I may be upgrading from a 90 gallon to a 180. I have a very new Sapphire 34 sump from Trigger Systems that has been in use for literally a few days. Would it be able to handle a 180? I am sure I am dreaming here but I thought I would ask. Thanks
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You can run a 180g system without a sump. If it will fit the skimmer you want to use, and the noise from the flow through the sump doesn't bother you, it will be fine.I may be upgrading from a 90 gallon to a 180. I have a very new Sapphire 34 sump from Trigger Systems that has been in use for literally a few days. Would it be able to handle a 180? I am sure I am dreaming here but I thought I would ask. Thanks
I hear what your saying. My problem is I want to continue to use the sump I have, I am just not sure if the sump can handle the water draining into the sump once the pumps are turned off.You can run a 180g system without a sump. If it will fit the skimmer you want to use, and the noise from the flow through the sump doesn't bother you, it will be fine.
The only way I could see this just completely not working is you wanted to run the Triton method with a large fuge and 10x system flow. But, that isn't what this sump is designed for on any sized system.
Edit: Oh, and make sure that you have the returns set up not to overflow the sump if you lose power.
You can adjust that with how you set up your return pipes or using a check valve.I hear what your saying. My problem is I want to continue to use the sump I have, I am just not sure if the sump can handle the water draining into the sump once the pumps are turned off.
How would I set up my return? A check valve would not work on the drain pipe correct? I am not having issues with a back siphon.You can adjust that with how you set up your return pipes or using a check valve.
I think you will be fine. If you want to be sure, measure how far down your water level drops when power is off to your main tank. Use that to calculate the volume of water that drains to the sump. There are aquarium volume calculators online. So if your tank is 72 x 24 and the height drops 2 inches, your volume of water would be 72Lx24Wx2H = 15 gallons (approximately).
Next, measure your sump. Your sump probably has a set water height it runs at or may be adjustable. You're interested in the remaining space. Trigger 34 sumps are 34"x15"x15" I believe. If you run an 8 inch water height, you will have 7 inches left. Use volume calculator. 34 x 15 x 7 = 15.45 gallons space available. Of course, this is just an example and not completely accurate, as you need to factor in thickness of the acrylic and glass (ideally you want to use inner dimensions) and height of your return chamber is likely different than the rest of your sump depending on how you have it set up. And, as others have stated, you will want to position your return nozzles such that they do not cause additional drainage (or use a check valve, but I'd do both to be safe).
How would I set up my return? A check valve would not work on the drain pipe correct? I am not having issues with a back siphon.
I use the mega flow overflow kits.
Sounds like a plan. Thanks for the help friends.
No, it won't. I upgraded to a 180 and and have a new Sapphire 39 (40 gallons). On reefcentral there's a sump calculator on the main page to tell you the amount of backflow the sump will get from the tank.I may be upgrading from a 90 gallon to a 180. I have a very new Sapphire 34 sump from Trigger Systems that has been in use for literally a few days. Would it be able to handle a 180? I am sure I am dreaming here but I thought I would ask. Thanks
I am going to give it a shot. I can't see the tank dropping 2 inches myself. I planned on running the return chamber low and see how close I get. Worse case scenario I'll be upgrading sumps or doing a custom 40. Don't tell the wife!The sapphire 34 shows a total water volume of 31 gallons. At 7.5 inch water level throughout, you will have about 15.5 gallons in there. Depending on your return pump, you could run the last chamber a little lower to give you some wiggle room. A skimmer will take up some of your available water volume space, though. It sounds like it will be really tight (if the backflow is indeed 15 gallons). However, that calculation I think assumes a 2" drop in water level on a 72"x 24" tank. My tank internal dimensions are 71" x 23" accounting for glass thickness. And my tank water level does not drop 2" . I'm not sure what determines the water level drop...i suppose it's the bulkhead diameter?
Thanks for the advice!I turn my return pump off when I feed, and my trigger system sump doesn't fill but maybe an extra 5 to 10 gallons at most (72"×24" tank footprint). I think you'll be fine. Just be aware your skimmer may go crazy if the height raises too much. I usually turn my skimmer off whenever I unplug my return pump to prevent it overflowing everywhere. On a power outage and then when the power kicks back on, you may run into an issue unless you have the skimmer on a delay somehow or you have a strong pump that brings the water level back down very quickly. Will just depend on how finicky your skimmer is with water level height in the chamber
Go bigger! The bigger the better is a true statement.
You'll want the room a bigger sump offers.
On the 180 inwall tank I having built right now I was torn between going Trigger 39inch or Bashsea 48ich. I went with the 48 inches more room for work, maintenance and equipment and a bigger water volume. Room for that bad behaving fish that needs to be sumped... the list goes on.
I went with the Trigger 39 Sapphire because it was 20% off at a BRS sale. In actuality, I wish I would've went with the Trigger Tideline 48. I just didn't know if I could get it in the stand without altering it. Plus, they never have sales on Tidelines and, because it has to be bought from a retail brick & mortar, none of my local stores stock them, so it would have to be ordered.