help with 210 sumpless

laredo300c

New member
still looking for some help for a future build i am considering building a 210g sumpless.....300+ live rock....two prizm deluxe protein skimmers rated at 240 each...live sand........any advice..any comments thanks
 
Any reason for going sumpless? There's going to be a lot more options with when selecting equipment if you do a sump. :)
 
A sump would be a great place to put your skimmers and everything else, even a 50 gallon tank would do wonders. I have a 55 that I will be using for a 120 build. Plus the more water in the system the more stable the system will end up being.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
here in laredo, tx ....everytime we get a thunderstorm, we loose power....prettu pathetic for the second largest growing city in the us, anyways....nothing long but defineatly loose power..... and i already foresee water spilling all over the floor.......just want a sumpless system......i have had one year and a half success with my 55 gal sumpless and just wondering what is out there for a 210 sumpless
 
Dont let anyone talk you out of what you want. Seems like people always try to change your mind on here. My 75 is sumpless and I like the fact that there is no way possible my tank could ever flood. My equipment (in tank) is only a deltec mce300, 2 tunze 6025's and a heater. If you buy more powerful equipment (more expensive) you can buy less. Only thing is the prizms, I don't think will do the job for you. Plus prizm WAy over shoots what size tanks their skimmers should be on. Take word from a former prizm owner, I really don't think they could handle the job.
 
It's not hard to design a sump which couldn't possibly overflow... it just takes a bit more "wasted" space in the sump. You just need to have enough extra volume in the sump to make up for any siphon that could come from the tank. My tank has about 4 gallons it puts into the sump when the power goes out... no big deal.

The advantages of a sump definately outweigh the risks... the only reason for going without one is lack of space.

A 210 is going to need some real power, both in circulation and in skimmers. I really didn't like my prizm skimmer. It worked, but it made too much noise and you really had to fuss with it to keep it from overflowing (much more dangerous than a sump).
 
My prizm never overflowed in the two years I ran it. Although, it was too noisy. Adjustment was a problem in the beginning but as it got older I guess it broke in. Besides the way prizms are set up when they get full they overflow back into the tank, so how did yours overflow?
 
a freind of mine is running a 210g sumpless with 250 lbs of live rock , live sand, and a turboflotor multi 1000...hob......it's been up and running for 8 months.....my plan was to add three prizms rated at 240g each...i know they are overrated and can really not handle a 210 but three might do the trick......besides a plan on stocking it with a load for a 150 leaving me 60 gallons of extra water......(as in a sump).......the main reason for the 210 is the idea of having a giant tank in my living room and for the fish to have more swimming space
 
I think your tank is a great idea. Still in disagreement with the prizms though. You would be way better off with two Deltec MCE300's. You just would have to see the difference to believe it.
 
If you are going to spend the money on 3 prizms why not just dump the same money and get a better skimmer?
 
appreciate the comments......i do want to spend the money on one....but which one....anybody know of a skimmer that is hob and sumpless for a 210g
 
checked out their website...deltec mce300rated at 90gallons and deltec mce600 rated at 150gallons...not even close to what i would need in a 210g
 
if your sump is of correct size and design you will not get overflow out of your sump if you lose power. I can turn off my power to all pumps on my aquarium and it fills my sump to about 1-2 inches below overflowing. Get a sump! you will regret not having a place to grow algae for nutrient export and the additional filtration certainly does not hurt. Without an overflow on the tank you will also get scum buildup on the top of the water. There are tons of reason to have a sump and I really can't think of any reason to not have one besides if it is designed wrong or you just don't have the space.
 
If i can chime in here, I am also a former prizm skimmer user and I have to say, they are not horrible skimmers, however, I ran it on a 55 gal and it was way to small. They are noisy and really do not pull much stuff. I upgraded to an deltec MCE600 because i am upgrading to a drilled aga 90 gal and wanted a more potent skimmer and you would not believe the difference. Besides you I can always hang the deltec on the outside of the sump i will be setting up with this new sustem.
 
Yea your really missing the whole idea on the Deltec. First of all when Deltec says 90 gals it means 90 or more. When prism says like 100 gals or whatever they mean like 30. If your got two Deltecs instead of 3 prizms they would do a MUCH better job. You just have to see it to know what I am talking about. Prizms are ok but the aren't even in the same sentence as Deltec. Take it from me I just upgraded from a prizm to the Deltec so I am speaking from experience. If you are not going to have a sump you have to get the skimmer part right.
 
I had a prizm when I first got into the hobby (wasn't I so smart to avoid the sea clone! Ha yea right). Ran it on the back of my 55 before upgrading to a deltec

It was a pain to calibrate, it would overflow and run the skimmate back into the tank, and it was obnoxiously loud. I mean, I could hear it from another room, which wasn't always bad, cuz after a few weeks I could tell the sound of when the collection cup was full.

I would def skip the prizm and go with a deltec, heck or even Coralife Superskimmer. I'm running a CSS 65 on my 20, and its pulling out waaayyyyy more then my Deltec did on my 55.
 
Back
Top