Adding a sump for temp control. Any ideas on size?

[Machupicchu]

Im adding a 10 gallon sumo to my 12 gal nano in hopes of controlling the temperature better. Im sick of all of the swings, my corals hate me. :hmm2:

Im planing on having a section for refugium and skimmer/return.
Is 10 more gal going to give me enough water to better contol the temp or should i go for a 20? thanks

Also any ideas on temp control are appreciated, its a 12 gal jbj upstairs in a loft. I have a fan on it most of the day but it either is not enough to cool it or it cools it too well on colder days. Im not home all day to check on it so i need something more stable.

 

[cody6766]

Get the largest tank that will fit your stand and your wallet. If you can get a 20g in there, do it. A 10 will do the trick though. I ran a 10g on my 33g cube for a year and a half. I'm running a 20g on my 40br and can't say there's a difference. More water = better stability though. The 10g tank was a little cramped for space too. The skimmer, fuge, and return took up almost all the realestate in the sump. I have more room in my 20g, but bigger is always better.

as for temp control, I'm not a firm believer in controllers. I'd get a reefkeeper lite and a fan from walmart and set it up. The RKL will turn your heater on below a certain temp and a fan on above. You set the points based on your needs. I have my heater come on below 79* and my fan comes on above 81*
For $100 it can't be beat

 

[Machupicchu]

thats awesome i have never heard of the reef keeper before but that sound like exactly what i need. i think im goint to try to fit a 20 under there, but we'll see. thanks for the advice though i need one of those today! haha. so what im wondering then is should i get a larger heater and set my fan to high? as it would be more responsive?

 

[MPevine11]

how do you plan to get the water into the sump and then back into the tank?

 

[Machupicchu]

a siphon overflow, unless theres a better way i might not know about?

 

[MPevine11]

im just wondering because i want to add one also. please let me know if you find a small overflow

 

[sbaddley]

Have you thought about a chiller? Mine keeps the temperature to +/- 1*.

 

[MPevine11]

Have you thought about a chiller? Mine keeps the temperature to +/- 1*.

buyt with a chiller it will heat the room as it cools the tank.....