Sump tanks?

[FishHobby99]

Saw an ad on Craigslist for a 90 G tank with a 20 G sump for $500. In a lovely dark wood cabinet. Stocked with 20 African and South American cichlids. Guy is going to send more pics later and hopefully answer my questions. My plan was to get a new large tank in the future and make a community tank. But this setup is enticing.
reading about sumps. Do you guys like them?

 

[Colin_T]

A well designed sump can be a huge plus on a tank because it gives you more water volume, somewhere to hide heaters, filters and whatever else you don't want in the tank. And if you have a coral tank or cichlid tank with fish that excavate, the sump gives you somewhere to keep plants, algae and other little things that might get eaten in the main tank.

Drawbacks include overflowing if the sump isn't the right size for the tank or you overfill the sump. Some can make a lot of noise but this can be reduced with coverglass on the sump. Mold can grow in the cabinet if the sump isn't covered.

If I had a reef tank or a Rift Lake tank, then a sump would be a great bonus.
If I had a planted community tank, a sump isn't really required but can be useful.

 

[FishHobby99]

A well designed sump can be a huge plus on a tank because it gives you more water volume, somewhere to hide heaters, filters and whatever else you don't want in the tank. And if you have a coral tank or cichlid tank with fish that excavate, the sump gives you somewhere to keep plants, algae and other little things that might get eaten in the main tank.

Drawbacks include overflowing if the sump isn't the right size for the tank or you overfill the sump. Some can make a lot of noise but this can be reduced with coverglass on the sump. Mold can grow in the cabinet if the sump isn't covered.

If I had a reef tank or a Rift Lake tank, then a sump would be a great bonus.
If I had a planted community tank, a sump isn't really required but can be useful.

Thanks! This is an all South American & African cichlid setup. 90 & 20 gallons. Everything you say is consistent with what I’m reading, nice to hear it echoed by an experienced person here. I will work on noise reduction if it’s an issue.

 

[Colin_T]

The tank in the picture looks quite nice. Try to get pictures of inside the cabinet and look for mold. See if the top of the hood is open or closed. If it's closed it might have mold too.

When buying secondhand aquariums, check the silicon (glue holding the glass together) and see if there are any cream or white areas of silicon. This means it is coming away from the glass. Look for air bubbles in the silicon too, air bubbles are also bad. Touch the silicon and see if it is squishy but firm, or hard and feels like plastic. It should be firm but slightly squishy. If it is hard then it has dried out and could be ready to fail.

 

[FishHobby99]

The tank in the picture looks quite nice. Try to get pictures of inside the cabinet and look for mold. See if the top of the hood is open or closed. If it's closed it might have mold too.

When buying secondhand aquariums, check the silicon (glue holding the glass together) and see if there are any cream or white areas of silicon. This means it is coming away from the glass. Look for air bubbles in the silicon too, air bubbles are also bad. Touch the silicon and see if it is squishy but firm, or hard and feels like plastic. It should be firm but slightly squishy. If it is hard then it has dried out and could be ready to fail.

He did send interior pics to my cell, but I don’t know how to get them from there to here. All looks very clean. This was homemade. Thanks for the advice! I am scared about transporting it from 1/2 hour away to here. Tried paying him to do it, assuming I buy which is highly likely, but he can’t. We have a Mini Cooper with an open trailer that hooks up to the rear.

 

[Colin_T]

Take a bunch of buckets, nets and hose with you.
Drain the tank and put some tank water in the buckets with the fish. Add an airstone to each bucket of fish and keep them in the shade until you leave. Have lids on the buckets to stop the fish jumping out.

Remove gravel and everything from inside the tank.
Rinse the tank out if you can but be careful it doesn't get damaged on the ground.

Put a foam rubber mattress or some blankets in the trailer and put the tank on that. Put the sump on a foam mattress too. Put foam, blankets or towels on each side and the ends too. Put some more towels on top of the tank and tie it down with rope.

Tape the coverglass together and put them in the car or tape them on top of the tank. It's safer to have the coverglass in the car.

Put the cabinet in the trailer and tie it all down.

You might need to do 2 trips, get the tank and sump one trip and cabinet and hood the second trip. Or hire a removalist and get them to transport the tank, sump, cabinet and hood for you. Take the fish, filter media and everything else in your car.

 

[FishHobby99]

He did send interior pics to my cell, but I don’t know how to get them from there to here. All looks very clean. This was homemade. Thanks for the advice! I am scared about transporting it from 1/2 hour away to here. Tried paying him to do it, assuming I buy which is highly likely, but he can’t. We have a Mini Cooper with an open trailer that hooks up to the rear.

Take a bunch of buckets, nets and hose with you.
Drain the tank and put some tank water in the buckets with the fish. Add an airstone to each bucket of fish and keep them in the shade until you leave. Have lids on the buckets to stop the fish jumping out.

Remove gravel and everything from inside the tank.
Rinse the tank out if you can but be careful it doesn't get damaged on the ground.

Put a foam rubber mattress or some blankets in the trailer and put the tank on that. Put the sump on a foam mattress too. Put foam, blankets or towels on each side and the ends too. Put some more towels on top of the tank and tie it down with rope.

Tape the coverglass together and put them in the car or tape them on top of the tank. It's safer to have the coverglass in the car.

Put the cabinet in the trailer and tie it all down.

You might need to do 2 trips, get the tank and sump one trip and cabinet and hood the second trip. Or hire a removalist and get them to transport the tank, sump, cabinet and hood for you. Take the fish, filter media and everything else in your car.

Wow! Terrific advice! I’m sending it over to my printer. Did consider renting a van. He said he can fit everything into his Durango SVU.

 

[Colin_T]

If you want more detail on moving fish, see post #2 of the following link.

Moving with fish?

Hi. I honestly didn’t know where to post this so I’m sorry if this isn’t the right place. Currently I have (approximate sizes) a 5 inch long, 8 inch long and 11 inch long comet goldfish, a 4 inch long black Moore, 6 African cichlids, and a male betta. In January, I’m going to be moving from...

www.fishforums.net

 

[FishHobby99]

Thank you.

 

[FishHobby99]

Take a bunch of buckets, nets and hose with you.
Drain the tank and put some tank water in the buckets with the fish. Add an airstone to each bucket of fish and keep them in the shade until you leave. Have lids on the buckets to stop the fish jumping out.

Remove gravel and everything from inside the tank.
Rinse the tank out if you can but be careful it doesn't get damaged on the ground.

Put a foam rubber mattress or some blankets in the trailer and put the tank on that. Put the sump on a foam mattress too. Put foam, blankets or towels on each side and the ends too. Put some more towels on top of the tank and tie it down with rope.

Tape the coverglass together and put them in the car or tape them on top of the tank. It's safer to have the coverglass in the car.

Put the cabinet in the trailer and tie it all down.

You might need to do 2 trips, get the tank and sump one trip and cabinet and hood the second trip. Or hire a removalist and get them to transport the tank, sump, cabinet and hood for you. Take the fish, filter media and everything else in your car.

Colin, I just printed up these instructions & cc‘d to the husband. I will of course remove all his tank decor. But why the sand? Shall I put that in a separate container ?