Equipment Sizing
Match every piece of gear to your actual tank volume and bioload - no more guessing at capacity.
Manufacturer "rated gallon" numbers aren't standardized. The same skimmer or pump can be marketed under a light-bioload rating or a heavy-bioload one, and the gap between them is often 50% or more. Size by your actual bioload, not the number on the box.
Protein Skimmer Size Calculator
Find the right rated capacity for your tank volume and bioload.
ToolReturn Pump GPH Calculator
Accounts for vertical lift and elbow head loss, not just a flat multiplier.
ToolSump Size Calculator
Minimum and target sump size before skimmer and refugium space.
ToolReef Lighting PAR Calculator
Target PAR range by coral type, at coral placement depth.
ToolPowerhead Flow Rate Calculator
Total system flow by coral demand, minus your return pump's flow.
ToolPlumbing Pipe Diameter Calculator
Minimum Schedule 40 pipe size, gravity drain or pressurized.
Guides in this pillar
What Size Protein Skimmer Do I Need?
Why the box rating is misleading, and a bioload-based method for sizing yours correctly.
Protein Skimmer Ratings Explained
The same physical skimmer can carry two very different rated-gallon numbers. Here's why.
Head Loss Explained
Why every source gives a different per-elbow number, and where they all come from.
PAR Requirements: SPS vs. LPS vs. Softies
The real biological reason SPS needs more light, and how to acclimate without bleaching it.
Sump-to-Display Ratio Guide
Why 25% is the floor, and how to calculate your own drain-back headroom.