Size of sump

[rohnds]

For given size tank, what size should sump would be best?

Even a more precise question is what is the amount of water in the sump for any size tank.

For example, I have 70gal tank. My sump is 20gal tank. It is divided into 2 by plexi glass. On one half, I have the wet/dry trickle filter and on the other half I have 1200GPH pump. When the tank and filter is functioning properly, the water level in the sump is about half. That mean there about 5gal of water on one side and another 5 on the other. Is this sufficient? Is there a specific rule to determine the amount of the water in your sump for any given tank size.

Rohn

 

[OCCFan023]

NO real minimun sump for any tank really goes by the design and how ever big of a sump you can manage. 10 gallons isnt bad (its 10 extra gallons you didnt have before) As long as you can fit all the equipment and such you want and it fits under your tank its a functional sump

 

[RockingCricket]

Well said.*thumbsups

 

[wayne]

The bigger the better, and the more the merrier i.m.o. 20 gallons isn't bad tho, though I don't like wet drys, bioballs et al.
The main thing I would examins is that if you get a powercut your overflow will run dry pretty quickly. However the return from the sump will turn into a slow syphon as water goes UP the return piping and back down thro' the non functioning pump. This will , of course flood the floor in due course, and drain the display. Very annoying. To stop this you drill a hole in the retun piping just below the water level in the main display so when this happens the water drops just a little before air gets in and breaks the syphon. But you still need to calculate if there is enough space in the sump to hold all the water that goes down BEFORE the syphon is broken. A tip - drill a few of these holes - they are prone to choking with ppt'ing salt crystals.

 

[FishGeek]

I have a 29G sump for my 60. Im with wayne, I dont like any of that stuff. I have my sump divided into 4 sections: starting from the right, which is where the water enters the sump, is my smallest section. It contains about 8-10 lbs of live rock. My second section holds my skimmer. The third section is my largest and it contains a 1-2 inch layer of Miracle Mud and a .5-1 inch of live sand, some seaweed and my heater. The last section holds my return pump. And the water goes through a water curent director to get into the tank. My tank is doing really well and I have had few problems.

I wish you luck with your tank.