Which sump

[ReefMagician]

Hey guys,

I have a 125g reef tank. Under it, I have a 55G tank. The issue I am having with it is that its just too big. Its far too tall, and it doesn't leave me much room for anything on the sides of it. I am also having a bit of mold problem on the inside of the tank.

I am looking for a new sump. I know petco is having a sale right now, so I was considering buying one from them or buying a premade sump. My existing sump (the 55g) I am still able to return to petco. I am considering either a 20L for my sump (which would give me about 18 inches of extra room, and is much smaller in terms of height), or going with a premade sump like this one:

http://www.marinedepot.com/Trigger_...-Trigger_Systems_LLC-6E81634-FIFRBSCU-vi.html


Any suggestions? The tank DIY sump will run me about 80 bucks with the glass and the tank itself. I just want as much room under my stand as possible.

 

[davocean]

Well it's not on your list but I'd go w/ a 40b if you can fit one, that's what I did on my 120g, plenty of sump and fuge room, if that will fit of course.
The Triggers are neat, if it's in your budget, I'd rather spend that money elsewhere myself.

 

[Ou8me2]

I'd go with a 40 breeder if it was me. I guess it all comes down to how much space you have under the DT also for a sump. 40 breeder is 36 inches long by 18 inches deep by 17 inches high.

 

[ReefMagician]

40g is too wide for my tank stand.

 

[ReefMagician]

Any other suggestions guys? I Agree a DIY option is ideal...

 

[Potatohead]

40 long (not breeder) is exactly the same footprint as your current sump but it is four inches shorter. A 30 long is the same footprint seven inches shorter. If you're trying to go narrower footprint a 20 long would work but it's getting pretty small for your tank.

If you want a prebuilt option, Eshopps R100 or maybe 200 would both work for you. Only 12" deep (front to back).

http://www.eshopps.com/products/filters/refugium/r100/

 

[newbie2014]

40 long (not breeder) is exactly the same footprint as your current sump but it is four inches shorter. A 30 long is the same footprint seven inches shorter. If you're trying to go narrower footprint a 20 long would work but it's getting pretty small for your tank.


http://www.anapsid.org/resources/tanksize.html

Those tanks are pretty hard to come by, unless you order them. But that also means full retail prices.

I always thought a 125G would be much deeper than a 40B, so using one for a sump would not pose a problem. I guess I was wrong.

 

[ReefMagician]

Petco is having a sale so i'd like to get something semi-standard.

 

[Potatohead]

A standard 20 is 24x13x17 but as stated it's getting pretty small for that tank

 

[ReefMagician]

A standard 20 is 24x13x17 but as stated it's getting pretty small for that tank

I actually like the R200 you linked to. It would give me 18 additional inches and its looks nice. Do you have one in your setup? Can you speak to the quality of it?

 

[ReefMagician]

I think I'll go with a 30G Aqueon. This would give me 1 foot of headroom for a shelf, and 12 foot more of working area. That is about 30% of my tank size so it should work fine.

 

[Potatohead]

I actually like the R200 you linked to. It would give me 18 additional inches and its looks nice. Do you have one in your setup? Can you speak to the quality of it?

I have the version without the refugium, the RS100. Build quality is very good, no complaints at all.

 

[ReefMagician]

29G sump with 8 inch baffles work for my size tank? My local store has them in stock. Dimensions are:

30.3" x 12.5" x 18.8"


I use 2x Eheim Jager 200W heaters. They are about 16 inches long. I was thinking of leaving a refugium that is 16 inches long or so in order to fit the heaters in there. this leaves me 14 inches for the return pump, and the skimmer. My skimmer is a 150SSS which is 7.3x9.5 I was thinking of leaving 8 inches for the skimmer compartment, and 6 inches for the return pump.

 

[Burtonboy182]

I say go 40 breeder. Have you looked at trigger system sumps for pre made or eshopps

 

[titus_4]

I ran into the same issue on my 6' 125 with a 40 breeder. Too wide to fit in my stand. I went with the 55. I have about 10" above the 55 to the bottom of the stand and 2' on one end for equipment. I used 3' of the 55 for a sump w/ fuge and the other 1' as my top off container. Apparently I must have a taller stand than you.

I looked at 40L but by the time you keep the baffles low enough for draining from DT, there wasn't much water volume in the sump.

 

[GimpyFin]

It's hard to beat the bare glass tanks at petco if you are looking to save some $$. I went for the bigger Eshopps R300 on mine. It takes up almost the whole area under the tank, but I really like it.

 

[ReefMagician]

I ended up going with a 29G and the DIY option. Things worked out fine with my 55G, it was just too big. I'll see what happens. Worse comes to worse, it can always return it.