so i've decided to upgrade my sump for my 72 gal tank to somewhere in the 20 gal range. i have an idea on how to make it by reading here and exploring Google images. my only real questing is what should i make it out of? i mean, Plexiglas sound good? also, it's freshwater obviously, so i should only really need a place for filter pad and bio balls and obviously the pump, correct?

it's probably easier to make a sum out of something that is easy to work with, glass cracks easily and isn't so easy to drill holes in.

The advantage of constructing a sump filter is you can design it any way you like really. If you are starting from scratch then it may be worth your while designing a sump that not only has lots of biological media, but also various grades of mechanical media as well. I'm in the midst of designing a new sump for my 300 gallon that has various chambers containing different types of mechanical and biological media. It will also have outlets in the first few chambers. I think this is actually a very good idea because even though a sample filter can be left for much longer in between cleaning because of this size, eventually they will need cleaning. If you have no means of draining the sump itself then you will have to take all of the media out. If you do have drainage holes inserted and that will save you a lot of hassle and work.

OFL wrote:

Don't remind me, I'm glad that's not a very regular job.