Sump limitations?

[scalesandfins]

im curiuos too

 

[Jc1119]

My commercial sump is about 7.5 gallons and is very effective for my 110g tank. It is pretty much a single chamber for bio balls with caged off portion for easy access to the sump. There are probably about 5 gallons of bio balls in the bio ball chamber.

While all of the above reasons for a large sump are very valid they are not a necessity for filtering water.

I will be building my new sump in a 29g tall tank... even though my 7.5g commercial sump has never been insufficient. Bigger may be better but that doesn't mean smaller isn't very useful and productive.

This is very true. From a filtration standpoint, it's hard to argue that a hob(ac110, magnum250, etc.) won't do the filtration job just fine, as will a small sump.

As we speak, I'm looking at picking up a 125 for almost nothing and am trying to figure out what I will use for for the sump..........a 60 gallon or a 20. Both will fit the bill just fine as both will provide adequate space for all bio, pump, socks, etc........both will "filter" the tank just fine, but with the larger option, it would provide more system flexibility once it's all said and done......but the 20 will allow me to not have to build a stand.....throw the tank on some cinder blocks and call it, and seeing as it's going to be a breeding setup in the garage, aesthetics is not an issue