I am in the middle of setting up my first saltwater tank. My tank will be 72 x 24 x 24 (180 gallon) I feel i have done a lot of research but still cant find what i am looking for. I know everyone tells you to put as big a sump in as possible, but inside my stand i only made it 27 inch tall because it is going right next to my couch in my living room i want to be able to look in the tank when i am sitting next to it and i also wanted to make maintenance ez on me, as i have a freshwater tank that is 28 tall on a stand that is 28 tall and this makes water changes harder unless you use a stool witch i do not like to do. When you factor in the bracing i used i am left with a space 60 x 21 x 26 and. My Question is will a sump 48 x 18 x 18 be big enough i want to put a refugium, skimmer and all equipment in there as well or should i remake to stand bigger so i can fit a bigger sump? Just thinking i should have made the stand 24 wide on the inside and also is this to short for a stand? I am trying to do this right and take my time and advice would be greatly appreciated.
ok i searched and still would like to know how to choose a sump.
- Thread starter Tj203
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sde1500
Active member
You could probably get away with one that size. The overall biggest concern, in my opinion, is not about being able to fit all the stuff in it, but fit all the water. Need to know how much extra space above water the sump has, so that when the return pump turns off, it can handle the water siphoned back from the display tank. I would have done a taller stand myself, skimmers can be tall, and it might prove a challenge to have it fit and be able to easily remove the cup for cleaning.
I have a stand than was made at that exact height and made the mistake of getting a sump that's 22" high... imagine my discomfort.
I had put the skimmer in the sump before putting it under the stand and then backed the tank up on the wall and filled.
Only to be left with the issue of skimmer being submerged too deep into water and being unable to raise it due to the height of the stand.
Now the original skimmer in still sitting in my sump as I'm unable to take it out without draining the whole tank and moving it and I've resorted to an external filter (which actually does work great)
My advice.
Get a sump that is not very tall or get a higher stand
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I had put the skimmer in the sump before putting it under the stand and then backed the tank up on the wall and filled.
Only to be left with the issue of skimmer being submerged too deep into water and being unable to raise it due to the height of the stand.
Now the original skimmer in still sitting in my sump as I'm unable to take it out without draining the whole tank and moving it and I've resorted to an external filter (which actually does work great)
My advice.
Get a sump that is not very tall or get a higher stand
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ryeguyy84
New member
I think you can get away with that as well. first do you know what skimmer you'll be using? then you need to figure out the water level that the skimmer needs to be in.
lets say you go with the Reef octopus Regal 200INT it's 23.5 inches tall and you need about an inch and a half to remove the collection cup so that leave you with an inch between the top of the stand and the top of the skimmer. not much room to raise it up. that skimmer needs a 7 - 8.5" sump level. so if you do a 4 chamber sump have your return area a little higher say 12 inches, then a fuge section maybe at the same level 12 inches, then skimmer at 8 inches and then your return section slightly lower that would leave you with about 25 or so gallons able to flow back from the display when you turn off the pump.
lets say you go with the Reef octopus Regal 200INT it's 23.5 inches tall and you need about an inch and a half to remove the collection cup so that leave you with an inch between the top of the stand and the top of the skimmer. not much room to raise it up. that skimmer needs a 7 - 8.5" sump level. so if you do a 4 chamber sump have your return area a little higher say 12 inches, then a fuge section maybe at the same level 12 inches, then skimmer at 8 inches and then your return section slightly lower that would leave you with about 25 or so gallons able to flow back from the display when you turn off the pump.
Suggest if you don't have a floor drain you consider an in-sump skimmer. Some brands spit, and any brand can overflow.
You DO need overhead room to free the collection cup. Suggest you do some measuring (including the floor of the sump and the height you need to jack up the skimmer inside the sump, and look at various brands to know what kind of sump you can fit into your stand. If you're in the basement, however, you can do pretty well anything.
You DO need overhead room to free the collection cup. Suggest you do some measuring (including the floor of the sump and the height you need to jack up the skimmer inside the sump, and look at various brands to know what kind of sump you can fit into your stand. If you're in the basement, however, you can do pretty well anything.
Thank you for all your responses it was a very good suggestion to pick out my skimmer already and completely new to saltwater I've had freshwater there's 10 plus years I have a hundred and sixty five gallon cichlid tank a 29 gallon guppy breeding tank so I understand the basics and I have read for about the last 3 months before I decided to purchase the tank. Does anybody suggest a very good skimmer I know I want one that has the separate pump and air line and I know I wanted to be adjustable also when I'm looking for the skimmer do you take into consideration the sump volume I know you want to get one bigger than you need it. My budget is around 400. I will spend more if it's worth it
http://www.marinedepot.com/Reef_Oct...sEhecLFpRV5zO8_fPuXbAcFKWNC0OdA1c4aAm7_8P8HAQ
OK this is the one I'm going to go with
OK this is the one I'm going to go with
crawlerman
Member
Don't just go by the skimmer fitting, remember you have to take the collection cup off and get it out of there without spilling the nasty sludge.
I honestly feel like external skimmer is your best option. Having to have to deal with the same size stand as you, I know it's not going to be convenient to have any large skimmer in there.
Also the external skimmers (if you have the space) give you the peace of mind knowing you can clean it so much more easily that any In-Sump skimmer
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Also the external skimmers (if you have the space) give you the peace of mind knowing you can clean it so much more easily that any In-Sump skimmer
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powderblue1
New member
Your main issue will be skimmer footprint. You could probably get away with 2 SCA 303s. I use them in my 40 breeder sump for my 120. You will end up with about 50 gallons of water for your sump once all is said and done with the walls and room for power outages. since your tank probably will only hold 140-150 gallons of actual water, you are looking at a good ratio of about 1:3. Getting a custom acrylic sump to maximize your space might be in order, but they are expensive.
As far as water changes, I have learned over 30+ years of this that water changes are the ESSENTIAL. Setting up a system where you can store 40 or 50 gallons of saltwater in the basement (if you have one) that can be pumped up through a 1/2" hole in the floor via PVC and a good mag 12 or 18 pump, makes things easy. Just siphon out the old water from the sump straight into the nearest drain and add the new water into it via a flip of a switch attached to the pump in the large plastic garbage can in the basement. Add a power-head for the water mixed and heater to the garbage can and you are set.
Now, after reading this, if you think it is doable, then you can rest assured that your sump will be sufficient because small (25-30 gallon) weekly water changes will not be a hassle at all. Yes, you need to buy the BIG BOX of salt (200-gallon mix), but you will not have to worry about maintenance as much (sump size, protein skimmer size, phosphate reactors etc.) Water changes are king. Just make sure you have a Great RODI system to make your freshwater with and you are golden! You could probably get away with one of those cone skimmers now too
PEACE OUT FELLOW REEFER!:wavehand:
As far as water changes, I have learned over 30+ years of this that water changes are the ESSENTIAL. Setting up a system where you can store 40 or 50 gallons of saltwater in the basement (if you have one) that can be pumped up through a 1/2" hole in the floor via PVC and a good mag 12 or 18 pump, makes things easy. Just siphon out the old water from the sump straight into the nearest drain and add the new water into it via a flip of a switch attached to the pump in the large plastic garbage can in the basement. Add a power-head for the water mixed and heater to the garbage can and you are set.
Now, after reading this, if you think it is doable, then you can rest assured that your sump will be sufficient because small (25-30 gallon) weekly water changes will not be a hassle at all. Yes, you need to buy the BIG BOX of salt (200-gallon mix), but you will not have to worry about maintenance as much (sump size, protein skimmer size, phosphate reactors etc.) Water changes are king. Just make sure you have a Great RODI system to make your freshwater with and you are golden! You could probably get away with one of those cone skimmers now too
PEACE OUT FELLOW REEFER!:wavehand:
Thank you for all your great responses I finally chose an 80 gallon frag tank because I could get it offline extremely cheap comes with live rock and sand already that I could care and have for my tank and as far as the options for the skimmer is thank you very much to external skimmer I also decided to make my tank 84 inches long instead of 72 so that should give me a little extra space on there too it's going to be 48 by 24 by 18 I'll make my own baffles looks like the best way to get something that will fit my needs the more I see it's almost some things are per your tank and not really fit for everybody that being said I'm happy I found this for site you guys answer so quickly!!!!��
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