Tank to Sump Ratio

[jords]

Going to be building my new tank from the ground-up (starting with nothing but glass). Just wondering if there is a special tank size to sump size ratio? Or just whatever fits? For instance, I'm planning a 120 gallon tank. So how big should my sump be? I'll be posting a tank journal as soon as I get started, so watch for that (tips for anything is more than welcome!).

To be honest, I've never had a sump before. However, I've only run nano tanks. So with a big tank like this (which will be set up for corals, fish, and live rock), what kind and size of sump will I want? Thanks in advance.

[Aquattro]

Honestly, the bigger the better, the only limit being space and how much you want to spend on gear and salt. No magic ratio at all. You want it to hold all your equipment and have room to take whatever water drains back in a power outage.

[reefwars]

as big as you can fit is the way to go , be sure you have enough room for your skimmer and a return chamber large enough that evaporation dont drive you nuts.

[reefwars]

or what brad said lol

[reefwars]

standard height for sumps we make are 18" but that also depends on how much space/height you have.

[jords]

Thanks guys! I was thinking about a 50g, but a LFS has a cheap 75g on sale right now. Was thinking about one of those and then just gluing in some plexiglass or acrylic and making my own, with the spaces that I'd require. I'm not too concerned with evap. at all, because I'll be hooking up an ATO system to the sump (evap. is so annoying!). I'll be sure to go with the 75g (which sounds crazy, because it's not that much smaller than a 120g tank), and that way I have extra room if I should upgrade or anything.

[Aquattro]

When I set up a new sump, I try to find some scratched up tank, missng trim, etc, for as cheap as I can get it. My current tank has a 75g sump that I paid $40 for. I have a 90 here if you want to come pick it up, free

[Aquattro]

I guess for a 120, assuming on some stand, you want the sump underneath, so I'd look for a 55 or 75g tank to use.

[kien]

Originally Posted by jords

Going to be building my new tank from the ground-up (starting with nothing but glass)

I would suggest picking up some silicone as well. That or I suppose duct tape works too..

[jords]

Thanks for the tip! I was planning on some good old silicone. Any actual difference between black or clear, other than cosmetics?
It's funny because my fiance says I shouldn't build my own tank. All because when we were at the LFS and said I was planning to, the worker said it's definitely not a good idea. Little does she not realize that the store only wanted to make a sale (that's why the store said they can custom make any tank I want).