how to pick sump size?

C

cichlid_guy

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Nov 27, 2002
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ok, how do i decide what size sump i want. the tank is a 150 gal tall.
48L x 31H x 24W

i am going to have two 1.25" stand pipes and i want to flow about 1000gph.

what size sump do i need?
i'm sure a 30gal is two small.
i plan to build it but need a size.

scottie
 
how to pick a sump size?

You make it up- really.

I'm new to SW but as I understand it the size is whatever you can accomodate. I have seen 150g tanks with 30g sumps, and 30g tanks with 150g sumps.
Most folks are limited to whatever size sump/container will fit under the display tank while others have their "mechanical room" in a remote location.

Have you any limits as to size?
Are you planning to incorporate a refugium in the sump?
Does there need to be room for an in sump skimmer or will it be external?
If the skimmer is in sump what is its footprint?

Things to think about...

Edit: I see this is in a FW forum so now I am confused.
Is this for marine or freshwater?
If freshwater then skip the skimmer questions, but all else should apply.
 
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well, i haven't decided on what will go in it. i have the chance to get all plexi i need for tank and sump for free. so i'm going to build it and ether store it till later or decide after built.

scottie
 
My primary requirement for sumps is that they have sufficient footprint to absorb all the power-off draindown of the displaywith a wide margin of safety for flood avoidance.

The next requirements would all be dependent on the intended use of the sump - housing a W/D tower, serving as a refugium, housing probes and heaters, serving as a veggie filter, etc. - or any combination of those.
 
I did my computation in a backasswards way, but it worked.

We know that gallons = width x height x depth divided by 231, right?

So I figured how much water my display tank held per each inch of height- 48" long, 18" deep, and 1 inch of height (divided by 231) = 3.7g.
So I need 3.7 gallons of space in my sump per inch of water drained out of the display.

My sump per inch is 48" long x 12" deep x 1 inch of depth (divided by 231) = 2.49 gallons per inch of water.
So for every 1 inch of water that drains out of the display when the power goes off I need 1.48 inches of room in my sump.

Now- how much water will drain when you shut off the power?
That depends on the height of your overflow, where you put your siphon break, and maybe other things- I don't know. I figured 2 inches to be on the safe side, so I need room in my sump for an extra 7.4g when the power goes off.
Knowing that each inch in my sump represents 2.49g, and I need room for 7.4g, I divided 7.4 by 2.49 and knew I needed an extra 3 inches of room in my sump. I find that I have lots of room to spare.

Told you I did it in a convoluted way.
There might be a chart for this somewhere, but this is how I did it.

Edit: to clarify
 
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