Building a new sump

[sexyandiknowit]

I have a 90 gallon glass aquarium and i want to build a sump for it. I know the basics of sump building but the details are where i get caught up. So i came here for help. I need your advice with how big the sump has to be, how many gph i need on the pump and what size pvc. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks josh


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[tazjack]

Uarujoey has a diy overflow video that gives gph by drain size. He also gives his recommdation on matching the pump rating to the plumbing that will be used. Based on this you can choose plumbing and pumps based on how many times you want your tank turning over....i think. Dont hold me to all of this but i think its a good start im building a temp overflow and sump based on this. Someone sent me the video so ill see if i can send it to you. Good luck!

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[tazjack]

Sorry...as far as sump size...everyone feels a little differently so you may have to research on your own and make a decision youre comfortable with. But just a rough idea of my very own opinion...something large enough volume wise to cover the water that will drain out during a power outage plus the amount of water needed in the sump to keep it going. Hope that makes sense. Just as an example...So for your 90 if about 10 gallons drain out if you turn your pump off for maintenance and your pump is 4" tall pumping 800gph, you will need at 10g plus the volume in the sump reaching higher than the pump...then depending on how fast it is pumped out and draining back in..youll have to add more water to keep things balanced, or modify your pump flow. If you have the space going larger doesnt hurt...then you can add more volume to the system if thats something that could maybe benefit you. But i wanna say that store bought sumps for even the larger tanks are only 30g or something like that.

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[sexyandiknowit]

Wow thats a lot of information but i get the main idea. I had no idea that it required so much planning and calculations. But thanks for all the help.

josh


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[Gill Blue]

I had no idea that it required so much planning and calculations.

it doesn't have to, unless you want it to. while using it for particulates you need to be a bit more technical, bio can pretty simple.
a standard 90G stand should have no problem fitting a 20G long (30"x12"x12") in the stand. the water comes in on one side and is pumped out from the other. in between you have lots of choices. I went with poret foam, alfa grog, and pond matrix. all reasonably expensive media, but also long lived so they shouldn't need replacing for quite a while.
to make it as simple as possible you can buy 4" 13"x13" sheets and stand them up wedged against the sides of the tank.

or a 13"x13"x13" cube would work as well.

a max-flo 900 or 1500 and you're all done.

 

[sexyandiknowit]

The foam makes it a lot simpler. I think i am going to do that but what if i wanted to have a built in wet dry. Because isn't there something about different bacteria growing in wet dry and submersed environments.


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