Sump size

[krazykrakr2186]

what is the best way to determine what size sump to run with a tank.
I am in the process of researching my next tank build. I am going to be doing a 200 or 240 gal.

[allan]

I would recommend a sump that is twice as large as your display tank. Since this is not always possible I would suggest the largest sump that you can possible fit under your stand while still able to get in there for maintenance.

[CoryDude]

+1 on allan's recommendation. I've always heard the 1/4 to 1/3 rule in sizing sumps and that's always worked for me. I used a 30 gallon sump on my 120 to satisfy the 1/4 rule.

Also, if you're going with a sump with different compartments, then make sure you get the footprint sizes on your equipment to ensure they will fit also. That's the mistake I made on my current sump. The skimmer barely fits in it's compartment. Wish I would have allowed for more room for it.

[ramsey]

I think it really depends on what you're going to run in the sump. For example, if you're going to have a refugium, skimmer, reactors, internal pump, etc. you're probably going to need a large sump. If you're not going to have a ton of gear and a fuge, you can get by with a smaller sump. Make sure it's not so small that it can't hold all the water that overflows when you shut your return pump off. With that said though, extra sump space is nice to have.

[krazykrakr2186]

10-4 so pretty much cram the largest sump under my stand within reason. i can handle that. I know i want to have a refugium built in and also room for the skimmer, pump and heater...
I dont really know much about the different reactors yet so ill have to figure out if i'm going to need room for those as well.

Thanks for the insight everyone

[alton]

A perfect sump shall have;
1. Skimmer Section
2. Sand Refugium Section(add a power head to this section)
3. Chaeto Section
4. Filtration Section either filter socks, Bio Balls with filter pad to keep them clean, or what ever.
5. A Section to hold enough water for 2-3 days with out topping off for your return.

[Mr Cob]

Alton....I like your list.

What's the purpose of the powerhead in #2? I thought about it for a minute but did not come to any conclusions. lol And, any reasons you wouldn't combine #2 and #3?

Just curious because I've been thinking about our sump design for our 220g that we are working on.

Also....I love #5 because when an auto top-off is not being used or if it fails, it's so annoying to have to top-off every day. I'm doing that right now. People so frequently cut the last section (return pump section) short.

[CoryDude]

Rob, I had my sump setup like you suggested with the cheato and sand sections combined. I had a maxi 1200 just to keep the cheato tumbling and the sand clean. Without it, detritus kept settling on top of the sand.

[Big_Pun]

it's up to you, I ran my last sump as a bare bottom with cheato floating around I would just siphon up crud from bottom every water change. now that I'm using bio pellets, I have some live rock, skimmer, heater, pellet reactor and pumps. another thing is make sure your skimmer area is a static area so there is no water level fluctuation.

[Mr Cob]

Rob, I had my sump setup like you suggested with the cheato and sand sections combined. I had a maxi 1200 just to keep the cheato tumbling and the sand clean. Without it, detritus kept settling on top of the sand.

duh...detritus! Thx Cory. I have that problem now....

[alton]

Alton....I like your list.

What's the purpose of the powerhead in #2? I thought about it for a minute but did not come to any conclusions. lol And, any reasons you wouldn't combine #2 and #3?

Just curious because I've been thinking about our sump design for our 220g that we are working on.

Also....I love #5 because when an auto top-off is not being used or if it fails, it's so annoying to have to top-off every day. I'm doing that right now. People so frequently cut the last section (return pump section) short.

I got the idea at LMAR. One of the speakers whose name I can not remember spoke on sand only fuges.

[krazykrakr2186]

Awesome that list is perfect. and being able to not have to worry about topping off the sump everyday would be great (ive got that problem now as well).