What to do for a sump for a 120Gal?

[xxnonamexx]

I am working on setting up my 120gal. I am looking for a sump and possible ways of going about. The 120 is predrilled. I heard a 30gal will be sufficient. I have a reef devil compact skimmer I would like to place inside the sump. Any sumps that I should be looking into premade? Thanks

 

[scarf_ace1981]

nah! just get a 30g and have moidol or some other member cut the baffles for you.

there is a sump thread maybe you can get a couple ideas from it. oh and Keep It Simple! it doesn't have to have 10 compartments and 30 baffles

 

[marrone]

I'm currently making a 30 sump for my tank. All you need to do is get a 30gal tank, 4 pieces of glass and 1 tube of Silicone, without the mildew agent in it.

Depending on the cost of the tank it shouldn't cost more than $50-$75 for the whole thing.

Used 30gal - $20
4 Piece of Glass - $28
1 Tube of Silicone - $5
Total - $53

 

[herman]

Plan how you will be placing all of your equipment first. (Including future upgrades) then arrange under stand. See how much space you have left nd get the largest size possible. Dont forget the bubble traps etc etc

 

[charile1]

Marrone, how high are you going to make you baffles? I need to build one as well.

 

[MO~IDOL]

be sure to have enough room for water draw back from display tank

 

[MightyMike]

be sure to have enough room for water draw back from display tank

I've heard this before and I'm not totally sure how those building sumps for 120 gal tanks (myself included) ought to go about calculating correct gallons for this? Should it just be all your plumbing in the event of an outage or something where it coudl all drain into the sump?

 

[MO~IDOL]

it depend how deep you place the return, but than again you can drill hold near the water surface it to loose the sihpon

 

[Psycho graphic]

You have to measure the volume of water with the tank filled to the level it will drop if the power is removed. If the overflow is one inch below the normal water level you need to calculate that volume of water which I believe is 1"x width of the tank x length of the tank. This applies to the drains also. Add a gallon or two for what water is in your plumbing lines also. It is somewhat hard to figure out without actually seeing the tank for me.

 

[xxnonamexx]

Thanks for the info. Marrone can I see a photo when you complete it I am very interested. I was planning on having a Compact Reef Devil skimmer in the sump and Mags for the skimmer and return. Also to avoid having the water overflowing in case of power outage I planned on putting a check valve in the plumbing.

 

[drunktank]

Skip the check valve, do not rely on them. They will eventually fail and you will have a flood. It is better to calculate how much water is going to sphyon down into ur sump, usually a gallon or 2. My suggestion is to get an old 40 or 50 gallon long and keep the water at half level on the tank. Your sump IS NOT about water volume. Sumps are really used to just old your equipment. So plan out what your going to get in terms of skimmers, pumps, heaters and if u do, a refugium. And space them out accordingly w/ baffles.

Thanks for the info. Marrone can I see a photo when you complete it I am very interested. I was planning on having a Compact Reef Devil skimmer in the sump and Mags for the skimmer and return. Also to avoid having the water overflowing in case of power outage I planned on putting a check valve in the plumbing.

 

[marrone]

Marrone, how high are you going to make you baffles? I need to build one as well.

I'm currently going to have them 11" high. Some people have them lower, around 8". A lot depends on what skimmer you're going to place in the sump as the water level could cause the skimmer to not work correctly or you may have to lift it or get a gate valve as the stand mayn't let you lift it that much.

This is a problem that I have with my current sump, which is a 29gal tank with 14" baffles. The skimmer was sitting to deep in the water and because the stand was only so high I couldn't raise it high enough to get the skimmer working probably. I had to add on the gate valve to get it working correctly.


This is the sump when I first set it up. I later put something under the skimmer, to raise it, and then the gate valve. You can also see even with the high baffles, 14", there still is enough room to handle any back flow from the main tank. I also made the return area large so I don't have to add top-off water everyday.

 

[Tonyscoots84]

check valves after a while will usually fail within time ... anyways if i were u i would ask some of the great people here to post some pics of ther sumps so u can get an idea of exactly what u wanna do with yours :biggrin:...

 

[marrone]

Thanks for the info. Marrone can I see a photo when you complete it I am very interested. I was planning on having a Compact Reef Devil skimmer in the sump and Mags for the skimmer and return. Also to avoid having the water overflowing in case of power outage I planned on putting a check valve in the plumbing.

I'll probably finish is either tonight or tomorrow and then I'll post a picture. Here is a picture of my old sump just after I built it. Because I got the Euro-Reef after I got the glass baffles I had to change the sump around somewhat. To fit the Euro-Reef in, which takes up about 10", I had to cut down the refug. I left the return area large so I don't have to worry about top-offs everyday.

 

[Psycho graphic]

check valves after a while will usually fail within time ... anyways if i were u i would ask some of the great people here to post some pics of ther sumps so u can get an idea of exactly what u wanna do with yours :biggrin:...

One I built for KathyC, nice and simple.

Here's mine, I would not suggest one this complex for your first build.

I to, agree with not using a check valve, they restrict flow and eventually will not seal due to slime and calcium build-up.

 

[ShaunW]

WOW, nice sump! I have thirty gallon sump on my 120 gallon, but it is designed terrible. Psycho graphic what is the skimmer you have there? It looks like a Berlin but with alot of changes.

 

[Psycho graphic]

WOW, nice sump! I have thirty gallon sump on my 120 gallon, but it is designed terrible. Psycho graphic what is the skimmer you have there? It looks like a Berlin but with alot of changes.

It is a Berlin, I am doing a venturi mod on it. I redid the outputs on it to accomodate my sump. In the past I've always run CC airdriven skimmers. I'm still learning about modern skimmers, I just got back into the hobby after a 20 yr layoff, back then if you HAD a skimmer, you where hotstuff!

 

[Alex]

Psycho graphic you have any other piocs of that sump?

 

[Psycho graphic]

http://www.manhattanreefs.com/forum/diy-do-yourself/18123-my-new-fuge.html

 

[Deanos]

You have to measure the volume of water with the tank filled to the level it will drop if the power is removed. If the overflow is one inch below the normal water level you need to calculate that volume of water which I believe is 1"x width of the tank x length of the tank.

Sump Volume Calculator *

* Please note, this calculator only determines how many gallons will drain from the tank in the event of power loss.