New to Sumps , need advice.

susiestank

susiestank

Member
Well - here is the low down.
Have been in the hobby since the beginning of 2005 having a 20 and then a 25 gallon. Neither of the tanks had a sump - but i do have skimmer, mh lights, etc. I have kept things like clown, corals, etc.
Anyways - bought a house and will be moving next week. This is obviously the time to make the next size upgrade, as I do not want to move the tank , set it up, and then tear it back down to later upgrade.
We have decided on a 55 Gallon, as this would be a big enough upgrade but yet not so big that finances would be an issue (due to new house, and furnishing an entire house, money is sensitive in this process).
With this upgrade we would like to use the 20 gallon as the sump. Sumps is one thing I have no experience with and would not even know where to start in terms of a parts list of what we need and what to do.
Can anyone offer any help?
 
wattsupdoc

wattsupdoc

Active Member
The 20 will work fine! You'll need some baffles for the sump, a return pump, something along the 700 to 900 GPH range will be good. Your gonna want to most likely either look for a reef ready(pre drilled) tank, or drill and do your own OF compartment of some kind(several options there) or do a Hang on back overflow. The last would be the least desirable, probablly a reef ready the easiest to set up and most appropriate for you at this point. Then you need to think about additional flow. Do you want to do a closed loop? or just some powerheads? Your going to need to do some research. It's too much of a task to give you a complete list of equipment without having your pocketbook and knowing your wants. Just take this time to search here and other sources and absorb all you can. We'll be here to help you along. Also, you might find a used complete 55 gallon for a much better price than you can build one for.
 
turningtim

turningtim

Active Member
If your thinking of a 55 I would STRONGLY suggest bumping up to a 75. Equipment is all pretty much the same but that extra 6" front to back is invaluable. Ask anybody with a 55 (me) and that is most likely the first thing they will say they wish they had was more room front to back.
As Doc said before jumping in for something brand new look around and see what out there pre-owed. Lots of great deals to be had!
JMHO
Tim
 
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