Questions about building a sump.

timdaddie

timdaddie

Member
I have a 55 Gallon tank. Live Rock an Fish only. I have a super skimmer that I would like to use in a sump. I just don't know what all that I need for one. I know that I'll need a tank, a return pump, an a over flow box.
My question is what size tank would use for a sump?
How do I know how many gallons per hour return pump to use?
Did anyone ever make there own overflow box? If so, would you be able to explain it to me?
What else would I need in it?
I was thinking of putting a piece of glass in the one side an putting bio balls in it. Would this make sence? Any coments will help.
 
weberian

weberian

Member
I think a Mag 7 pump would be good for you. My sump is a 20 gal long aquarium but I think you shoud try for bigger than that, but I like the long and low design and I don't know the next aquarium up in size - look around.
Can't help on the overflow - I bought a diamond bit and drilled my tank.
If you have enough live rock, you don't need bioballs.
 
timdaddie

timdaddie

Member
I have 45 lbs of rock right now looking to have 75 to 95 before its all said an done. The main reason I won't the sump is for the skimmer to sit in. Just don;t like how it looks hanging on the back of the tank. So thats when I figured if I was going to use a sump why not try to get some more filtering out of it.
Thanks for your advise I'll probably go with a 20 galloon. I have a ten in the basement, but I thought that would be to small.
 
anoepheli

anoepheli

New Member
Size of sump is really depedent on the size of the tank. You could use a plastic tub. My system is a bit of a hack job, and doesn't have the baffeling that is ideal. Essentially It's a tub with an input on one end from an overflow, and a series of filtration pads suspended along the legnth that force the water to pass through to a powerhead that sends it back up to the tank. Despite how crude it is, it's worked excellent. Only problem is if the water level drops the pump starts sucking air and the overflow sounds like an exploding toilet.
In my experience, bioballs don't do crap. I've got them in the sump, but all the bacterial growth is on the pads.
 
stone

stone

Member
The way I look at it the size of the sump depends on how much room you have. I may be wrong , but I say the bigger the better. A big sump adds tou your water volume. If you have lots of room you can run a sump/ fuge, but if you just want to use it for equipment it dosnt matter as much as long as you have room for your equipment.
 
coachklm

coachklm

Active Member
your pump will depend on your overflow i ran 800gph down to sump then used a mag9.5 as a return.... dont forget head loss in your calculations of return pump.
this was on a 90g.
 
coachklm

coachklm

Active Member
you could use a regular lightbulb if you wanted .... no specification on the lightin for the refuge/sump
 
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