what is the size of the tank when you start considering sump and overflows etc.?

Question

i'm planning on getting a large tank but i see they are offering to pre-drill for filters and alot of other stuff that i guess makes maintaining them easier but at what gallon does this become necessary or better. any help?

Answer 1

once you reach something between 75-100 gallons, you should consider incorporating a sump. The main advantage of having a sump plumbed into an aquarium is the increase of water in the system, making it more stable and less prone to fluctuations of pH and salinity.

If you have the space , a sump filter is one of the best filtration you can set up. However, note that sump filtration is only useful in high bioload tanks (ie monster fish, predatory fish, messy eaters etc), otherwise, it is an overkill (Well you can never have too much filteration, but if you don't have a high bioload, you can use another filteration and instead use the space for another fish tank!)

The best advantage of sump filter is that you can increase your tank water volume greatly, depending on the size of your sump. With a large water volume, there is less fluctuations in water parameters and the water is more stable. You can also house a great amount of biological media for bio filteration.

Sump filtration has other advantages, for example you can set up a wet-dry filtration in the part where water enters the sump by filling it up with bioballs. Also, you can change water using the sump or even grow plants in the sump to soak up excess nitrates.Maintainance is also easy since the mechanical filter media (ie filter wool) is in plain sight so you can easily see when it needs to be cleaned or changed and if maintainance is needed you can easily do it without have to turn off the power or meddle with covers/clips/clasps.

Answer 2

I've had tanks as small as 12"x12"x12" running off sump filters not quiet what you wanted but you can either run alot of small aquariums off a sump or a large one the smallest Ive had was 3'x15"x24" which had a 24"x24"x24" sump, i had some nice successes with this type of filtration both for growing on plants and fish, my first success at breeding discus about 30yrs ago was down to this type of setup I'd made myself.
The real bonus is the guide of 1inch of fish to 12in sq in of surface area you can fit obviously more fish into the display, excellent for rift valley set ups.

AJ