120 gallon start up

[Nobel45]

Hey my name is rohan and I been doing a lot of homework on salt tanks.
So I have decided I'm going to start with a 120 gallon tank. It's 48"x24x24". I'm going to be doing led lighting. What I really need help with is my plumbing....or how big of a sump/refugium do I need and I was going to build my own once I can get a good idea of what is needed. My tank is already pre drilled. I'll get pics up of what I have here so I can get the show on the road. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

[gone fishin]

Nice tank, I believe they are one of the best dimensions.

As far as sumps go I assume you are putting it under the tank. Keep in mind maintenance and ease at getting to things such as a skimmer. Many a sump build has come to screeching halt due to not being able to get a skimmer in or the cup off for cleaning. If at all possible consider putting the sump in a basement or another room for ease of maintenance. just my 2 cents.

[Indymann99]

I would suggest the following design points.

1. utilize a Herbie or Bean overflow (search on both for detailed info). These drain designs are the best for quiet and avoiding floods.
2. go with as big a sump as possible to fit into your stand under the tank, or if you are going remote sump... go BIG BIG (you can never have enough room) and added water volume (of the system) never hurts.
3. pick your skimmer and make sure it fits into a skimmer section in your sump
4. pick return pump (I prefer internal as any leak is not on the floor) and size your return section. Think about room for ATO floats in this section as this will be where evap happens.
5. set your baffle heights such that your sump can handle all "back flow" from your DT drain system when return pump is off. I prefer to have return outlets at the surface so I get about 2in of DT drain back into the sump. I am not wild about siphon break holes and this design eliminates the need for siphon break holes.
6. plan for drain filter socks, heaters, probe holders. etc.

Finally if your sump is going under the tank (in a stand) think about the stand height. I like 36+ in of height to give you room to work in the sump (example remove the skimmer cup). Also with 48" width of your tank you can build a stand that doesn't have a center brace for even easier access.

Below is example pic of my sump (its older as I have ATO via APEX now) but may give you some ideas.

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn10/Indymann99/Sump12132009.jpg (http://s300.photobucket.com/user/Indymann99/media/Sump12132009.jpg.html)

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn10/Indymann99/Tankdoorsopen.jpg (http://s300.photobucket.com/user/Indymann99/media/Tankdoorsopen.jpg.html)

[Eac7466]

Wow that looks complicated, but really cool

[Jeff210]

Wow that looks complicated, but really cool

+1 on Indymann's post (and his sump)...

Sumps have a lot of things going on in them...it is critical that you do a lot of research and design prior to building one...particularly making sure you have enough room for all the equipment...