Sump Size

people use rubbermaid tubs, large troughs for horse feed and water. whatever is water tight can be used. Dont think you have to buy a brand name sump and that will be the only thing that will work for you. Also dont think you need a glass tank for a sump like a 40B 20 long 55... etc.

Those are commonly used because of 2 things. The glass allows baffles to be added with ease. The common dimentions are often desired by hobbiest as they normally fit well under stands. but if you have no limit on the size or room, get the biggest effin thing that holds water as you can.

more water = more stability = better reef = happy hobbyist.
more room = better equipment = ease of cleaning = ease of maintenance

 

I had a 300 gal tank, started with a drum barrel sump, at the end my sump was a lot more fun and larger than my main tank.
Go larger, everything fun going on is bound to be happening in your dark stowed away sump that you never clean and move around

 

@ SnooknRedz

thanks, and i'm kinda new at this sump thing so sorry if i ask a stupid question. i have a canister filter that i was going to use (since i haven't set my tank up yet) but i've been told and been reading that is a waste of time so i was looking into this sump. Now i have seen the ones that tap into a bulkhead on the bottom of the tank. do all sumps work this way? Cause I don't know about drilling a hole in my tank just to hide my "stuff" lol.

 

No man do not be sorry that did come out kinda rude. my fault. you dont need to drill anything. Your display maybe, but you can get an HOB overflow that negates drilling anything but you run into siphon problems if it were to fail, your tank will flood due to the pump still working and the siphon not. Thats bad. so drilling your tank is the best but isnt necessary.

heres a model of the sump i am working on. All i need are the glass sheets that are gonna cost 50 bux to cut locally.

 

so is there like a pump that generates the flow ? i guess i'm clueless on how one of these works. and i didn't take your post rude at all i just knew i was about to ask a question that probably everyone in the saltwater world knew that answer to so i just wanted to state how far out of bed i am on this sump thing

 

Yep right click the image and select "View Image" itll give you a blown up pic of it, makes it easier to see whats going on in there. That yellow thing in the middle is the return pump.

This pumps the water back to the tank and starts the cycle (not the nitrogen cycle thats completely diff) all over again. Then it drains back to the sump, gets filtered, and pumped back up. the rate at which this occurs is called sump turnover rate. This is dictated by your return pump. Your going to have to decide the GPH you want, and find a pump that pumps that GPH at X feet of head. Sounds crazy but its a lot simpler than it seems

 

aww yes that does help ...a little...

thanks for all the input now i guess i just need to do a little research on all the stuff i need for this (other than the stuff i'm trying to hide) to make it complete other than the tank itself.

 

No problem. heres an alternate view, it may help you out. type in "sumps" in the google search bar at the top right of this forum page and you will see a plethora of sumps ppl have done.