Trigger Sump 34 large enough for 180 gallon?

[Elennon19]

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

 

[Brew12]

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

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.

 

[Elennon19]

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.

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.

 

[Brew12]

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 adjust that with how you set up your return pipes or using a check valve.

 

[Elennon19]

You can adjust that with how you set up your return pipes or using a check valve.

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.

 

[Elennon19]

I use the mega flow overflow kits.

 

[Daniel Waters]

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).

 

[Elennon19]

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).

Sounds like a plan. Thanks for the help friends.

 

[Brew12]

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.

You are correct, you cannot use a check valve on the drains. However, the drains shouldn't drop your tank level by much more than an inch (and probably much less) with the mega flow overflow kits. Normally, back siphon is the major concern with sump size for drilled tanks.

Sounds like a plan. Thanks for the help friends.

Glad to help. Oh, and Welcome to Reef2Reef!

 

[Forsaken77]

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

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.

The sump is 15 inches high and the skimmer level will be at 7.5 inches, the lowest it goes (half of 15). So there will be 20 gallons in the 40 gallon sump normally. The calculator said that 15 gallons would backflow, leaving me a 5 gallon difference, which is close.

Unfortunately, I think yours is a hair too small. How many gallons is the 36? And you'd also have to keep the skimmer lever at its lowest in the sump.

 

[Daniel Waters]

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?

 

[Elennon19]

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?

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!

 

[Daniel Waters]

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

 

[Elennon19]

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

Thanks for the advice!

 

[Brew12]

How the tank is set up has a major impact on the amount of water that drains into the sump. My 72"x18"x20" tank only drains around 3 gallons into the sump on a power loss.

 

[bigroost]

I didn't buy one because I had the same worry, I built my own out of a 75 gallon tank. The display is a marineland 180, after getting it all setup I was amazed at how little water drains down when the returns are off. In my case I wish I had used the trigger so I could have saved some room in the stand.

 

[Amps Reef Life]

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.

 

[LoneStarReef]

I don’t know about back flow volumes and if you have enough room but I would say that it all depends on your desires for your sump. If you just want it to house your equipment, go for it (if the back flow works out). If you want a refugium, you are probably way too small to make any difference for that large of tank. I have a Trigger 34 and it is perfect for my 90.

 

[Forsaken77]

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.

 

[Amps Reef Life]

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.

Great choice!!! That's a nice sump and sounds like you got a great deal on it. I looked at the Tideline 48inch but had the same problem you did. Limited Availablity and no one was willing to give a discount on it.