Help Choosing Sump size...

[rtparty]

So I'm in the middle of getting all my equipment together for my new 120g build that will replace my 50g cube.

The stand can fit up to a 40g breeder but it takes up almost the whole thing. It leaves me very little room to store anything and I'll have to use part of the 40g for an ATO reservoir. I'll also have to get clever on how I mount my Apex, Gyre controllers and dosing pumps plus any other odds and ends.

Currently I have an extra cabinet to the side that houses all of that but with where the 120 is going, that extra cabinet can't follow. Meaning almost everything has fit under the stand.

I've thought about going the Red Sea route and putting in a false wall to separate the sump from the electronics. If I do this, the size sump I can use drops big time (maybe 29g tank?) and now I'm trying to figure out the ATO.

So while I would love a custom sump, the budget isn't there right now.

Is a 29g sump big enough? Anyone who has a 120, I'd love to see how you've configured your sump/electronics.

Thanks in advance!

 

[JoshH]

I would think a 29 gallon sump would be sufficient, 25% of the display volume is a decent size. I don't have a 120 (wish I did) but most I've seen have sumps that fall into that size range ~30 Gal. What's the height of your stand? You might be able to run your electronics above the sump. With proper ventilation you should have no problems.

 

[Luno]

If you've nearly bought all your equipment, first of all design your sump around the equipment. Like your skimmer footprint, your return pump footprint. This will give you a start of how big each section should be and always allow a little extra room for upgrades. Outside of those basics of you intend to have a refugium a minimum of 10% of display volume is suggested.

 

[rtparty]

We were at Petco and they had a 40G breeder so I picked it up since most stores around me are out.

I will start planning it all out and if it ends up being too big, I'll go get a 29G from them. The 40G Breeder is such a good size that it won't hurt to have it around for future use

 

[drtrash]

Doing a 100 gal build (48x24x20), have a 34" triton sump and dedicated 8" of stand to a dry electronic area, doing the drain down math plenty og room with 7gal buffer