Sump size?

[HammadBhatti96]

Hello fellow fish keepers
I am making a 130 Gallon tank dimensions are
Length 66 inch, height 24 inch, width 20 inch.
( I know the dimensions are odd but that's the space I have and I want a tank there)

And I plan on keeping 10-12 discus in there with a few other smaller fish

But my questions are
1. FILTRATION
I have a tank lying around ( length 36 inch. Height & width 12 inch) which I want to use as a sump

2. What size of sump would you guys recommend?

3. Should I go bare bottom or a thin layer of gravel ?

4. Can I plant amazon swords in plane gravel?

5. Would it hurt of the filter is not running for 22 hours a day (electricity problem where I live)

6. Thickness of glass ? Is 12mm OK?

7. In the sump I am planing to use pot scrubbie and lava rock. Other media is available but is very expensive

 

[Fish Tank Travis]

I'm going to give my best advice but others may chime in with better ideas.

1. This tank will probably work as the sump but I would try to go with a larger tank if you can.

2. I would recommend a minimum of a 29 gal sump, but bigger will be better. Heck, if you can make a 55 gal work, I would go with it.

3. Bare bottom vs. substrate really depends on the discus you are getting. If you are going to get juvies, anything under 4", then you definitely want to go with a bare bottom tank so you can keep it very clean. If you are getting adult discus that are at least 4", but preferably over 5", then gravel will be ok, as long as you keep it clean and keep up with water changes.

4. I believe Amazon swords can be planted in plain gravel, but they will require root tabs to supplement their nutrients because they are heavy roof feeders. They will also need enough light.

5. I hope I understand this wrong but if you're asking if it's ok for the filters to not be running for 22 hours almost every day, then absolutely this is NOT ok. If it happens once a month or every few months that the power goes out for nearly 22 hours during a day then that is probably ok. You will just want to have a backup plan for when it does so that you can try to keep some water flowing as best you can.

6. 12mm seems a little light to me but I will let others chime in because I don't have much experience.

7. Pot scrubbies and lava rock are very good and are used very often on here.

 

[HammadBhatti96]

I'm going to give my best advice but others may chime in with better ideas.

1. This tank will probably work as the sump but I would try to go with a larger tank if you can.

2. I would recommend a minimum of a 29 gal sump, but bigger will be better. Heck, if you can make a 55 gal work, I would go with it.

3. Bare bottom vs. substrate really depends on the discus you are getting. If you are going to get juvies, anything under 4", then you definitely want to go with a bare bottom tank so you can keep it very clean. If you are getting adult discus that are at least 4", but preferably over 5", then gravel will be ok, as long as you keep it clean and keep up with water changes.

4. I believe Amazon swords can be planted in plain gravel, but they will require root tabs to supplement their nutrients because they are heavy roof feeders. They will also need enough light.

5. I hope I understand this wrong but if you're asking if it's ok for the filters to not be running for 22 hours almost every day, then absolutely this is NOT ok. If it happens once a month or every few months that the power goes out for nearly 22 hours during a day then that is probably ok. You will just want to have a backup plan for when it does so that you can try to keep some water flowing as best you can.

6. 12mm seems a little light to me but I will let others chime in because I don't have much experience.

7. Pot scrubbies and lava rock are very good and are used very often on here.

Yes I am getting babies around 3-5 inches and I'll keep plants in pots for hiding places

5. The filter will run for 22 hours and be off for 2 hours daily (for 30 min 4 times a day)

 

[Fizzicks]

I don't think the power going off 4 times a day for 30 minutes each is a big deal. Just maybe time your feedings accordingly. Unless its in a uninsulated room with a huge temperature difference. But it would have to be pretty extreme.

 

[Fish Tank Travis]

I don't think it's a huge deal either, but only if it's a reliable 30 minutes four times a day. Just make sure your equipment is setup to handle the outages, and it's probably a good idea to use surge protectors (a good idea anyway).

I would say that you might be taking your chances with juvie discus though. They are extremely sensitive so it might stress them out quite a bit.

 

[jaws7777]

I used the same size sump on a 150 gal display tank. Just make sure you get your levels in the sump right. Too high ad during one of those power outages ciuld flood the sump from backflow

 

[markstrimaran]

12mm, 3/8" glass is on the thin side.

 

[dan518]

Most tanks in the UK and Europe use 10mm glass for a 24 inch high tank with euro bracing, for a diy tank 12 mm seems fine with full bracing

 

[markstrimaran]

Are they tempured. I had some 22" tall glass, about 5/16" thick, until I tried to cut it. Boom. Tinkle tinkle
10mm is .399" =3/8" 12mm .49" = 1/2"
Oops my metric converter was off.

 

[HammadBhatti96]

I don't think it's a huge deal either, but only if it's a reliable 30 minutes four times a day. Just make sure your equipment is setup to handle the outages, and it's probably a good idea to use surge protectors (a good idea anyway).

I would say that you might be taking your chances with juvie discus though. They are extremely sensitive so it might stress them out quite a bit.

So I should get bigger ones?