What is better for a sump? 40B or 55g?

[fishgate]

I am going to take advantage of the $1/gallon Petco sale and pick up a sump tank for my 125g inwall project. What is better? A 40B or a 55g? I like the 55 since it is taller and I have 2 large "megaflow" overflows in this tank so the 55 gives me extra room for power outage drain volume. The 40B is wider which also offers some benefits. My skimmer needs 9-11" of depth.

[reefriot13]

i have a 40B for my sump on my 60gal and dig it alot. plenty of room for skimmer and was able to make a larger fuge. i would make sure you have a check valve on the return lines and you shouldnt drain too much back. i had to do this on my 150 as i learned the hard way, when you get the call at work from the with saying the hardwood floor has about 20g of water on it!

[kenc87]

Normally I'd say go for bigger but I really prefer the breeder as it gives you a wider footprint for skimmer, fuge and such. However I will say that you really shouldn't trust check valves, it's always way safer to ensure your sump can handle any water that will drain down to the sump. Good luck

[Drae]

40b is the prefect DIY sump for 50-150 gallons IMHO. First chamber is drain and skimmer. 12" depth. http://i1111.photobucket.com/albums/h470/Dibeezy/f7958740.jpg

[reeferlover]

yeah i have a 55gal and im not thrilled with it. its too tall and if your sump is under ur stand it should be good. but mine is on the other side of the wall and my drain line goes down then up and little bit and its harder to adjust your return to not have gurgaling (sp)

[Myka]

I would go with the shallower 40B because deep sumps are a pain the butt to work in. I wouldn't set it up like the pic above though because the return flow is too fast for a refugium. If you're just going to put Chaeto or an ATS in the "refugium" that would work well, or live rock or a chamber for reactors. Better uses for the "refugium" section than a refugium I figure.

To reduce back flow in power outage use standpipes in overflows and make sure your return is positioned near the surface or it has a siphon break hole drilled in it.

[Cliff519]

I like the 55 since it is taller

That is why I went with a 55 gallon for my sump on my 120 gallon tank. I could both maximumize the compartment sizes for the skimmer and live rock compartments and leave enough room (with a little extra to spare) for drain back from the main tank should we loose power.

The 55 is a little limited as a pain (as already stated) due to beeing more narrow as compaired to the 40 gallon breeder tank, but I always go for the larger water volumn

[Drae]

I would go with the shallower 40B because deep sumps are a pain the butt to work in. I wouldn't set it up like the pic above though because the return flow is too fast .

Yeah this is true. This design worked well on a 150 with the center being basically chaeto and pod section and not a "true fuge". Return in the middle is a better design for a AIO sump ( skimmer, return, fuge). For a tank with only around 400 gph flow through the sump though, this design works perfect. Sumps don't need a lot of flow. I shoot for 5x's tank volume. So a volume of 75 gallons through this sump turning over 4 times an hour would be 300 gph. Not too much flow for a center fuge section. Jmo

[cap032]

I went with a 55 for a little more water volume + the extra area for water to drain. I will say, if you dont have a tall stand, it could be a pain just to get a skimmer in and out for cleaning. I have a 40" tall stand with approx 36" height within the stand. With my plumbing + height of the 55 I barely have room to get my Reef Octo skimmer in and out. I did however make all compartments in my sump 10-12" deep so my skimmer has to sit on a 6" stand (which adds to the lack of space for removing the skimmer). Overall, Im happy with the 55, it worked out for me. I did a section with filter socks, followed by the skimmer section, followed by a baffle section with which I added an area to place media on a tray, followed by the return section. The return section is then seperated by a 4" baffle and an egg crate wall from a fuge section. I split one of the returns so that I have a line (controlled by a ball valve) to feed the fuge section. Doing the return/fuge section this way gives me approx 15 gallons for the return. I dont use an auto top off so with this setup, I can go out of town for a week (easily) and dont have worry about finding someone to top off the tank. Whichever way you go, plan carefully and re think the plan before you make your purchase. Then re think your plan again before having glass cut, then rethink again before siliconing the baffles in place. Its a pain to make a change after the fact..........trust me! Lol

[Myka]

Yeah this is true. This design worked well on a 150 with the center being basically chaeto and pod section and not a "true fuge". Return in the middle is a better design for a AIO sump ( skimmer, return, fuge). For a tank with only around 400 gph flow through the sump though, this design works perfect. Sumps don't need a lot of flow. I shoot for 5x's tank volume. So a volume of 75 gallons through this sump turning over 4 times an hour would be 300 gph. Not too much flow for a center fuge section. Jmo

Yeah, the chaeto/pod section would be better use. I also aim for 5-7x turnover through the sump. I'm not a fan of refugiums in a sump, I much prefer them to overflow into the display tank as I find many more pods make it into the system that way. For DSBs, I prefer them to be remote. For an AIO sump, I would just keep the middle section for reactors and whatever other equipment is being run. Just my preference.

[MGM_]

Beware..55 Gallon are often made with tempered glass (so I have been told). Typical 55 is at max for glass thickness so is often tempered to avoid increasing glass thickness. This is not first hand knowledge but worth noting.

+1 on return sizing. Do not underestimate size of return section. I have upgraded to high volume pump and can drain my return section in a millisecond. Also have auto waterchange that is piped into my return pump but my return section only holds abt 14 gallons of water. Not so good when typical change is 30 gallons..LOL