Sumptuous Thoughts

[londonwriter]

Hi All,

I'm back again with a question that's probably been asked loads already - to sump or not to sump.

I've got a 180litre tank, and technically there's room in the stand for a small sump about 35/40cm width, but is it worth it? The tank has been set up for a couple of months now, and I've just got my first fish etc, so there's no chance of drilling it. But how easy/realiable is using a weir, and what else would I need to get?

Would it be better to let everything settle in slowly, and for me to gain experience with marine before trying to add a sump, or is it a pretty necessary, albeit not very sexy, piece of kit? And I can't seem to find many sumps on the net either - are they all custom made?

Any comments appreciated!

Thanks...

 

[SkiFletch]

Well, consider the benefits of a sump with refugium:

- Place to house unsightly heaters, skimmers, calcium reactors, chemical media, etc
- More water volume for more stability. Also allows you to stock heavier before you run into capacity or chemistry trouble
- Great place to do water changes without completely disturbing your fish/corals
- Long-term nitrate removal
- Surface skimming to battle the nasty sludge that can build up atop your water

It all depends on how complex you want to get. If you're talking a tank jam packed with corals and fish you'll NEED a sump for the extra water volume and as a place to put all your reactors and suppliments to feed all those corals. If you're going with a simple Fish Only system that doesn't have messy predators you wont need one at all.

Yes, most sumps are custom built but some companies do make them. I find that a lot of local tank maintenance guys also do sump design and setup on the side.

 

[ostrow]

You don't need anything fancy for a sump. I had a 20G high tank in my old setup, now I am using a 150G stock tank. Never used baffles, filter socks, nothing.

Place for water, skimmer, heater, to drip kalk or additives, float a bag wtih carbon or other media if you like. Keep it simple.

If you get a U-tube overflow, which it sounds like you would need to do, make sure you get an Aqualifter pump (under $15 over here). Have an airline tube go from the Aqualifter intake to the topmost part of that U-tube, and have the output from the Aqualifter go back into the overflow box or wherever. That will ensure when power goes out, when it comes back on the siphon will start again. Normally it does anyway, but abnormally will be when you are not home.

Have a good return pump matched to the size of the overflow (typically 600GPH per U-tube) and make sure you account for the few feet pumping upwards. Oversize the pump a bit is always a good idea, and put a ball valve on the out put of the pump so that you can regulate flow to match your drain.

 

[londonwriter]

OK, thanks.

I'm only looking at fish only at the moment, as it's all new and I don't want to run before I can walk. So, maybe it'd be best to hold fire for now.

Ostrow - interesting point on the tubes though - sounds as though I won't need anything too fancy when I do decide to upgrade.

 

[Great Lakes]

If I were you I would wait until my next tank upgrade, [you know it will happen], and make a drilled tank a priority feature.

IF you are currently successful without a sump...great.

I have run the setup as Ostrow describes and while it is very trouble free, it is still not bulletproof.


GL