Fishboy9227
New member
Im looking at making a sump for my tank. What are good things to put in the sump. My tank is a 20gal so im looking at a 10-15gallon sump. Any ideas?
Making a sump.....
- Thread starter Fishboy9227
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alextheromanian
New member
look for a longer tank...rather than a deep one.
not to shallow that your skimmer is to big for.
id do a chamber where the water falls...on some small pieces of live rock....then goes trough the baffles into your refugium area/skimmer/heater area/then trough another set of baffles to a chamber with the return pump.
its sort of a small sump so youre limiting yourself to what you can have in it.
not to shallow that your skimmer is to big for.
id do a chamber where the water falls...on some small pieces of live rock....then goes trough the baffles into your refugium area/skimmer/heater area/then trough another set of baffles to a chamber with the return pump.
its sort of a small sump so youre limiting yourself to what you can have in it.
Fishboy9227
New member
ok, thanks. so i do need a skimmer?
ABSOLUTELY. There are a few out there that have managed to get away with not having one, but that is the exception rather than the rule. I would recommend doing a lot of reading before you set everything up. There are some beginner threads in this forum and some great books out there.
andrewprime1
LSF Undercover Agent
for a 20 gallon tank, you don't need a skimmer. Would it make your life easier? The short answer is yes. But with weekly water changes it isn't completely necessary. For your sump I would have the first section for the water coming in (duh) and maybe put your heater there then have a big section that you can put some substrate, garf grunge (google it), and live rock, plus if you can put a light on there you can throw in some macro algae. then have some bubble traps and a return.
If you do add a light, think about going with mangroves.
If you do add a light, think about going with mangroves.
I too have a 20g tank as a sump/fuge. I don't have a skimmer ( my tank is 30g), but I think it'd be worthwhile to have one now that I'm upgrading. If I keep the 30 and set it up instead of going with a 55 like I'm planning as a second tank, I'd still get a skimmer.
Mine goes something like this: drain (from display)->bioballs->baffle->baffle->refugium (aragonite....should've gone with a live sand DSB ..... so do a live sand DSB!....some live rock, cheato, and mangroves)-> baffle-> sump.
I'm looking for a 30 or 40 long, about 12" wide that I can use as a sump for my 60g setup, and I'll have the drain from display into a baffle, skimmer, baffle to live rock rubble, then fuge, maybe another baffle with LR rubble for some more copepod growth, and sump.
Mine goes something like this: drain (from display)->bioballs->baffle->baffle->refugium (aragonite....should've gone with a live sand DSB ..... so do a live sand DSB!....some live rock, cheato, and mangroves)-> baffle-> sump.
I'm looking for a 30 or 40 long, about 12" wide that I can use as a sump for my 60g setup, and I'll have the drain from display into a baffle, skimmer, baffle to live rock rubble, then fuge, maybe another baffle with LR rubble for some more copepod growth, and sump.
