Help me understand sump size

[eddiegunks]

Hello everyone,

Eddie with lots of set up fill Traciann questions this week.

I just acquired a 300 gallon tank, and a sump. It is my first foray into a monster tanks.

I have read a lot about sum sizes. What I don't understand is if they say 1 to 4 ratio was good that woulf suggest a 75 gallon sump should be what I need. The part that I'm not fully understanding, is if it's a 75 gallon aquarium obviously it's not full of water. So what exactly are we measuring? I understand we need a certain amount of volume for power outages etc. etc., so how does the 75 gallon size relate ?

I plan to keep a couple of larger fish and maybe a stingray or two. So I'd like to do this right. I have a UV sterilizer as well.

The set up I purchased included a 55 gallon sump. I was thinking that it was a little small but I wasn't fully understanding the sizes as related above. The stand is 8 feet long so adding two 55 gallon aquariums might be challenging, but could be done. I was thinking about using the 55 adding a 30 gallon and tying them together. I would prefer not to re-design the stand as it is complete and working as it is. I am limited to a width of anout 16 inches due to the build design.

Thx

Eddie

 

[Angelphish]

Hello everyone,

Eddie with lots of set up fill Traciann questions this week.

I just acquired a 300 gallon tank, and a sump. It is my first foray into a monster tanks.

I have read a lot about sum sizes. What I don't understand is if they say 1 to 4 ratio was good that woulf suggest a 75 gallon sump should be what I need. The part that I'm not fully understanding, is if it's a 75 gallon aquarium obviously it's not full of water. So what exactly are we measuring? I understand we need a certain amount of volume for power outages etc. etc., so how does the 75 gallon size relate ?

I plan to keep a couple of larger fish and maybe a stingray or two. So I'd like to do this right. I have a UV sterilizer as well.

The set up I purchased included a 55 gallon sump. I was thinking that it was a little small but I wasn't fully understanding the sizes as related above. The stand is 8 feet long so adding two 55 gallon aquariums might be challenging, but could be done. I was thinking about using the 55 adding a 30 gallon and tying them together. I would prefer not to re-design the stand as it is complete and working as it is. I am limited to a width of anout 16 inches due to the build design.

Thx

Eddie

Larger sumps allow for more room for media, along with other things, like nitrate reactors and whatnot. They also give more water volume, which slows nitrate buildup.

 

[Fish Tank Travis]

I know that 1 to 4 is a general rule, but it's definitely not a requirement, and is a pretty loose guideline if you ask me. I actually followed it with using a 55 under my 220, but I see no reason you can't use the 55 that came in your setup. It will hold plenty of bio media and quite a bio load. If you can get a 75 to convert to a sump, it will be better than the 55, but not necessary in my opinion.

 

[duanes]

The "rule" is more "minimum sump size", per your tank.
If you plan to overstock, or have large "mucho" waste producers, kicking out a heavy bio-load, you might need to have "more" media and a bigger sump.
For some of my tanks, the sumps have been larger than the tank.
I might use a 75 gal sump, on a 55 gallon tank that is growing out lots of fry, to deal with a high bio-load,
And although some people prefer sumps with very shallow water, I like to fill my sumps as close to capacity to handle an overflow if there is a power outage, so some of my planted sumps are less than 3" from the tank top rim.
The "minimum size" rule does not always apply when you have "monster fish".
The rule is more for the average community fish keeper with a tank of mbuna, or some schools of neons.
The "sump size" rule" is kind of like the 1" of fish per gallon rule, fine if you have a betta and some guppies,
but does not apply with Oscars or Arowana, or Rays or?????

 

[tlindsey]

The "rule" is more "minimum sump size", per your tank.
If you plan to overstock, or have large "mucho" waste producers, kicking out a heavy bio-load, you might need to have "more" media and a bigger sump.
For some of my tanks, the sumps have been larger than the tank.
I might use a 75 gal sump, on a 55 gallon tank that is growing out lots of fry, to deal with a high bio-load,
And although some people prefer sumps with very shallow water, I like to fill my sumps as close to capacity to handle an overflow if there is a power outage, so some of my planted sumps are less than 3" from the tank top rim.
The "minimum size" rule does not always apply when you have "monster fish".
The rule is more for the average community fish keeper with a tank of mbuna, or some schools of neons.
The "sump size" rule" is kind of like the 1" of fish per gallon rule, fine if you have a betta and some guppies,
but does not apply with Oscars or Arowana, or Rays or?????

duanes excellent way of making this simple to understand it totally definitely makes sense.