10g sump big enough for 55g?

[tsmom]

I am wanting to start putting together a sump for my 55 gallon FOWLR tank. I have a spare 10g tank. Would that be a big enough sump for my 55g? If so, what do I need and how do I go about doing this? I'm also reading through a lot of the threads here and the links provided in the DIY thread, but would love some tips, info and experiences from people. I'm a very hands-on learner and sometimes reading through threads doesn't give me the "picture" I need in my head to pull something off myself. I really do appreciate all the help that I get here. Over on the newbie board, this community is helping me save my tank!

[nekomi]

The 10gal could work, but I would personally go with a larger sump.

I have a 37gal Oceanic cube, and I went with a 10gal sump because it was the only tank that fit into the stand. I find myself constantly wishing for more room in the sump! :) Besides the lack of places for equipment, etc., the microbubbles caused by the high flow through the sump is a major problem.

I know you're doing FOWLR for now, but if you ever decide to upgrade to a reef, you'll really wish you had gone with a larger sump. Besides, even in a FOWLR system, a refugium would be a great help - there's hardly room for a fuge in a 10gal sump. I planned for a fuge in my own sump, but ended up having to buy a CPR AquaFuge (hang-on-back) anyway.

Good luck with whatever you choose... :) I would go with the largest sump that your stand (and your wallet!) can accomodate.

[thatguy]

It will work but you need to make sure your return pump isn't too powerful. Once you have all the equipment in and account for pump failure/power outage, you will only be able to keep about 6 gallons in the tank. You will want a return pump that only has 100gph after head/friction loss. Even that is 17x turnover in the sump.

Depending on your stand the 10 might be the only thing that fits under there unless you go custom.

A 'Model 1' (cant't think of who makes it) will fit, but that is about $150-$200 around these parts.


Just my opinion and experience.

[tsmom]

Thanks for the advice so far. I think I'll keep my eyes open for a good deal on a bigger tank for the sump. The main reason I asked about the 10g is I already have one.

I've been reading through some of the stuff on the DIY page and am still a bit unclear about how to set up a sump. Could someone who has done a DIY sump please explain what I need, what I need to do, etc? I would greatly appreciate it!

Thanks again!

[GreyHawk1968]

I use a 20G long on my 75. It works out good. Plenty of room for skimmer , pump, heater , inlet sock, and it's shallow enough so 24 to 48 watts of light do a good job.

[nekomi]

I've been reading through some of the stuff on the DIY page and am still a bit unclear about how to set up a sump. Could someone who has done a DIY sump please explain what I need, what I need to do, etc? I would greatly appreciate it!

No problem. :) First of all, here's a couple great links to get you started, familiar with the terminology, etc.:

http://www.melevsreef.com/allmysumps.html
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-01/gt/index.htm
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-04/gt/index.htm
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-07/gt/index.htm

These links helped me greatly when I first started building my sump last year.

Anyway, to build my sump, I used a standard AGA 10gal tank, then went out to Home Depot and bought some acrylic sheets. I cut them to size and siliconed them to the 10gal tank to create baffles (also known as bubble traps). That's pretty much all there is to it! A tank, some acrylic, an acrylic cutter, and a tube of silicone. :D

Of course, the design needs careful consideration. I did tons of research before building my sump, but I still made some mistakes:

a) I used 1/8" acrylic for the baffles. If I were building it again, I would use 1/4" acrylic. The 1/8" is too thin and "bows out" from the water pressure. I think it will probably eventually break. :(

b) I made my return section too small. (The return section is where you will house your return pump, piping water from the sump back into the main display. It is helpful to have it in its own section so that snails, macroalgae, etc. will not clog the pump, and also to reduce bubbles.) Anyway, looking back, I would have made the return section much larger, and made the drain areas smaller. This is because with a sump, all the evaporation for your tank occurs in the return section - therefore, the pump is in danger of running dry if you don't top it off often.

c) I used a pump that was too powerful. The pump is pushing so much water that it's creating a microbubble issue in my display, and my skimmer's efficiency is also reduced. Try to use the least powerful pump that you can to pump water back to the display, then use a closed loop (research these) to "pick up the slack" in the tank's flow.

Here's a couple pics of my sump. It was originally based off of the Model F Sump found at Melev's Reef (http://www.melevsreef.com/acrylics/sumps/f/sump_f.html), although it's changed drastically since then.

The first pics show when I was building it, and the other pic was taken today and shows it running (stuffed chock full of equipment too!
:eek2: )

http://www.winds.org/nekomi/setup2.jpg
^ (Just a note regarding this image - the refugium was eventually ditched because the flow rate was too high to allow for pods and other microorganisms. Instead, I used the refugium zone as a skimmer zone. I bought a CPR HOB refugium instead and hung it on my sump.)
http://www.winds.org/nekomi/sump5.jpg
http://www.winds.org/nekomi/sump_running.jpg

Sumps can look complicated at first, but in time you'll get it all figured out. Research and learn as much as you can, but be prepared to make a few mistakes before you really get the hang of it. If I had the room under my stand, I would definitely be building a newer, better sump. Heck, I've contemplated upgrading my system to a bigger tank just to get a shot at it! :D

Good luck! Feel free to PM me if you need more info, although I am by no means a sump expert! ;)

[tsmom]

WOW!! Thank you so much for the information and pictures!! I know I can handle it now! Now I just have to find a bigger tank.

[aeroaustin]

Petsmart selling 21 dollars for 20 long gallon tank, that what I heard from my friend who just told me. If you have petsmart card that will be cost 21 dollar for this tank. I am check it out when work is finish.

I am going to make sump for my 37 gallon.

[nekomi]

WOW!! Thank you so much for the information and pictures!! I know I can handle it now! Now I just have to find a bigger tank.

No problem. :D

[tsmom]

I guess I'll be making a trip to Petsmart tomorrow! Thanks for the info! I don't always catch those kinds of deals!

[drinkhomebrew]

Is that a Quiet One pump? I just bought one of those. How is it? I have yet to get water in my tank.