sump

[andy_b22]

what would be the best sump for a 55 gallon aquarium?

[mykpoz]

whatever will fit.... more the better...

[fishfreek]

I would say at the least a 20 gal tub. Remember your not going to be able to run the sump at full capacity because you need to leave room for the water that flows back from the tank when the power is off to the pump. Most folks will run their sumps at 2/3ed capacity. One way to know how full your sump can be would be to fill the sump up till its about 1/2 full and start the pump. The water level will drop some as the water fills the plumbing, etc. Onces every thing is running power off the pump and watch how high the water fills in the sump. When the water stops if you have more room in the sump you can add more water at this point till your about 1/2" or so from the top. Then power on the sump again and the wtaer level will drop again as it fills the top of the tank back up as well as the plumbing. When the water level stops dropping mark that as your maxium full line. FIlling the sump any more than that during normal operations will result in the sump overflowing in result of a power outage.