20 Gal. sump big enough for 180Gal. tank
- Thread starter fishtician
- Start date
Is this just kicking ideas around, or do you already have the tank?
If you have it, is it running?
If it`s running, what filters do you already have?
Short answer would be..It depends.
What do you expect the sump to do for you?
If you have it, is it running?
If it`s running, what filters do you already have?
Short answer would be..It depends.
What do you expect the sump to do for you?
Technically you could cram in high quality high density media and a small amount of bio media and filter it. It would likely work until the power goes off. At which time it would likely overflow. You would have have it at least halfway full just to have enough water to cover the pump while its running and keep it from sucking air. This would leave no room for the tank to drain, so it would overflow. This is true regardless of what other filters you uses.
I tried a 35 gallon rubbermaid tub on a 220 I had to add water every other day, because I couldn't store enough water to keep the pump from sucking air, without overflowing during shutdown. With that said I was using a mini-monster 4000gph pump so it could suck air in from well below the water line. If it where me I would try to find a uses 55gallon on CL or just use a rubber maid 50 gallon. The less filter media you use the more room for water so you can use a smaller holding tank. Also the less powerful the pump the less water you have to have covering it. I would say unless your getting really creative with the over flow you will be looking at 1- 2 inch drop in water level, so calculate how much water that is; you will need that much plus however much you need to hold your filter media and cover the pump.
I tried a 35 gallon rubbermaid tub on a 220 I had to add water every other day, because I couldn't store enough water to keep the pump from sucking air, without overflowing during shutdown. With that said I was using a mini-monster 4000gph pump so it could suck air in from well below the water line. If it where me I would try to find a uses 55gallon on CL or just use a rubber maid 50 gallon. The less filter media you use the more room for water so you can use a smaller holding tank. Also the less powerful the pump the less water you have to have covering it. I would say unless your getting really creative with the over flow you will be looking at 1- 2 inch drop in water level, so calculate how much water that is; you will need that much plus however much you need to hold your filter media and cover the pump.
KaiserSousay;3969876; said:
No, I did not pick the tank up yet. Not until Tuesday or Wed. next week. It's currently up and running, with 30 fish. 2 plecs. at 18 inches, 12 in. shark(no ID) and various smaller ciclids. Due to travel distance I've only seen pics of this set up. Seller has had it up for 5 years, w/ no problems. I'm new to sumps and thought about buying a Canister filter also, for more filtration, Any suggestions?? I won't be keeping any of the current fish, by the way.
a 50g breeder size (36x18x18) would be a lot better.
people usually recommend 1/3d main tank size for sump size, but you can go plus or minus without much difficulty.
but i think 20g is not going to give you much room for media for a tank that size.
people usually recommend 1/3d main tank size for sump size, but you can go plus or minus without much difficulty.
but i think 20g is not going to give you much room for media for a tank that size.
If it were me, I wouldn`t look at a 20g sump for my only filter for that size tank.
Certainly not for my first time using a sump.
But that is me.
If the new tank comes with a complete sump package, the one that was used by the previous owner, and you want to give it a try.
Go for it.
But if you are going to try and set up a sump based system from scratch, using a 20g as the sump, I wouldn`t.
Certainly not for my first time using a sump.
But that is me.
If the new tank comes with a complete sump package, the one that was used by the previous owner, and you want to give it a try.
Go for it.
But if you are going to try and set up a sump based system from scratch, using a 20g as the sump, I wouldn`t.
Thanks for the input. I thought that the sump was small, myself. What about a canister filter to run with it? What size? What make?