New Tank/Sump Size Indecision...

[Chris Wells]

Hopefully, to make a long story short.
The kids had a turtle in a 75g tank on nice stand. That I took care of...sound familiar? The turtle went away, so I got rid of the old nasty tank but kept the stand. When I got interested in getting into the salt water hobby, I replaced the 75g and bought a 40g breeder that were on sale to build a DIY sump before I did too much studying unfortunately.

Now that I have been studying, I am going to replace the 75g with a 90g because I feel like there is more flexibility in the taller tank for fish, aquascape, etc.

My question is, would it be silly to consider making the 75g a DIY sump and partition off the 40g into two for a quarantine tank? My sump will be located in my utility room behind a wall where DT will be located, so no issues with space. It just seems like it would be a huge sump for this application.



Equipment planning on:
Vectra M1 Pump - -> 3/4" manifold -- > 2 3/4" returns --> Wye reduced into 1/2" loclines in tank.
Reef Octopus 150INT DC Skimmer
Drain--Skimmer--Return--Refugium Sump Design with DIY acrylic baffles
Reactor
Maybe UV
etc. as I learn more


Already existing:
40lbs BRS Pukani
15lbs BRS Tonga Shelf
Eshopps Eclipse L Overflow - willl convert to bean animal. 1" drains
RODI system

Any input is greatly appreciated and be ready for many more questions.



btw, as an engineer, I am excited to do all of this DIY stuff.

Thanks,

Chris

 

[melypr1985]

I'll say that I'm using a DIY 40 breeder sump on my 180 gallon tank without problem. It can handle any backflow that happens when the electricity goes off.

 

[Big G]

Bigger is always better = more flexibility. With a sump that size you could place some interesting live stock like Sea Horses, etc. that need gentle current. Think of the macro algae, mangroves, etc. that limit most of us. Be mindful that the quarantine tank needs to be at least 10' away from the DT or sump. Cheers!