Choosing a sump size

Mr Fishface · Jun 24, 2019

Hi everyone. I am having a bit of a dilemma with my sump. I just upgraded my tank to a 125 gallon from a 75. On the 75 I used a 55 sump but I had made a custom stand to allow enough room. This new stand makes the 55 seem.... Too tall. It doesn't leave much room for me to access anything. I won't be able to mess with my skimmer much for example. Otherwise I can't think of any reason I NEED to access the sump.

I also have a 20 long I could use. Its much shorter but also much smaller overall! I don't see how a refugium would fit but it would allow me good access to the skimmer for cleaning and what not. How do you choose what size of sump to use? Is accessiblity a really big deal or am I overthinking things?

sfin52 · Jun 24, 2019

biggest you can fit and work with.

theMeat · Jun 24, 2019

Maybe a 40 long?

Mr Fishface · Jun 24, 2019

Yeah actually a 40 long would be perfect. I'll have to keep my eyes open for one as I'm sure they aren't super common.

How do you guys pick a sump though? What does "manageable" mean to you? Does it mean skimmer comes all the way out no problem, or as long as just your hand fits you're good to go?

AZRipp · Jun 24, 2019

As others have said, "as big", as you can go. Look for one that will accommodate all that you want to run, i.e. fuge, skimmer, pre-filter stage of your choice, area for possibly adding things, like probes, sensors, media, or "returning" things such as dosed items. As far as being manageable, look for it's accommodations to make things easy for maintenance and expand-ability. With this hobby, you're always fiddling with alternative ways of doing things with your filtration, and having a good sized sump that supports future variations/modifications is great. The sump also adds to your overall water volume. Larger water volume adds to greater stability, think... ocean.