is this overkill??

[hayden]

hello, i want to go bigger with sw even tho i dont have any sw fish in my 29 yet. my mother said no more tanks till i get the ones i have all set up so i was thinking about making my 90 sw and using my 55 as a sump. is a 55 as a sump on a 90 way to big? it would be like half fuge 1/4 filter and 1/8 protein skimmer and 1/8 return pump section.

is the 55 to big for a sump?
are there any really good hob overflows for cheap?
how many gph do i want through the sump?
100 pounds of lr for a fowlr sound good for a 4 foot 90 gallon tank?

 

[Pufferpunk]

If you're making it a reef tank, recommended amout of LR is 1.5-2lbs/g. You can never goo too big on a sump. Check out your local reef club for overflows at: www.reefcentral.com

 

[sodaaddict84]

wow must be nice 90/55 tank. im runnin a 75 with a approx.20gal sump no fuge yet. but i have heard when using an in sump fuge on a big tank, you should put a channel behind the fuge or under to route most the water so that the flow isnt turbulent in fuge

 

[Pufferpunk]

Yes, those are called baffles.

 

[stephclay]

perfect size for a sump. the bigger th better for a sump. more room for filtrtion and it adds to the total volume of water. 90 +55 =145 total volume - amount of spae left unfilled in the sump. the more water volume the mor room for error

 

[zdoo2]

perfect size for a sump. the bigger th better for a sump. more room for filtrtion and it adds to the total volume of water. 90 +55 =145 total volume - amount of spae left unfilled in the sump. the more water volume the mor room for error

so theres bigger room for error if your sump is 1/2 full compared to all the way full?

 

[ShadowBass]

so theres bigger room for error if your sump is 1/2 full compared to all the way full?

If your sump is all the way full it's going to overflow if your power shuts off. Your power shuts off and the water drains out of the tank into the sump until it's below the lip of the overflow box. Bigger the sump the more water volume you can have without overfilling it and risking an overflow during a power outage.
You can also potentially drain more of your tank if you have the output low in the water and forget to use a siphon break. The water drains out of the outflow pipe and starts a siphon, draining the tank until it's below the top of the output and air gets let in.

I think what stephclay meant though, is that the more water volume you have the more room for stocking errors. Like if you accidentally add too much to the tank or something dies and releases ammonia you'll have enough extra water volume to prevent the tank crashing biologically.

 

[zdoo2]

If your sump is all the way full it's going to overflow if your power shuts off. Your power shuts off and the water drains out of the tank into the sump until it's below the lip of the overflow box. Bigger the sump the more water volume you can have without overfilling it and risking an overflow during a power outage.
You can also potentially drain more of your tank if you have the output low in the water and forget to use a siphon break. The water drains out of the outflow pipe and starts a siphon, draining the tank until it's below the top of the output and air gets let in.

I think what stephclay meant though, is that the more water volume you have the more room for stocking errors. Like if you accidentally add too much to the tank or something dies and releases ammonia you'll have enough extra water volume to prevent the tank crashing biologically.

ya i knew the part about the overflow and back flow from return line and now i understand that he meant the more water volume the longer it takes for nitrates and other compounds to build up to toxic levels, this leaves the question, how much water should my sump contain? its a 75 and in the process of beoming a sump, so should it be like 3/4 full say around 55g? less or more? heres the drawing:

the red and yellow part on right side is foam and floss

 

[clopez21]

ya i knew the part about the overflow and back flow from return line and now i understand that he meant the more water volume the longer it takes for nitrates and other compounds to build up to toxic levels, this leaves the question, how much water should my sump contain? its a 75 and in the process of beoming a sump, so should it be like 3/4 full say around 55g? less or more? heres the drawing:

the red and yellow part on right side is foam and floss

I would remove the bioballs. Put some rubble rock in there.

 

[zdoo2]

why not bioballs? u mean LR rubble right?