sump help...

[lilduud]

so i bought my 55 gallon tank and stand at petco and will continue to gather material until the end of summer when i finally get to set it up... however i have a 20 gallon layng around and just used it as reference to the stand, and there is no way it will fit without modifying th stand dramatically.. first does anyone have the black wooden 55 stand from petco and if so has anyone knocked the center board in the bak out? i cant tell if it actually gives any support or if its aesthetic... if so ill knock it out and my sump can hang off the stand an inch, but if i can.. i will need to do a 10 gllon sump... anyone had success building one this small? i was going to have a small fuge and the skimmer would be hanging on the side pulling water from the water inlet...

 

[Solarfall]

Is it this stand...?

If it is that one. You can see in this next picture that the back center board isn't even carrying any weight since it's not even touching the main part that you put the tank on. So you'd be fine knocking it out.

 

[lilduud]

no its this one... oh and heres the new tank and all. :D

 

[lilduud]

oops theres the tank and such hahaha

 

[reeffreak]

You can remove the brace to put the sump in but the brace needs to go back up.

It is needed.

 

[lilduud]

ok crud then ill just use a 10 gallon sump... any help on that?the stand will only fit a ten gallon

 

[meshman10]

yep thats the just of haveing a 55 the stands are to narrow to put the sump in that it should have but, a 10 gal is better than nothing,just means that there will still be some HOB equipment...

 

[lilduud]

yea thats what i figured...

 

[reeffreak]

I don't think a 10g sump will be big enough to prevent a flood if the power goes out,especially on a 55g.The water level in the 10 will have to be ran very low.Maybe it will work but I'm douftful.Your only other options to either build one from scratch using acylic or buying one premade.

 

[Solarfall]

mine's a 16 gallon but I bought it. There are also odd size tanks like a 20 Extra High which are still 10" wide.

 

[Bifferwine]

Or you could go to Home Depot or Lowe's and try to find a plastic container or tub that will fit in the stand.

 

[yote]

We use a 10 gallon sump on the 55 frag tank at the store.Of course its just got enough water in for the skimmer.

 

[lilduud]

ok yea i figured i could pull it off if i filled the tank juuuusst to the line of the overflow, then filled the ten gallon to full capacity and just ran the pump from there...[if that makes any sense at all] that i would be fine

 

[yote]

Actually,Its the 10 you'll have to worry about flooding if the power goes out.
You'll want to mark your sump where the full line is when the pumps off,so you dont get a wet floor.

 

[lilduud]

i know but im saying if i have the tank on the overflow line but not overflowing, and fill the sump as full as it goes, and then dont add anymore water to either, then when i turn it on it will circulate but not overflow if the power goes out, because i wont add any more water than capacity of both tanks... make sense? haha its really hard to put into words but it makes complete sense in my brain heh

 

[yote]

i know but im saying if i have the tank on the overflow line but not overflowing, and fill the sump as full as it goes, and then dont add anymore water to either, then when i turn it on it will circulate but not overflow if the power goes out, because i wont add any more water than capacity of both tanks... make sense? haha its really hard to put into words but it makes complete sense in my brain heh

Just remember that you'll get a little bit of back siphon from both the drain and the return lines.