Sump Size for 90 Gallon Tank
- Thread starter thetrex
- Start date
T
thomas712
Guest
Its really whatever you want, but I would think about these things.
Can you get to everything in the sump without having to be a contortionist?
During a power outage will the sump hold the water that drains from the main? Without overflowing?
Can you add a fuge later on? or make a sump/fuge out of it if you decide?
Will there be an external or internal pump, in the case of external you will need to leave room outside the sump.
I'd like to plan a larger one this summer.
Thomas
Can you get to everything in the sump without having to be a contortionist?
During a power outage will the sump hold the water that drains from the main? Without overflowing?
Can you add a fuge later on? or make a sump/fuge out of it if you decide?
Will there be an external or internal pump, in the case of external you will need to leave room outside the sump.
I'd like to plan a larger one this summer.
Thomas
fishcrazy2
Member
I have a 30 on my mine
upyurzbudy
Member
i have just got a new tank and it is a 90 bowfront and its hard to find a sump that will fit in there i know they make 20 gal high ones but do they make them any bigger :notsure:
ctgretzky9
Member
As far as canister vs. refugium/sumps etc, I can tel you that I run a cascade 1000 (penn plex) canister and I think it does a fine job. (Plus a perhead for circulation) The problem with canisters is the amount of work that goes into it.
I use floss of different thicknesses, and carbon.
They must be cleaned evey 2 weeks, and it doesn't have the benefits of providing a safe haven for coepods etc. plus replacing the carbon every couple of weeks starts adding up.
However, I did not have enough room for where my tank went to have skimmers and sumps etc, so i was forced to go that route.
With all of the talk about skimmers/sumps etc, I have to say I am actually happy with my choice. My water looks clear, never had any serious problems of fish dying or poor water testing. My nitrates are usually in the 10-20 range, but the more I read about things and get peoples experience, I am really starting to wonder how much nitrates in reasonable ranges actually affect anything.
I plan on havig a large tank of 200+ when I have my next home built, and I can see on such a large tank how a refug/sump will be a benefit, but I'm starting to wonder if having all of that extra stuff on the average 55 to 90 gal tank really makes a difference?
I use floss of different thicknesses, and carbon.
They must be cleaned evey 2 weeks, and it doesn't have the benefits of providing a safe haven for coepods etc. plus replacing the carbon every couple of weeks starts adding up.
However, I did not have enough room for where my tank went to have skimmers and sumps etc, so i was forced to go that route.
With all of the talk about skimmers/sumps etc, I have to say I am actually happy with my choice. My water looks clear, never had any serious problems of fish dying or poor water testing. My nitrates are usually in the 10-20 range, but the more I read about things and get peoples experience, I am really starting to wonder how much nitrates in reasonable ranges actually affect anything.
I plan on havig a large tank of 200+ when I have my next home built, and I can see on such a large tank how a refug/sump will be a benefit, but I'm starting to wonder if having all of that extra stuff on the average 55 to 90 gal tank really makes a difference?
msd2
Active Member
Originally posted by ctgretzky9
As far as canister vs. refugium/sumps etc, I can tel you that I run a cascade 1000 (penn plex) canister and I think it does a fine job. (Plus a perhead for circulation) The problem with canisters is the amount of work that goes into it.
I use floss of different thicknesses, and carbon.
They must be cleaned evey 2 weeks, and it doesn't have the benefits of providing a safe haven for coepods etc. plus replacing the carbon every couple of weeks starts adding up.
However, I did not have enough room for where my tank went to have skimmers and sumps etc, so i was forced to go that route.
With all of the talk about skimmers/sumps etc, I have to say I am actually happy with my choice. My water looks clear, never had any serious problems of fish dying or poor water testing. My nitrates are usually in the 10-20 range, but the more I read about things and get peoples experience, I am really starting to wonder how much nitrates in reasonable ranges actually affect anything.
I plan on havig a large tank of 200+ when I have my next home built, and I can see on such a large tank how a refug/sump will be a benefit, but I'm starting to wonder if having all of that extra stuff on the average 55 to 90 gal tank really makes a difference?
I personally think it can make a huge difference on a smaller tank. In fact I would say it is more important that a smaller tank have one than a larger one. The extra water volume on a smaller tank helps to stablize it for chemistry, temp and pollutent levels. Remember the smaller the tank the more adverse a small change can be, and the smaller the tank the easier it is to create that change.
The other big perk is that it gives you an opportunity to correct a problem before it becomes critical. Case in point, you said your nitrates are already 10-20 so say god forbid something goes wrong which sends the nitrates up another 20. If its a reef your running into trouble quickly for the animals. Here is where a sump/fuge can help a great deal. First a well run fuge will keep the nitrates at 0, secondly because of the added water volume your 20 ppm spike may only be 10-15 because its able to diffuse over a larger volume of water.
ctgretzky9
Member
MSd...I agree 100% with your post in general, and I probably should clarify what I meant.
If you are willing to put the time into keeping a canister filter, all will always be well because of the schedule you keep, and the learning curve of what you should/n't do.
Because of the system I run, unfortunately, it requires I test my water every 3-5 days which I do. As soon as I ever see even a slight increase in nitrates, I do a small water change of around 10%. And I used to have to do this a lot of times because of overfeeding (2 times a day sometimes!), poor circulation ( I didnt have a powerhead for about 6 months! uuugh) and lazy water changes.
I think a lot of it comes with personal experience with your own tank. Now when I do water changes, I vacuum the bottom (crushed coral which I actually love now) and drain out about 15% or so, taking the water from the bottom only through the vacuum.
I do this every 2 tuesdays now. In between these water changes, Ill change out a gallon or two as this is how I add any supplements (iodine, b-ionic etc).
I let the tank circulate for an hour, then I change out/and/or/clean out the media/carbon in the canister.
I have learned to feed only once a day now as well.
In summation, I agree with your post. I think both methods are a mean to an ends,both accomplish the same, just a canister ends up being more work.
However, I have to say...I never worry about all of the water siphoning out of my tank because of a faulty valve, I didn't need a huge area to keep a huge protein skimmer or fuge/sump, and as far as coepodes, i feed my fish anyway, so who cares about the pods?
If you are willing to put the time into keeping a canister filter, all will always be well because of the schedule you keep, and the learning curve of what you should/n't do.
Because of the system I run, unfortunately, it requires I test my water every 3-5 days which I do. As soon as I ever see even a slight increase in nitrates, I do a small water change of around 10%. And I used to have to do this a lot of times because of overfeeding (2 times a day sometimes!), poor circulation ( I didnt have a powerhead for about 6 months! uuugh) and lazy water changes.
I think a lot of it comes with personal experience with your own tank. Now when I do water changes, I vacuum the bottom (crushed coral which I actually love now) and drain out about 15% or so, taking the water from the bottom only through the vacuum.
I do this every 2 tuesdays now. In between these water changes, Ill change out a gallon or two as this is how I add any supplements (iodine, b-ionic etc).
I let the tank circulate for an hour, then I change out/and/or/clean out the media/carbon in the canister.
I have learned to feed only once a day now as well.
In summation, I agree with your post. I think both methods are a mean to an ends,both accomplish the same, just a canister ends up being more work.
However, I have to say...I never worry about all of the water siphoning out of my tank because of a faulty valve, I didn't need a huge area to keep a huge protein skimmer or fuge/sump, and as far as coepodes, i feed my fish anyway, so who cares about the pods?
msd2
Active Member
lol, unless you want a mandrian goby 
and im not sure how you could setup a siphon setup to drain the entire tank, if I lose power the max that goes to the sump is 2 gallons. Built in overflows eliminate the chance of the tank draining. Even a hob style can't drain the tank.
You are right though, they are just different ways to maintain a tank and if it works for you cool. LOL I know im way to lazy to keep up w/your maint. scedule.
and im not sure how you could setup a siphon setup to drain the entire tank, if I lose power the max that goes to the sump is 2 gallons. Built in overflows eliminate the chance of the tank draining. Even a hob style can't drain the tank.
You are right though, they are just different ways to maintain a tank and if it works for you cool. LOL I know im way to lazy to keep up w/your maint. scedule.
ctgretzky9
Member
lol...Im too lazy to keep up with my maint sced...but I have to do it since I decided to give these creatures a home-and really started it for my kids. They wanted a fish tank, so I figured I might as well get the holy grail of tanks-a reef.
Sometimes I wonder about having betas in a bowl....
As far as tanks drained out, I had heard of a couple of horror stories on these boards of people just catching a total drain out etc...maybe I read them wrong or it was something other than a sump/refug
Where I ended up having the tank just simply didnt allow me to have the refug etc, and with a hex, there is no real large stand under it to house anything other than a canister, so I was forced to use the canister, but like I said, I am happy with the results.
I'll take a pic tomorrow of the set up with the new 250 w MH pendent light. You'll see what I mean about the space.
My next tank I'll do it right with all of the bells and whistles and a wall mounted unit and kalk reactors, sumps, refug, etc...
Sometimes I wonder about having betas in a bowl....
As far as tanks drained out, I had heard of a couple of horror stories on these boards of people just catching a total drain out etc...maybe I read them wrong or it was something other than a sump/refug
Where I ended up having the tank just simply didnt allow me to have the refug etc, and with a hex, there is no real large stand under it to house anything other than a canister, so I was forced to use the canister, but like I said, I am happy with the results.
I'll take a pic tomorrow of the set up with the new 250 w MH pendent light. You'll see what I mean about the space.
My next tank I'll do it right with all of the bells and whistles and a wall mounted unit and kalk reactors, sumps, refug, etc...