Sump / Setup Questions

[russbriscoe]

Thanks for all your help from my last post.

I have been reading like a mad man and have a few questions. My wife and I are still thinking about the size tank. She wants a large one and I want a smaller one because of the added coast... I have been reading and I think I can build a lot of the stuff I need, stand, canopy, sump...

Here are my ideas and then I will ask a couple questions. The tank will be on the main level of the house and all the dirty stuff will be in the basement. I will build the sump the same way people build plywood tanks so I can make it the same size as my main tank if I want to. I will also put it on wheels so I can move it if I ever need to.

Here are my questions.

1.) Does the sump need clear sides or can I build it out of plywood. (Pros/Cons)

2.) If my tank needs about the same #LR as it has water do I need more LR for my sump too? If not why.

3.) If I have more water in my sump will that allow me to have a few more fish?

[Lifestudent]

Originally Posted by russbriscoe

...Here are my questions.

1.) Does the sump need clear sides or can I build it out of plywood. (Pros/Cons)

I have seen "in wall" main display tanks built with plywood on both sides and back and the sides even looked fine to look at.

Originally Posted by russbriscoe

...2.) If my tank needs about the same #LR as it has water do I need more LR for my sump too? If not why.

You should figure on # of LR for the total volume of water in your entire system, especially if you want to keep lots of fish (see Ques.3). You'll see quotes about pounds of LR per gallon (i.e, ~1.5#LR/gal), but I think a lot has to deal with what type of LR you use. Carribean LR is much more dense and less porous than South Pacific LR (e.g., Fugi or Tonga) so figure on getting more #s of Carribean LR to get the same denitryifing benefit as using SP LR.

Originally Posted by russbriscoe

...3.) If I have more water in my sump will that allow me to have a few more fish?

Yes, it will allow you to have a few more fish in your display tank, but remember that certain species require a large tank for swimming purposes (e.g. don't put a Powder Blue Tang in a 55 g display with a 55 g sump) regardless of the total volume in one's system.

[Schwaggs]

Russ,

1) Don't bother building a sump out of plywood, just get one of these: http://www.mytscstore.com/detail.asp...productID=1491

2) The one pound per gallon is just a way to give people an idea of the amount of rock they need for a given assumed display tank with average levels of livestock. The same holds true for the number published for skimmers. If you are going to put only one small fish in a 180 gallon tank, you don't need 180 pounds of live rock or a skimmer that can handle 180 gallons... on the other hand, if you are going to overcram the thing, you would do well with more than 180 pounds of rock and a larger skimmer...

3) The added water alone does not provide you more filtering capacity, so no. The added water volume WILL make your system more stable and resistant to sudden changes. Now, if you get a bigger skimmer and put more rock in the sump to be part of your filter, you can put more animals in the display.