Sump Question

[fishman8]

My wife has a 75g that she is trying to make into a reef. I have been asked to make a sump/fuge for this. Is there a calculation to tell what size sump that this set up will need? I am wanting to stay on the small side because I don't have alot of faith in the floor that it is sitting on. Anyone have any ideas?

 

[dejaco]

As big as you need. Are you going to run an overflow into it? Are you going to move heat sources and filtration into it? How large a skimmer are you going to put in it? What size return pump will you use? And do you want a refugium area in your sump? All these questions need to be addressed first.
If sump is only going to handle filtration and skimming I would suggest a 29 gallon tank. If you want a refugium also then use a 55 gallon. Either size can be found used cheaply!

 

[acrylic51]

Check out melevsreef dot com for some good detailed sump information....HTH

 

[fishman8]

Originally Posted by DeJaCo
As big as you need. Are you going to run an overflow into it? Are you going to move heat sources and filtration into it? How large a skimmer are you going to put in it? What size return pump will you use? And do you want a refugium area in your sump? All these questions need to be addressed first.
If sump is only going to handle filtration and skimming I would suggest a 29 gallon tank. If you want a refugium also then use a 55 gallon. Either size can be found used cheaply!
Overflow = yes
heat source = maybe depending on how much it ups the size
filtration = maybe
skimmer = holding off to buy until the sump is built
return pump = wanting to turn tank over 6-8 times per hour, so 450-600 gph
fuge = as stated in previous post YES
Does this answer these questions? I am wanting to know what size sump/fuge that I need to handle the 75g and I will buy everything else accordingly. As stated earlier, my floor is ify on handling a huge amount of weight, so 55g X 8lbs/g = 440 lbs is probably out of the question. If I have to get the HOB skimmer and keep the heating in the tank, that is what I will have to do. Don't think that I am trying to cut corners and not give my tank a fighting chance, but I have other concerns and my tank may not last very long if I put this much weight on the floor.
Can I use a 20g fuge and filter the inlet to the fuge and keep the heater in the tank and a HOB skimmer?

 

[acrylic51]

There isn't a real formula as to how big a sump/fuge you need to run a tank.....Any sump/fuge is better than none.....The general rule of thumb is to figure what equipment your going to utilize and how much space you have available for it......Being that your 75 is 4' long and depending on stand you should determine what is the biggest you can fit underneath the tank inside the stand???? Are you going to run external or submersible pumps? That will also dictate how big of a sump/fuge you can go because with an external pump it will eat up room inside the stand as well.......

 

[fishman8]

The tank is 4', but due to the bracing on the stand I would say that I have 3.5' available. About the thing about an external pump taking up more room inside the stand, is it possible to mount the pump to the back of the stand next to the wall and run the pump inlet line into the sump to recover this space lost and gain the room back from needing the baffle for the submersible pump?
Thanks for your help on this, but it is the first one that I have built and want to get a good gameplan before I start throwing money at it.

 

[dejaco]

First off if you use a 55 you will only be holding 25 to 30 gallons in it.
Plexi off say 12" on the left side leaving bottom 1/2 to 1" open then skip over1/2" and run another sheet from bottom to spill over level. Now on the small compartment you just built wall off back 5" with 2 holes drilled for bulkhead fittings. Now attach 1" strips around perimeter of this chamber
that are 1/4" thick at least. There level should be just higher than the spill over wall you built. That wall will determine depth of water you run in the sump. Now using either eggcrate or perforated plexi make a shelf piece to sit on the ledge you built. This shelf will hold up the blue filter material for straining water. Now cut and attach 2 pvc pipe sections to bulk head fittings
drill holes about every inch down there lengthd, cap off ends, drill 2 air holes on top (straight over your line of holes). These will deliver water down to be strained. Then it will drip down (picking up oxygen). spill over into the refugium section. Now the opposite end has to house return pump, Use a submersable one, a skimmer (which can be a over the back or submersable model), heater, which will probably only run evenings when your lights are out), intake and outtake to a cannister filter (IMO run carbon). Once you have decided how much room this will take make your double spill over wall at this end. Whatever room you leave in the middle will be your refugium area.
This is just the configuration I found to use. It makes maintanance easy and
gives ease of access to entire sump system.
As far as weight goes, I have a 210 g display and a 45 g sump - the entire system only hold 200 gallons of water. So best guess with dispacement figured in for your system (sand, rock, and equipment) I would guess 95 to 100 gallons max. Keeping the system next to a wall that spans floor joices instead of parralleling them and you should be fine.

 

[acrylic51]

Originally Posted by Fishman8
The tank is 4', but due to the bracing on the stand I would say that I have 3.5' available. About the thing about an external pump taking up more room inside the stand, is it possible to mount the pump to the back of the stand next to the wall and run the pump inlet line into the sump to recover this space lost and gain the room back from needing the baffle for the submersible pump?
Thanks for your help on this, but it is the first one that I have built and want to get a good gameplan before I start throwing money at it.
I don't know if it's recommend for pumps to be mounted that way....the only pump I've seen mounted in a fashion like that would be the Velocity pumps. I would think you would increase head pressure and make the pump work harder than it should in this instance, and could possibly be an issue if power would go out and pump loosing prime and power coming back on and not being able to pick up the syphon again......Not really sure!!!!! :thinking: