55gal tank= 40gal

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rickyny
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55gal tank= 40gal

Post by rickyny »

Oh man I'm surprise to know my 55gal tank actually only holds about 40gal of water, with the gravel and décor included.
For the experts, is this figure right? Here's the link: http://www.firsttankguide.net/calculator.php
My tank came out to 46 gallons and I figure minus another 6 gallons for ornaments and gravel. I guess is very important to know if one is to medicate the tank.
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Re: 55gal tank= 40gal

Post by Pufferpunk »

Also good for judging stocking levels.
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Re: 55gal tank= 40gal

Post by bertie 83 »

That sounds about right for a lightly decorated tank, if you have lots of rock work you can easily loose 1/3 of the volume
It's amazing how easy maintenance is. If done regularly and thoroughly
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Re: 55gal tank= 40gal

Post by RTR »

Tank nominal size has always been myth. One of my neuroses is that I measure most tank's actual water volume. Way back when I had a 75 (nominal volume) mbuna tank (with massive rockwork), the actual tank water volume w/o external filters or sump was less than 40 US gallons. Needless to say I added a large sump and external Eheims.

In this country at least, nominal volume has always been based on the approcimate maximum external dimensions, which is then rounded to some figure which looks good to the manufacturer. Obviouly, that bears little or no relationship to how much water the tank can actually hold in a working configuration.
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rickyny
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Re: 55gal tank= 40gal

Post by rickyny »

does the sump also acts like a filter? I'm asking because I want to get a 180gal acrylic tank, if I get a sump, do I still need a HOB filter/filters?
Is going to be for a Fahaka.
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Re: 55gal tank= 40gal

Post by Pufferpunk »

The sump is a box of water under your tank. What youn ADD to it may filter the water, like a planted refugium.
You are getting sleepy... you only hear the sound of my voice... you must do water changes... water changes... water changes... water changes...

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rickyny
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Re: 55gal tank= 40gal

Post by rickyny »

Got it! I think I like this option, I can put an algae scrubber and my heater in the sump so the back of the tank will look clean.
Thank you all.
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Re: 55gal tank= 40gal

Post by RTR »

Pufferpunk's response is correct. The "main" tank is ordinarily the "display". Single extra tanks added to that tank are commonly labeled as a "sump" and is most often used for support systems you do not want or need to display. Some of us carry the concept to extremes - I have had up to 4-5 secondary tanks attached to a single display tank. The first extra tank is usually beneath the display, but it or others may be beside, behind, above, or even on a different floor. Such extra tanks can be just to increase the water volume of the system or for specized processes which are not on their own display tanks. "Sump" was just a term for an attached tank not for display.
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