-jet 450, and while the pump itself is tiny, the cord is friggin' huge. I don't know why they market such a tiny pump and then attach some enormous power cord to it. The light idea is a good one. I might look into that as well.

 

Kimura: A jellyfish tank sounds very interesting. From what I understand about housing jellyfish, the biggest problem is keeping a nice steady current and not allowing the jellyfish to get caught in the pump intakes. Correct? With some kind of spray bar attachment to the pump outlet, you could probably spread the flow out enough to achieve this. Right now with a single pump outlet in the middle of the tank, there are areas of very high water flow. I had to use some creative live rock placement to keep the sand from being blown around.