building my first sump

hey guys sooooo i have a 20L tank at the commune with my betta Apsolem in and am finding the hardware is taking up alot of valuable planting space so would like to build a small sump but i'm going to need alot of help:wondering:. ok first things first, i was wondering if i could use some sort of ready made something and just glue it to the back of the tank with marine silicone and does it have to be glass in this case? my thoughts go as follows i would need some sort of small pump (12w?) to get the water up and into the sump and i could then just put my current internal filter in the sump and the heater which should free up so much space in the back. or is it better to build a 3 sided glass thing and then stick it on, bearing in mind that i have nothing that old Apsolem can stay in for long enough so that the silicane can properly cure so i honestly think that the ready made container is my best bet. unless i use some of my local lfs's lil betta tanks which are about 10cm wide (yeah i know horrible!) and almost as deep as my tank? if i didnt use my exsisting filter i would have to get a second pump to get the water back into the tank.

because of where the tank sits it's going to start getting some winter sun fairly soon so i want to make a sort of wooden background that goes up the back and anchors under the tank, going over the tank so a light can be fixed to it, thinking of using a boyu globe cos i really like the white light it produces, what pray tell has this got to do with the sump you ask? well i want to then put a terrestrial planting space over the top of the sump that the water will have to flow through before going back into the tank and voila i have a mini paludrium hehe.

ok i hope this makes sense. can the diy gurus shed some light on this please lol. i am nervous about sealing something myself cos lets face it i'm blonde and something always goes wahooney shaped for us somewhere along the line lol and i've never sealed anything before

 

Not sure what pump and heater you have, but hiding gear and making a filter that needs little maintenance is the job of a HMF. You could also look at replacing (assuming you have one) the internal with a HOB - then just leave the heater in the tank. Not sure you want to do a sump for a 20l - at least an HOB will allow you to plant the full tank floor.

Well if you want to do this I would still use a small HOB - modify it so that it pumps the water into you free standing planting area could probably have the heater in that area also if you like and then let that container flow back via another modification to the HOB. That way you can not flood anything and it is commune save.

 

i dislike HOB's hey my last one burnt out cos i hadnt noticed that it had run dry after a power cut we had and as i'm usually away from this tank for 2 to 3 days a week that could be disasterous. hmmm i'll attach a pic of the tank i think, it sits next to my bed and needs to be moving friendly as Apsolem comes home with me on holidays and once the year is over i'll have to get a stand so he can fit on the other side of my bed near that plug point. oh and i got a Via Aqua filter and a resun heater.

ok so i inserted two pics as you can see the rock feature is rather large and takes up more space than i intended so there really is limited space at the back. thanks for the suggestions though f-fish. btw could you elaborate on the HMF filter?

 

Think of it this way - your beta has a better tank than those fake plastic jobs the LFS try and sell with every fish - good job.

Honestly - you have run-out of space to be creative - even if you added a HMF in the corner or on one of the panels. All you really need is a good old corner sponge and airlift - but that will consume the same amount of space.

 

First of all, good looking betta tank! Compared to some of the betta setups out there, Apsolem is living the dream!

Bettas have a VERY low bio load (depending on what you feed and how often) so filtration can be minimal if at all present. Seeing as your tank is not just the regular cube with fake plant and sand, doing a 100% water change once a week might be out of the question. On the smaller tanks, this works like a charm. My girlfriend has a 4l tank for her betta. I go there every Saturday, drain all his water and replace it with new CURED water. Bettas are generally very hardy and don't have issues with slight fluctuation in tank parameters.

That all being said, I think a sump would be an overkill for the size tank you've got there. It would be beneficial, but unnessesary taking into account the species you are keeping. The current pump you've got is MORE than adequate. I do however realise that harware inside a tank is unsightly and bulky, so what you could do is perhaps invest in a decent but small HOB filter? That won't clutter your internals and do some decent filtration...

Or, alternatively, get a 3ft and a few more bettas! Bigger is always better!

 

thank you guys you should see Ares setup, he's my real stroppy bugger and has a 70L with 5 khuli's to himself, i hate those tiny lil thing and think they should be banned!

now you gota know the more bettas thing is very tempting considering that jungle aquatics have just got their halfmoon shipment in * tells self does not need a 5th betta* lol. but my folks would likely string me up and skin me, they handled the arrival of Apsolem very well considering the first time they found out about him was when he arrived home with me for hols. the small tank is cos its gota fit in a gap next to my bed or on my desk which is where it is now. i would honestly have overkill when considering filtration than none at all and i do have 6 white clouds in here with him which technically makes the tank overstocked i think. it also gives me an excuse to build the paludrium which i would really like to do and build an even bigger waterfall type thingy for the water return. i got the building bug at the moment lol and since most of my tanks are all pretty much done with nothing to do on them Apsolem's home is the only one i got left to tinker with. once i get my own place i'll be able to setup all my tanks as i got 2 empty tanks a 1ft and a 3ft but that has to wait til i finish my studies.

so question should the middle section be bigger than the two side sections? i'm thinking the first chamber will have filter floss on top then sponge the second chamber bio rock and then the return chamber. this can also be considered a practice run for when i redo my 1.2m tanks filtration.