220 gallon without sump...is this possible???

[jjj1100]

Ok, I have been doing a lot of research on marine aquariums, and this is my first post here after reading through hundreds of articles and a few books. Amzaing site so far!!!

So my question is I am thinking about starting a 220 gallon FOWLR tank. The tank will have 1.5 lbs per gallon of live rock, and about 3 inches of sand for bio filtration. The only problem I am going to encounter is that the wife will not allow a sump due to the horror stories she heard from people when they loose power. (but since she is being nice enough to let me keep large tanks I really wont argue - for right now!!!)

My question is this, is there any way to have a tank this large without a sump? If I use a good protien skimmer (thinking about hangnig 3 Aqua C Remora's 1200 on the back), and maybe 2 Tunze's pumps (model 6080) inside the tank pointing at each other from opposite ends (about 2250 GPH each or 4500 GPH total that would give me 20X turnover). I thought about putting the Tunze's in the bottom of the tank, one in each of the back corners to really get the current going, and then I have left over from my Fresh water tank an Eheim 2028 canister filter, and 2 emporer 400's that would provide about another 1000 gph for additional circualtion on the top of the tank(if need be, I was thinking I would just use the canister filter and clean that weekly )

I have no set plans for tank stocking as of yet, other than an eel of some kind, so I can't say what kind of bioload i will have from the fish waste. My main concern is setting up a tank this size properly without endagering any fish...or my wallet, and want to make sure a tank this size is even workable without a sump!!!!

Thank you for your repsones...even if you tell me I am crazy!

 

[Devildogg9745]

Yes it is possible. I was just at a club members house who has an amazing 150 with no sump, only 5 maxi-jet 1200's for flow, and a HOB skimmer.

 

[downlimit]

As long as you have enough live rock in the tank to provide for the nitrogen cycle you should be fine.

 

[Soltaker]

If the sump is designed properly and allows enough room for any backflow that might happen there should be no worries. It seems to me like such a waste of space to have all that room under the tank and not use it at all. :/

You should have her read thru some of the threads here on RC to help her see the light

 

[asnatlas]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6796501#post6796501 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Soltaker
If the sump is designed properly and allows enough room for any backflow that might happen there should be no worries. It seems to me like such a waste of space to have all that room under the tank and not use it at all. :/

You should have her read thru some of the threads here on RC to help her see the light

I agree... I don't under stand why I hear all of these horror stories with sumps overflow due to loss of power. If you have your system setup right this should not be a worry as all...

A sump is good for so many things... I have been running RR tanks for many years on my FW setups because I get added water vol, I can hide everything in the sump and as Soltaker stated its a waste of space if not used...

 

[bergzy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6797458#post6797458 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by asnatlas
I have been running RR tanks for many years on my FW setups because I get added water vol, I can hide everything in the sump and as Soltaker stated its a waste of space if not used...

in total agreement!

i will say though that when i first got my feet wet in sw tanks (from 30 years of doing freshwater...i am still under 40 btw) where the norm is having a sump...i was very hesitant to go with a sump for the very reason of water overflows. it just meant that i didnt fully understand the concept of how an overflow worked.

i am now in the process of setting up a new fw planted display (after a very long hiatus) and would not even think of not having an overflow. the only disadvantage is that the water 'gurgling' into the sump will release my hard earned co2 injecting into the water. other than that...it will be pretty much identical to a sw reef set up.

oh, and i wouldnt recommend 3 remora's for a tank this big as a hob skimmer...the new coralife super skimmers and deltecs look much better than the aqua c (which used to be the gold standard for hob skimmers).

hth's!!!

ehhh, what do i know!