DId I corner myself in to a dangerous sized sump for my tank?+

[crankbait09]

As my introduction post stated, I bought a 130 gallon aquarium that was pre-drilled with two overflows. I found a DIY plan to make my own stand. Which I have completed and am making final touches to it.

In the process of making the stand, I decided to add two vertical supports, one for the front span and one for the back span. My intentions were to have a 55 gallon tank on the bottom for my sump.well, after adding the vertical supports, I lost the floor plan that the tank would sit. (no i have not bought a sump yet) phew.....

so with that info......

I am attaching an image of the floor plan that I now have to play with. I know everyone says the bigger the sump you can get, the better, Well, since I am limited to 12" in depth at one location, I was thinking of placing one tank on one side of the supports, then another ont he other side of the supports. then attach both tanks with a channel to make it all one unit.

with the amount of space i have left, am i able to get a big enough sump to hold equipment and avoid floods due to possible loss of power? without redoing the stand, can anyone help me with some options or advice on how i can use what i have with no problems?

thank you for your time. View attachment tank floor plan.pdf

 

[skinz78]

It sounds to me like your plan will work if you use two tanks and attach them together. That's pretty much what I have going on with 2 20g tall tanks that are drilled together with a 2" PVC between them.

 

[Eric B]

You can do 2 tanks and attach them as there are lots of multi tank sumps or you can make the end of the stand removable and slide your sump in from one end. Usually once the sump is in place you would never need to remove it unless tearing down the system. You would still be limited by the 12" width but you could get one made out of acrylic to your specs or something probably production made already or use a longer glass tank with that width.

 

[crankbait09]

thank you for the response!!!

ok, so if I were to do this two tank type sump, is there a certain size i should aim for on each side? I'd like to not use the whole floor plan up due to needing room to place an external pump and plumbing and what not. Is there a way to tell if a sump is large enough for my 130 gallon tank?

Acrylic is quite expensive, are there other sump options that would work in the situation i have??

 

[cdness]

That's only a 5 foot tank... Did you use 2x4 or 2x6 wood for the top supports for the tank? if 2x6 there is no need for a middle support. Just take it out and revert to the original plan...

I have a 6 foot 125G tank with no center brace and the tank is sitting just fine. I did add some plywood to the back side of the 2x6 for additional support but it really wasn't needed.

If you still want to do the 2 tank idea, yes it will work. However use flexible tubing to connect the two tanks. The smaller tanks have thinner glass which cracks easier under stress. If you have rigid pipe and the tanks are not exactly spaced right, you could have issues with cracking and water on the floor. Either that or use a 2" uniseal on each side with a short piece of 2" PVC connecting the tanks. It will allow a bit of flex inside the seal and help prevent cracking.

A third option is the multiple level sumps. Have one higher than the other to allow you to drill just one of the tanks and flow over the top into the second tank. I did that with an add-on fuge for awhile. I had a 20L sump on my old 75G and had a drilled 10G tank on a 2x4 stand behind the sump which drained directly into the return section of the sump.

 

[Eric B]

thank you for the response!!!

ok, so if I were to do this two tank type sump, is there a certain size i should aim for on each side? I'd like to not use the whole floor plan up due to needing room to place an external pump and plumbing and what not. Is there a way to tell if a sump is large enough for my 130 gallon tank?

Acrylic is quite expensive, are there other sump options that would work in the situation i have??

There is nothing set in stone with sumps as I have seen anything from rubbermaid containers to custom built units out of exotic materials as long as it serves the function that you need it to do. You can also maybe look at the new DC pumps which can be run internal and will save you some room unless you already have the external pump purchased. The new DC pumps are competitively priced and the flow rate can be adjusted if too much flow for system.

 

[crankbait09]

this is great!! i cant believe the response im getting thus far. THANK YOU!!

I added the additional supports because the 2x6 that i was using for the top frame had a couple large knots right in the middle of the run. So to be on the safe side, I decided to reinforce it with the verts. (piece of mind).

I actually "skinned" the stand last night. Just have to paint it and then I can start putting the equipment in place under the tank. But I think I need to work around the sump first. Especially since the protein skimmer and heaters need to be inside the sump. so If I were to have two different tanks for this process, with a tube or channel in between the two, does this effect the process stages of the sump?

 

[cdness]

I added the additional supports because the 2x6 that i was using for the top frame had a couple large knots right in the middle of the run. So to be on the safe side, I decided to reinforce it with the verts. (piece of mind).

I would have used better wood from the start. There is no way a large knot in the middle would be acceptable to me for the issues as you suggested. Structural integrity of the stand is one thing to not mess around with.

Go forward with your plan, just assume the baffles are where the ends of the tanks sit. You can still add more, but you are stuck with the ones that are there now as it is the edge of the tank...

 

[crankbait09]

here is a picture of the current stand...........ignore the botomless right side, i am still working on the floor of the stand. but you can see what i am talking about.
after seeing the photo, should i continue?

 

[crankbait09]

the "white" that you see is primer. Once I primer the inside as well, the whole sand will be painted black

 

[crankbait09]

obviously the front has not been skinned yet. that will be last when all is in place and done

 

[crankbait09]

so if this layout is acceptable, how should i go about creating this double sided sump? I do not have any of the equipment yet, i have to buy piece by piece but figured I would need to get the sump in place first, then build the pumps/skimmers around that.

correct?

 

[KorD]

It is looking good! actually I think you are putting more into it then I did my stand.. LOL
I am not one to think, just build

 

[crankbait09]

well, with the upper frame having a knot right in the center. Since I have placed the two vertical supports front and back in the middle..........would this be stable enough to hold a 130 gallon tank? I need to know that before I can continue...........

 

[billwill]

First and foremost, your sump needs to be able to handle a power outage. If it overflows when you loose power, you've got problems. Second, it needs to be big enough with enough baffles to set water level to support whatever equipment you're going to run like your skimmer and return pump. Beyond that, it's bells and whistles.

 

[Vividgraphx]

No limit to the size you want. I've got a 35gal deep blue tank with a 55gal tank converted into a refugium. It practically takes care of itself. No complaints at all. Even have tons of room to make frags and acclimate new corals.

 

[Vividgraphx]

sorry wrong pic and can't edit it. here ya go.

 

[Jaren Arnold]

My sump is just 35% of the volume of the main tank. I think there is no rule for size , just consider a skimmer and return pump able to move and clean the entire volume of water in a short time.

 

[crankbait09]

ya, i was way overthinking this......I see how you guys have yours set up. I always thought the skimmer had to be inside the sump, no? I see Jaren's off to the side. I could buy a sump for the right side of my stand, and then use the left for the skimmer and pump........who would of thought??? not i

 

[vfullthrottlew]

My 125gal with 55gal sump