biggest sump under 55

[Riderc82]

hello, I know this may sound like a goofy question, when there are pages on the internet that give aquarium sizes but does anyone know what the biggest sump you can fit under a standard 55 gallon aquarium is without removing the center support and supporting the aquarium while you put a sump under there?  I know a ten gallon would fit but I want the biggest one I can.  Thanks in advance

[scott wilson]

how large is the opening in your stand doors?

[REDPYRO]

i think i have seen someone get a 20 long or maybe 30 long in there.  depends on brand of stand i think

you can get a 40 under if you remove brace and reinsert after

[Riderc82]

The door opening is only 16 inches (side to side), I wish I would have put one in before I set the 55 on the stand.  assuming I was to slide something straight in I would have 12.5 inches top to bottom and only 12.5 inches wide for the aquarium to sit on. My brain doesn't process angles well but it seems as if I could wedge it in there a fifteen high may work  (20 1/4 x 10 1/2 x 18 3/4) once inside the door there is 25 inches between the very base of the stand and the bottom of my 55.  I hope this makes since.

 

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[REDPYRO]

hmmm...i made my 55 stand and had a much larger opening.  your going to have some serious issues with that center brace and any sump.

good luck

[scott wilson]

how much is in the tank? I would remove the rock and fins move the tank drop in the sump and put everything back in.  The other thing you can do is a split sump connected with bulkheads and plumbing.  Two smaller tanks plumbed in parallel.

[Riderc82]

I agree it's not going to be fun, I think I may be going to walmart and looking and the rubbermaid section    but it seems better than tearing down my tank it's been running for six months now with 0 problems so I would hate to do that.  I was just going to grow so macro algae and put my heater down there so I don't even know if it worth all the hassle.  After getting all the measurements it doesn't look like I'm going to be able to cram more than a ten gallon under there.  The parallel thing can't be counted out yet I just don't know that much about them, so I'll have to do some research.  On the other hand the fiance said I could get a 90 gallon.  This hobby is way to addicting.

[verper]

Just go for the 90 or even better, a 120!

[scott wilson]

If you are stick with a 4' long footprint you can go for a 2' x 4' 120 you will be pleased over the 90 the extra depth front to back it well worth it. 

[themissinglynk]

I am playing with a crazy idea...  maybe you'll get inspired by this.

I have the same problem.  Basically, I only have 10.5" of depth between the front brace and back brace on my stand.  This means that even a standard 10g won't fit under there. (could get it in through the doors, but won't sit flat inside).

So, I am thinking of making a "pieced-together" sump.  One center tank (home-made with plexi/acrylic), with two side-tanks.  The side-tanks will have an "overflow" specifically designed to dump into the center one.  Center one will have a place to accept the overflow, and baffles to rid the bubbles.

If I custom-make the 3 pieces, I can design them to fit "perfectly" under my 55, and take up the most space.  Putting in 3 pieces means I don't need to worry as much about the door opening size either.

So, left "tank":  skimmer box with overflow to middle.

Right "tank":  refugium with overflow to middle.

Center "tank":  side-baffles to handle bubbles, all overflowing to middle, where the return pump sends flow back to tank.

It may not be the ideal situation, but I think it is MY best chances of getting the most volume out of my setup.

Anyone got any crazy thoughts on this?

[Secondgen]

You could go in and brace up your current stand with 1x4's or 2x4's, and then cut the center support out with no danger of weakening the stand.

[Joel]

I am playing with a crazy idea...  maybe you'll get inspired by this.

I have the same problem.  Basically, I only have 10.5" of depth between the front brace and back brace on my stand.  This means that even a standard 10g won't fit under there. (could get it in through the doors, but won't sit flat inside).

So, I am thinking of making a "pieced-together" sump.  One center tank (home-made with plexi/acrylic), with two side-tanks.  The side-tanks will have an "overflow" specifically designed to dump into the center one.  Center one will have a place to accept the overflow, and baffles to rid the bubbles.

If I custom-make the 3 pieces, I can design them to fit "perfectly" under my 55, and take up the most space.  Putting in 3 pieces means I don't need to worry as much about the door opening size either.

So, left "tank":  skimmer box with overflow to middle.

Right "tank":  refugium with overflow to middle.

Center "tank":  side-baffles to handle bubbles, all overflowing to middle, where the return pump sends flow back to tank.

It may not be the ideal situation, but I think it is MY best chances of getting the most volume out of my setup.

Anyone got any crazy thoughts on this?

I have & have had in the past, a few set ups with 2 or more sumps running one system. The major issue I had was keeping the water level the same in all the sumps. The sump with the pump in it was constantly lower than the others because the bulk heads can't move water into that sump fast enough. The pump would regularly suck air. What I did as a decent solution is added a balance tube between the sumps to help keep the water more level. I say "decent" because the balance tube aloud some water to pass thru the system with out being filtered. Certainly large bulk heads would move more water (I was using 1" and 1.5" bulk heads) but they can take up lots of room and are pricey.

I think a better solution is to build (or have built) a stand that will accommodate a larger sump. I did a set up for a client recently that had a 40 long for the sump under a 55 gallon. A 40 long has the same foot print as a 55 but is not as tall. It has a inlet area for mechanical filtration (if desired) and to arrest bubbles, a small area for chemical filtration (carbon - phosphate absorber-etc.) a large area for a marsh / mangrove / macro algae area and a small area for the return pump and protein skimmer. Another nice feature is that you can build the stand a little taller than the factory built ones so it is real easy getting in and out of the sump area and you wont have that pesky center brace to deal with either. It all can be concealed behind cabinet doors or some people have built it so the sump can be viewed. I like doing sumps that are full of neat stuff (shrimp, crabs, snails, sponges, feather dusters etc.) They can be almost as cool as the display tank. This can be done on almost any size aquarium.

I know it may sound like a major undertaking to do but it really isn't that big of a deal. Starting from scratch is easier but I have done this to existing aquariums with little incident.

If I can help in any way, let me know....Joel

[Riderc82]

I may have found my solution a 12 gallon nano cube.  I've never had a sump I know there is a way to figure out how much water will go back into the sump if the power to the pump ever goes off but I don't know how to calculate it.  I'm planning on using a rio 1700 as the return pump and just using an overflow box.  The only thing I plan on having in the cube is macro algae and my heater.  I figure this way I don't have to use a rubbermaid container and I will actually be able to see whats going on in the sump.  What do you guys think?

[scott wilson]

What you need to do is figure out how far the water level fluctuates from return pump running to pump stopped.  Then determine the volume.  Length x width x height. This gives you the volume in cubic feet.  You can then covert that to gallons. 1 cubic foot = 7.48 US gallons. 

Now you know how much water your sump will have to hold when the pump turns off.  If it is say for instance 5 gallons you will know that your 10 gallon tank/sump can only be less than 1/2 full max or it will overflow when your return pump turns off. You have to take into consideration the displacement of water in the sump due to pumps heaters and such.

I hope this helps

[Riderc82]

Thanks Scott, I hate to use the cube as a sump but I haven't been able to find anything that will work as good for the small amount of room under my aquarium.

[rmstevensiii]

First... be sure you have good clean siphon breaks in your return line.  I'm not as precise as Scott, but a little trial and error worked for me.  I worked mine out this way... I filled my sump halfway and noted the water level with a marker on the outside of the sump. Next, I started the pump and noted the distance that the water level dropped.  From there, I and adjusted my water level so that I could run the sump fairly full, but when the power is killed, the water draining back from the main tank will not cause my sump to overflow.  I have marked the water level on the outside of the sump, and I top-off to this level daily.  Hope this helps.