33gal Reef - Should i sump it?

stlcard

New member
I need opinions from those who have been in the hobby longer. Me, only 6 months.

Heres my current setup:
33gal Reef Tank - (probably overstocked by everyones standards here)
2 clowns
1 royal gamma
1 six line
1 chromis
1 sleeper goby
CUC
about 25# live rock
use clean RO/DI water - no tds
2x39w t5 + 2x24w t5 - runs for 8 hours
Penguin HOB power filter -330 model- has Chaeto and rubble
-i run a small bag of purigen constant until it needs a recharge, no mech media unless alot of particulate - i remove within a day.
two powerheads - opposite sides & good flow (500 gph & 700 Gph)
Kent Reef Salt

SG- 1.024
Calcium - 440
Alk- 9
amonia - 0
nitrite - 0
nitrate - current 20ppm (WC coming tomorrow)
Mag - unknown
Trace - unknown

Should i go to a sump? with a protein skimmer? my LFS said not to bother with a skimmer and jsut do routine WC. Because it may pull too much good stuff from the water as well as bad?

Would switching to a sump help bump my water to that next level? My corals are okay, but not flourishing. they are grumpy and retracted about 4 days the week, content the other days.

I battle high nitrates (10-30ppm's) each week, probably overfeeding and from my bioload? and started to get hair algae. (i have reduced my feeding habits to every other day, and smaller amount - ie no leftovers)

Would a sump & skimmer solve this issue, or just create a headache?

Ive read alot and it seems its a toss up for tanks my size. Some say yay, others nay. What are your thoughts, advice to get my water pristine and corals happy?
 
I would definitely throw a sump on there. I would also really recommend getting a skimmer. It will really help with your nitrate issue. A sump will also let you move all equipment out of your main tank.
 
+1 on the sump and Skimmer. The only way I'd feel comfortable without a Skimmer is if I had a turf scrubber.

Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk 2
 
Adding a sump would be nice but if you dont mind seeing the equipment than just add a HOB skimmer. You are stocked on the heavy side so adding a skimmer will help expel a lot of the waste.
 
I would definitely throw a sump on there. I would also really recommend getting a skimmer. It will really help with your nitrate issue. A sump will also let you move all equipment out of your main tank.
 
run the sump...i ran mine without a skimmer in my sump for a couple months i had nothing but problems with my water
 
thanks everyone. Ive opted to go with a sump and skimmer. i think it really will help out.

another question, how tall do i make my baffles? i am going to use a 10gal for sump.
 
You don't want the baffles too high. You need to leave room in there for when the return pump shuts off and the water flows back to the sump. Probably 3/4 of the way up would be a safe area.
 
okay so i got my sump setup. Its a 10g with 3 compartments. Just waiting on my overflow box and skimmer to come in.

Do i HAVE to use sand for my refugium section? is there a significant difference between using sand and not? My fear is the maintenance of the sand (siphoning and detrius)

Ideal would just be rubble rock and macro algae.
 
There are tons of different opinions about sand vs no sand in refugium. Personally I don't, I just have some live rock and chaeto but everyone is different
 
hey guys, need some tips again. I setup my sump and skimmer about 2 weeks ago. everything is running great, im glad i did it.

question, when i cut my baffles i did 1 of them a little uneven, (not a perfect 90 degree cut) so the water flows over about only 20-30% of the baffle edge. Is this going to cause issues?

Also, i had some food make it through my overflow into the first section, its been slowly hanging out in that section. should i add another small pump to ensure there is good flow through the sump? im afraid the water has found a certain path, and there may be dead spots in the 1st section...
 
Back
Top