A sump tank or not?

F

Flobajob

Member
Having had a tropical setup for a while now without any probs, I want to go 'up a level' and get a marine setup. The size of tank that I'm looking at getting is around 240l. I've done loads of reading and asked a few friends, but it still isn't obvious what the best equipment to get is. Should I get a sump tank or hang on filters, or just some in-tank filters? I've been browsing the net for different products, and it looks like something like the aqua medic reef 500 will solve all my filtration problems (I'm not worried about the heating and lighting) but I'm not sure if it will be what I need. Otherwise I was thinking of getting a hang on protein skimmer and separate hang on external filter. What should I buy?:confused:
Many thanks for your help,
Flobajob
 
I use a sump which consists of a regular aquarium with glass baffles glued into it. The largest quality skimmer I could afford at the time. Good live rock. Some metal halide lights. A ro unit for pure water. Lotssa quality testkits I use salifert. Then some powerheads for flow. Hope I didnt miss anything...
 
I dont use any mechanical filtration. For my filtering I have 80 pounds of good live rock, a big euroreef skimmer, and water changes. Once and awhile I will place carbon inside a "filter sock" and put it in my sumps baffles.
 
Well, I wouldnt say my liverock and skimmer were cheap.
For you just starting out I would try to put more money into a skimmer than worrying about the other toys. The skimmer will give you the most bang for the buck.

As far as your sump... I would do as big as you have room for. The very least I would be sure the skimmer fits in it and it can hold any extra water drained down from the main tank if the power goes out. You could even leave room for a fuge. The fuge would be a section to grow macro algea. This algea uses up the nutrients that other nuisance algea would use to grow in the display tank.
 
if you dont get a sump, you'll regret it and end up getting it a year down the road...do yourself a favor and get a sump, it has many benefits including hiding equipment, refuge option to lower nitrates and grow small organsims, water change is easier, adds flow to the tank, and cuts down on possible microbubbles from skimmer.
 
gooliver covered some of the uses for the sump.

I use it to add more water volume. This dilutes impurites more. I also use it to put my heater in and protein skimmer in it. I use an auto toppoff system that adds back evaporated water and it drips into my sump as well.
 
I am not familiar with it. It looks like a wetdry filter with a bioball like material. In my opinion its not needed. Skimmer... a huge one at that!! Live rock. Flow in the tank.
 
Looks like I'm gonna be getting a sump and proteins skimmer for my aquarium then. By the way, I live in England and I can't find any UK websites that sell Euroreef skimmers. Do you know where I could get one, or if there are any other brands that are as good (e.g. aqua medic).
 
a reef aquarium does not require you to have mechanical filtration - that is usually a factory for nitrates if not maintained- it's just not necessary.

This is all the filtration you need:

1. Protein Skimmer
2. Live Rock \ Live Sand
3. If you want to keep Nitrates down, grow algae in your sump (cheato)

TitanFan is right, how can i forget auto-top off and a larger water volume :)

As you can see, the list goes on and on...
 
power filters and other "mechanical filtration" is usually worse for a salt tank, it just traps debris, a skimmer completly removes waste from the water colomn before it has a chance to break down, power filters usually lead to high nitrates.
 
I don't know what kind of budget you are on for skimmers. Deltec and ASM are 2 other brands worth looking at.
 
I reckon I can afford around Ã"šÃ‚£150 ($265) for the skimmer (the tank size I hope to get is 180l-240l + sump).
 
Why not try the sumpless option?

Why not try the sumpless option?

I have had salt water off and on for about 25 years. Always something new. Right now I have live rock, good skimmer, and power heads for flow. That is it. I do 20% water changes ever 2 weeks. You don't need a sump. When sumps first came out, they were to increase the water volume so changes were less detectable by your creatures. Now why someone that has a huge water volume to begin with thinks they need a huge sump is just more work. If you do a search here and elswhere on the internet, a lot of very succesful people do not use sumps. Some people make this hobby out to be harder than it really is.

Just another option, sumpless tanks.
 
Erm - maybe I shouldn't get a sump then - but its kinda confusing with all the different info. I suppose that even if its not completely necessary, with a sump the equipment is all hidden. But then I could use the money saved from not getting a sump to buy a bigger display tank...
 
you can run a reef aquarium without a sump. you can also drive your car with your feet! that doesn't mean it's a good idea :)

do some more research on this site and you'll find most serious reefers running a sump. I also doubt you'll see sumpless reef tanks on www.reefkeeping.com as "Tank of the month"
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

W
Potential 65G
Replies
17
Views
704
griss
griss
Itchy Trigger
Heaters for Sump and for Storage Tanks
Replies
2
Views
259
aquaman67
aquaman67
C
Correct placement of Top Filter and Power head
Replies
1
Views
277
Timfish
Timfish
T
Sump mod for roller mat filter ? How to ?
Replies
7
Views
694
griss
griss
G
Can someone help me identify these red spots in my tank? Are they algae? If so, how can I get rid of them?
Replies
11
Views
779
DjPhato
DjPhato
Back
Top