180 gallon sump (1 Viewer)

[Shanereef]

Ok, so I bought a 210 gallon tank and it came with this huge sump. This thing is 2x2x6. I know this is way over kill for 210 gal. Should I keep it or downsize to a more resonable size for the tank. I already am having to build a stand for the tank itself and making room I can do. The sump has 3 sections. Also has a reeflo pump unsure of the gph, any way to tell? Open to ideas and pros/cons of the big sump. I will post pics if requested.

 

[TiAg]

Being kinda new to this I'm far from an expert but I'd think the bigger the sump the better. You get more "emergency" overflow space, you get more room for a nice fuge area to purify the water, more room for a skimmer to clean the garbage. Everything I've read is to get the biggest you can fit under the tank with a minimum being the 10 to 15% capacity. Plus more water = easier swings so you don't have your tank go out of balance as easy.

Only real con I can think of is the extra needed RO water.

 

[trb]

Look at inigomontoya's tank. He has a huge sump. You can have several sections for different purposes like TiAg said. Also have room for a frag section, or a non reef safe section if you want to, or a section to isolate fish to make sure they are eating well without all the other fish competing. These are all things I've seen done with a large sump before.

http://www.marsh-reef.org/showthrea...uild-(how-to-put-leds-on-an-8-tank?highlight=

 

[NarnyTheGreat]

I have to agree... keep it. I saw Felix's tank and he had a section to separate fish which I loved. You will be able to do almost anything in that space... enjoy it!

 

[Ostentum]

the reeflo pump model should be in the side. I am guessing its probably a snapper based on the tank size but you never know. I have seen barracudas and hammerheads on them. I am going to run a hammerhead on my 300g which is about 6000 gph at 0ft head and 4000gph on 20ft.

 

[Shanereef]

All I can see is a tag that says reefFlo then its says Dart then s/n0606-108452 does this help with ID of pump. Electric motor is a 22u series.
And I have seen inigomontoya sump also just did not know the pros/cons of being so large. I can see that it will be useful in alot of ways.

 

[tektite]

The Dart is the pump ID.

 

[uno_mas]

I'd keep the big sump and have a good size area for the fuge and an isolation area for new fish. I couldn't really think of a reason not too if you have space for it.

 

[Shanereef]

The Dart is the pump ID.

So what is the gph?

 

[Mark L.]

I agree with everyone. If you have room for it then definitely keep it.

 

[tektite]

So what is the gph?

Don't know, not familiar with Reeflo pumps. I'm sure google does though

 

[flipside]

The Dart is rated for 3600gph, while the Dart Gold is rated for 3800. What is great about these pumps is that they handle head pressure "extremely" well. I love Reeflo's... probably my favorite externals.

The bigger the sump the better. If you need more room under the tank, you'll obviously have to get rid of it; but, your current sump would be a very good choice.

 

[inigomontoya]

The only cons to having a huge sump is your initial fill of water (ran my RODI for 4 days straight) and lack of space under the stand. It is odd having an 8 foot long stand and no room underneath to work with. I did squeeze my carbon/gfo reactor in, but literally have only two inches between them and the sump. Have seen some people with them in the sump and may consider that sometime.
Pros are many and have already been stated, but my favorites have been a totally separate 45g fuge to set up as a display and put different macros in for a planted tank look. Next has been a frag area- I set up one chamber as a frag tank with a retrofit T5 setup and homemade eggcrate stands. Works great and has a nice mellow flow from the fuge. I have taken some corals that didn't really make the transition between tanks (ended up in temp tanks for 4 weeks) in there and they can recover without making the display look cruddy. I also can cut frags and basically forget about them (lights are on controller) giving them lots of time to heal and grow. The water volume does also provide a nice cushion for the tank and avoids swings. Just make sure you have a healthy sized ATO.

 

[Shanereef]

I guess on of the big cons is the tank stand has to be so tall. Inigomotoya how tall is your stand?

 

[funkmaster]

i have a 100 gal sump on my 180 more room the better

 

[inigomontoya]

You would want a tall stand-mine is 42" which give me a lot of head room in it (just not much lengthwise). I will check tonight how tall my sump is, never paid much attention to that as it was never an issue with the large stand-don't think it is a full 24" like yours. I even have the refugium on a 4" stand so it can gravity feed better.

 

[Shanereef]

Anyone know some one or how to cut this tank down and put the top back on? The acrylic tank is 1/2in thick will it be ok without brace being re-installed knowing while the system is running would not be more than14in of water in it? How much water can be in tank before it will fail with no top brace?