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View Full Version : Trying to add a sump on my 72g, sump size prob


easterly81
02/27/2008, 12:06 AM
I was wondering if anyone has added a sump to a 72g bow front, after the tanks is setup.

Yesterday I drained and emptied the tank to move it away from the wall to make room for the overflow box. Filled it back up, them realized. I can't get a very big tank in the stand. So I was wondering what should i do. the center brace is in the way.

I was curious if anyone else has put a sumps under a 72g allglass tank, that is larger than a 20-25g.

IRISSERVICE
02/27/2008, 12:11 AM
I did i went custom,taller than normal

http://www.jandareef.com/gallery/d/746-1/Refugium010805_Shot3.jpg

http://www.jandareef.com/gallery/d/736-1/Plumbing_update_021305_P3.jpg

easterly81
02/27/2008, 12:16 AM
What are the dim of that sump.

IRISSERVICE
02/27/2008, 12:41 AM
sorry don't have it any more

lark
02/27/2008, 08:23 AM
I have the same problem, and I'm in the middle of researching what to do. With my center brace, I can fit a 23" sump, which is smaller than I'd like. I think I'm going to do that, and add a separate refugium. But figuring out the plumbing has been a bit of a challenge.

easterly81
02/27/2008, 10:39 AM
I'm thinking two tanks plumbed together.
Or worst case is, take the brace out to get the sump in. This is appears to be what Marc did, from http://www.melevsreef.com/55g/55sump.html

Don't know not looking good

SCIFI_3D_zoo
02/28/2008, 11:25 AM
I'm doing stuff like this too. Making little paper representations of everything to fit the biggest sump I can. And I just thought... why not use 2 tanks. Drill 1" bulkheads between them below the water line so water would flow. I'm MORE limited by what I can fit through the my stand doors than what will fit inside once it's in there.

I have 47" total inside. My doors will only allow something 30-32" wide to fit in. IF I used 2 smaller tanks I could put... a 20" and a 24" in there. Or any # of other combinations.

My problem was I'm thinking... I want a 10% fuge on a 90gal = 9 gal. I have a 30gal sump.. 18" high.. if I filled it up to 9" now I'm down to only using 15 gal of the sump. For a 9gal fuge I need more than 1/2 of it. Doing this on paper my skimmer and baffles take up 1/2 the tank already. SUCKS. There's not enough room in a 30" tank.

easterly81
02/28/2008, 09:51 PM
Thats were I'm heading. I bought a 20 long yesterday for the main sump them i was thinking of doing a spill way to a 10g or bulkhead, for a fuge. I'm thinking thins is the best.
The crappy thing about the 20 long is it only 11.75" deep. I have a coralife super skimmer so i think i will be ok.

SCIFI_3D_zoo
02/29/2008, 10:29 AM
Only 11.75" deep. Most skimmers want a water level a lot lower than that. But if you want something deeper shop around. I just say a 30 gal last night that was 22" tall. Most are 11.75, and it's quite easy to find the 18". I have seen 19-20".. and then last night 22". So there are all sorts of sizes out there.

Problem I was thinking about last night was... if you ever needed to fix something, take it out, etc.. it would be a real PIA b/c the two tanks would be bulkheaded together. That's one MAJOR drawback. Enough for me to go back to the drawing board and shop around for something just a few inches longer to fit through my stand doors.

easterly81
02/29/2008, 08:35 PM
Inside my stand I'm limited to a width of 12" if it fits through the the door if a have to go in at an angle if can only be about 10" but then it could be 36" long. Sh#tty stand!!!

Darth Gator
03/01/2008, 01:05 PM
I fit a 20G long under mine, but had to remove and replace the back center brace. I couldnt get anything else I liked to work. Maybe two plumed together is the way to go.

Haxer
03/01/2008, 01:59 PM
Hey i was about to do the same thing on my 72 gal bow aga,
I thought a 29 gal standard tank would fit, even through the front doors...?

easterly81
03/01/2008, 10:11 PM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11983256#post11983256 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Darth Gator
I fit a 20G long under mine, but had to remove and replace the back center brace. I couldnt get anything else I liked to work. Maybe two plumed together is the way to go.


Was it hard to remove the brace? Did you have to temp brace it while you put the tank in. Could you explain how you did it.

SCIFI_3D_zoo
03/04/2008, 10:16 PM
http://scifi3d.com/StaffUpload/NewTank/newsump1.jpg

I found a bit larger tank. Still 30"x 12.5 x 22.75. Bit taller so it's bumped up to 37 gal. My only other option is a custom acrylic for maybe something 32-34" long. Not worth the cost.

I figured a 30gal tank 18" tall... I didn't want to fill it higher than 9". So now i"m only using 15gal. If I wanted a 10% fuge for a 90gal I'd need MORE than 1/2 of this just for the fuge. So 22.75" is tall and might be a pain getting my hands into but I need the extra volume.

As you can see in the pic.. by the time I get the skimmer/pump in there and some baffles my tank is 1/2 gone. That's the best I can do for now. I did some more measuring and found I can raise my skimmer 4-5" so I'll make my water level that much higher too. I plan on using a Carbon (and Phos) reactor too that'll help make up for the smaller fuge. I don't know WHERE those will go. Hang-on somewhere. Probably have to be outside the sump. Depends on how big my return area and fuge are.

It's been educational. The main thing I learned... this all started about 5-6 years ago when I was sold a crap stand and non-drilled tank even though I asked for a reef-ready system. That was long time ago. And I've been slowly replacing crap since then. I wish I would have came online to the reef communities long time ago. I could have saved a lot of money, time, and livestock. :(