thinking of building a sump!!

[thezar77]

I have a 75 gallon FOWLR i was thinking a 20 gallon probably 20 gallon high. does anyone have experoence in this for a blueprint. ive seen some onlne but id rather it come from you guys with experience.i will be putting in a skimmer and not sure if i need a refugium .Thanks guys .looking forward to all the ideas.

 

[LatinP]

If you're going for a 20 gallon go 20 long, that way you have plenty of room.

 

[thezar77]

If you're going for a 20 gallon go 20 long, that way you have plenty of room.

ok thanks for the advice!!!
i am a little worried i will mess this up

 

[Nandez13]

If you're going for a 20 gallon go 20 long, that way you have plenty of room.

Agreed.

Also look into the recommended water level for your protein skimmer. Most people set it on a pvc stand to get it at that water level. If your sump is too high then you'll have to raise your protein skimmer even more which you may not be able to do if your stand doesn't have room for it.

A typical layout (even though there's many ways to do it) is to have the skimmer first, bubble trap, refugium then return compartment. Size the skimmer and return compartments according to your equipment size and the rest of it becomes your refugium. I'd go with a 30 long if you have room for it in your stand so you can have a bigger refugium.

 

[thezar77]

Agreed.

Also look into the recommended water level for your protein skimmer. Most people set it on a pvc stand to get it at that water level. If your sump is too high then you'll have to raise your protein skimmer even more which you may not be able to do if your stand doesn't have room for it.

A typical layout (even though there's many ways to do it) is to have the skimmer first, bubble trap, refugium then return compartment. Size the skimmer and return compartments according to your equipment size and the rest of it becomes your refugium. I'd go with a 30 long if you have room for it in your stand so you can have a bigger refugium.

Im worried about it fitting. my tank is already set up and running i just need a bigger sump its a used acrylic one that is small.

 

[Will]

My advice is ...Get the biggest sump you can fit under there. I've had quite a few and the bigger the better. My present tank is 36" long and yrs ago built a really nice 20 gal long sump only to find it didn't fit in my stand ... So I wound up with a 20 gal high which works but not enuf room for a refugium and my euroreef skimmer. I decided to get a cone skimmer which takes up very little room.