I'm fixing up a tank that sprung a leak a few months ago and I was thinking about adding a sump at the same time. how big of a sump would probably be necessary? the tank is in an L shape and is 18" wide 18" tall, one arm is 4' the other is 6', so essentially its two 70g tanks jammed together in an L. I was hoping to use an old smaller aquarium and convert that into a sump.
how big should sump be
- Thread starter jamntoast
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- diy filtration sump
The smallest I would go is 40g. I would run a 40g long or 40 breeder. Because of the lower hieght of those tanks they make great sumps. they can fit in to shorter stands and are not pain to work in and around.
That being said the bigger the better.
That being said the bigger the better.
I've heard a rule of thumb for sump size on big tanks is 20% of tank volume. But, like welsher said, I can't see doing a sump smaller than 40 gallons. At some point, it's too small to clean, put a pump in, hold a heater, etc.
As big as you can really. Concern 1) will it flood your floor during a power outage? Concern 2) will it hold everything you might want now and in the future? Concern 3) will it fit where I want it to. You can go too big for concern 3, but then 1 and 2 arent an issue, so that's really a first world problem isn't it? I don't like em under stands anyway, not enough elbow room, I put em behind my stands most times.
ok cool. i was basically looking for a minimum effectiveness sort of thing. it will have to go under my stand for space saving reasons, so i was just wondering if it would even be worth it to go to the trouble of building one etc. i think your responses answered that. thanks.
There is really no one rule, because it all depends on what you want in your sump, and what you want it to do.
If you just want it to be a place for your pump, heater(s) and some biological and mechanical media, and you have enough room to easily do maintenance, then a 40 gallon would do.
If you want part to be planted, or act as a refugium, beside holding all the gear, and media you want out of the main tank, you may want more space.
I have used barrels, tanks, even swimming pools as sumps.
I like to plant sumps when the fish in the main tank won't allow plants.
I string some containers together but have separate shut offs if I want to be able to take part of it out of service while doing maintenance, but keep the rest running.
If some fish are more carnivorous than others I might want to run a fractionator in or near the sump, or a fluidized bed.
The possibilities are almost endless.
If you just want it to be a place for your pump, heater(s) and some biological and mechanical media, and you have enough room to easily do maintenance, then a 40 gallon would do.
If you want part to be planted, or act as a refugium, beside holding all the gear, and media you want out of the main tank, you may want more space.
I have used barrels, tanks, even swimming pools as sumps.
I like to plant sumps when the fish in the main tank won't allow plants.
I string some containers together but have separate shut offs if I want to be able to take part of it out of service while doing maintenance, but keep the rest running.
If some fish are more carnivorous than others I might want to run a fractionator in or near the sump, or a fluidized bed.
The possibilities are almost endless.
haha wicked.but yea good points. I'm trying to keep this project on the simple side, just hide equipment and add to my filtration. I'll be sure to post when I start putting this together.