Just about to start my 150 Gallon build!

[Sgt Jonny Cat]

Hi everyone, I finally have my 150 gallon tank picked up on Craigslist. I'm going to upgrade from my 55, very excited. Right now its in my garage and I gave some questions. (It's going to be built into a wall in my basement)

Clearance between bottom of tank and sump. I need to be able to get under there obviously and will have the Reef Octopus Classic 202 8 inch skimmer. Wondering what clearance you all have...12 inches? 18 inches? My basement ceilings are about 6 1/2 feet high tank is 28 inches deep.

Leads to second question will my 55 gallon be sufficient for the sump? I'm thinking I need some height to account for drainage during pump shut off. Going to plumb a Herbie drain. My other thought is a 40 breeder?

Thanks guys...

[Thornbreaker]

I've got a 150 gallon, 5'x2'x2'. Trigger 36 Ruby Sump. It's about 35 gallon sump. Holds plenty if the power fails.

So your 55 should be great. I would have gone larger, but didn't want to DIY or spend a lot more.


Mine is an in-wall. We set the height of the "stand" at ~42". There's plenty of room underneath for a 16" high sump. I do use a step ladder for the tank, but that was likely anyway. I'll add a pic or two, or you can search for my thread "5 ft in wall build". Should be some pictures of the behind the scenes in the closet.

[Thornbreaker]

Should give you an idea. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180402/81e27d63b15ff1ca4d225e0eae8bb295.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180402/afdb901223d06ddcacd8e09e70d567af.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180402/30805eed2975fe1ec078993ae17ada43.jpg

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[Sgt Jonny Cat]

I've got a 150 gallon, 5'x2'x2'. Trigger 36 Ruby Sump. It's about 35 gallon sump. Holds plenty if the power fails.

So your 55 should be great. I would have gone larger, but didn't want to DIY or spend a lot more.


Mine is an in-wall. We set the height of the "stand" at ~42". There's plenty of room underneath for a 16" high sump. I do use a step ladder for the tank, but that was likely anyway. I'll add a pic or two, or you can search for my thread "5 ft in wall build". Should be some pictures of the behind the scenes in the closet.

Thanks for the 411. This tank is 6 feet long 18 deep and 28 high. What is the height of your ceiling if you don't mind me asking.

[BrettDS]

Honestly, I think the answer to both questions is “more is always better”

The more height you have under the tank will give you more room for skimmers and reactors and whatever else you want to put down there. Obviously at a minimum you’ll want to make sure your skimmer fits (and keep in mind that most skimmers have a minimum water level, so if your sump is particularly deep you may have your skimmer sitting up several inches from the bottom. But beyond that if you can get a few extra inches in there without making the tank ridiculously high then I would definitely do so.

Personally I like a higher tank anyway as it’s easier to look in it as you’re standing without having to bend down. But the downside to that is the fact that the top of the tank is higher, which can make it more difficult to work in. My 220 is 30” tall. The tank sits about 37” off the ground and that puts the top of the tank at about 67”. This means that the top of the tank is only three inches lower than the top of my head. While I love the height of the tank and I wouldn’t change it if I could, it does mean that I need to get on a ladder or a stool to do almost anything in the tank other than reaching up to drop food in.

So there are a lot of things to consider as you think about tank height and sump space.

As far as sump capacity, again, I think bigger is better. The bigger your sump is the more room you’ll have for a skimmer and other equipment. You’ll be able to have a larger refugium, you’ll have more water in the system and have more space for the tank to drain when the power fails. You don’t have to go crazy here, but all else equal I would definitely do the 55 over the 40.

[Thornbreaker]

Thanks for the 411. This tank is 6 feet long 18 deep and 28 high. What is the height of your ceiling if you don't mind me asking.

10 ft. Top of the tank would be about 66" though, or 5.5 feet from the floor. A 4" difference won't hurt you. A shorter ceiling would probably make it easier to hang your lights too. I have to drop mine almost 3 feet from the ceiling.

[Thornbreaker]

The tank sits about 37” off the ground and that puts the top of the tank at about 67”.

+1 to Brett. I would not go lower than 3 feet especially if you plan to have a tall skimmer and lots of plumbing for various add ons under the stand.

[Rjukan]

Just wanted to add something from experience, especially after seeing that pic above. Consider maintenance when building an in-wall tank. I had a 75g in wall several years ago and built it with no access from the front of the tank, and I regretted it soon after the tank was up and running.

Don't get me wrong, it looks great, clean lines, nice molding etc.... but that first time your standing on something, reaching in from behind the aquascape to clean or place corals etc you will realize what I'm talking about. It sucks. My tank had a tinted background so you could see a little bit, but the rocks blocked out most. It helped that I could see through one side, the other was against a wall. Dealing with getting the lights out of the way in order to do everything from right over the tank was a hassle, again there are ways around it (I had suspended lights that I could hang on shorter chains for accrss), but it's a real pita.

Look around for ideas before deciding which route you want to go. If I was to ever do a in-wall build again (I wont), I would definitely incorporate front access panels.

[Thornbreaker]

Ha, that's nice of you. It's hard to tell in the pic, but the top is piano hinged so I can access from front as needed.

Great point about it tho. I should have mentioned it.

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[ImTacticool]

This looks really neat. I will be doing this in the next house we build. Keep us posted!