Sump for 8x3 tank

[Lukemitchell]

Hi
I will be building a 8 x 3 x 3 tank in the next few months for stingrays and I want to build a fluidised sump for it, it will be made of acrylic but need to know what dimensions I'd need for sump as I'm thinking about 100 gallons ? How tall would it need to be to allow the tank to drain if there's a power cut.
Also what equipment would I need to run as I've heard you it's good to run the sump 6 times the tank size ?
Hope someone could give me some advice
Thanks

 

[Lukemitchell]

Hi
I will be building a 8 x 3 x 3 tank in the next few months for stingrays and I want to build a fluidised sump for it, it will be made of acrylic but need to know what dimensions I'd need for sump as I'm thinking about 100 gallons ? How tall would it need to be to allow the tank to drain if there's a power cut.
Also what equipment would I need to run as I've heard you it's good to run the sump 6 times the tank size ?
Hope someone could give me some advice
Thanks

Anyone please give me some advice............ pretty please

 

[millerkid519]

What stock are you planing on having? I would say 6x turn over is alright but it does also depend on the fish you want to keep.
What type of overflow are you running that will effect how much the tank will overflow a good rule of thumb to start at is volume of the tank decided by the height so basically 540÷36=15 so you figure if you overflow one inch from tank to sump during a power outage you should leave room for 20g. Fluidized sumps are really nice but there are cheaper routes to go

 

[celebrist]

i have no experience with rays but i just shoved my 150 under my 450 for a sump.

 

[Dis]

8x3x3 is big. Going with a bigger sump from the beginning will give you more options down the road. Extra water volume and more filtration are things you will never regret.

Keep an eye out for some used 180 gallons

 

[arwen]

Agreed 8x3x3 is huge for me! With the large volume of water it does help buffer any minor changes in the water parameters accidentally. As for the sump size, for me would be as big as possible, as most of hobbyist tends to over load the live stock of our tank no matter how big tank intended for initially...

On a lighter note do maximise the water level coverage for the medias in the sump compartments. Although the restricting factor as the sump sits beneath the tank is height restrictions, there will be an issue for sump height access. I believe you will be customising your sump, the details of your requirements at this moment will go a very long way.

Lastly for the back flow portion as long as 1. medias are kept wet 2. Water level is above the return pump 3. The height of the return pipes in tank to falls above water level to stop back flowing into the sump, you should be good hands.

There is more to develop from points that I may have missed, have fun!!

 

[ragin_cajun]

I have a 125 Gallon sump under my 540.

 

[Lukemitchell]

What stock are you planing on having? I would say 6x turn over is alright but it does also depend on the fish you want to keep.
What type of overflow are you running that will effect how much the tank will overflow a good rule of thumb to start at is volume of the tank decided by the height so basically 540÷36=15 so you figure if you overflow one inch from tank to sump during a power outage you should leave room for 20g. Fluidized sumps are really nice but there are cheaper routes to go

I will be keeping 2 rays and maybe a dat and I might go for two 55gal barrels ?

 

[Lukemitchell]

Agreed 8x3x3 is huge for me! With the large volume of water it does help buffer any minor changes in the water parameters accidentally. As for the sump size, for me would be as big as possible, as most of hobbyist tends to over load the live stock of our tank no matter how big tank intended for initially...

On a lighter note do maximise the water level coverage for the medias in the sump compartments. Although the restricting factor as the sump sits beneath the tank is height restrictions, there will be an issue for sump height access. I believe you will be customising your sump, the details of your requirements at this moment will go a very long way.

Lastly for the back flow portion as long as 1. medias are kept wet 2. Water level is above the return pump 3. The height of the return pipes in tank to falls above water level to stop back flowing into the sump, you should be good hands.

There is more to develop from points that I may have missed, have fun!!

Thanks for the reply,
I've decided to run two 55gal barrels instead as there's not much room under the tank for a sump, how do you suggest I run the overflow as the tanks glass and I don't want to drill it and what type of pumps, overflow sizes and how much k1 media would I need?

 

[arwen]

Just sharing my opinions, may not necessarily be right. For the 2 barrels how do you intend to run them. Any sketch/pictures will be good. Don't quite understand how its intended. For the pump (too many to choose from), likewise for medias type & quantity - kinda subjective. Perhaps can look at type & cost efficiency. Cheers