What size do I need?

[3skitch3]

I am changing over from my 75 gal reef tank to a 90 gal with sump. I am picking up tomorrow a 90 tank that is already predrilled and it has 2 1.5in bulkheads, one on each side. Comes with the pipes and hoses to hook up to the sump. My question is what size sump should i get? Especially if I plan on moving into the future a 110 tall tank. Plus do I need 2 pumps? and how many gallons per hour should they move? Thanks for your help!
Travis

[Chris27]

A single pump that does about 1000 Gal/Hr would be a good starting point.

[thegrun]

I would get the largest sized sump that would fit in your stand. Be sure to leave room for whatever other external equipment you may want to keep in under the tank (external pump if any, Reactors, etc.), but in general, the bigger the better. One return pump should be fine.

[crvz]

agreed with the largest sump as possible. While one return pump should be fine, I'd look at getting something that moves about 4-6x total water volume per hour. 1000 gph may be a bit much, depending on the kind of filtration you're using and the capacity of your sump to handle that much water flow (high flow in a small sump can lead to microbubbles, for example).

[mcrist]

Generally speaking you only need to move enough water through your sump that your skimmer can process. If your skimmer can handle 800gph then your return pump should also be sized to 800gph, taking into account any head loss of course. Always round up to the next size pump because head loss will increase as you pump/pipes age.

[3skitch3]

What if im not planning on having the sump below but aside in a seperate area only like 10 feet away. Then what size would you reccommend?

[mcrist]

What if im not planning on having the sump below but aside in a seperate area only like 10 feet away. Then what size would you reccommend?
Same thing but add the additional head loss for the 10+ feet.

[Rick55555]

I agree with Mcrist. In my opinion, the amount of water your return can process should not exceed the amount of water your skimmer can process.

Having said that, I would look into getting an Eheim. I had the pleasure of running an Eheim 1262 on my 150 gallon tank. It ran like a dream. The pump was quiet and moved less water than the skimmer I was running.


Rick

[CorkPullerPHL]

....and still make the sump as big as possible. Only good things come from extra water volume. That is unless there is a massive catastrophe and you need to do a big water change. ...but I digress....